The international project Visegrad Choral Bridges III – Folklore Inspiration, financed by the Visegrad Fund, brought together four university choirs from Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, represented by the Ateneo Mixed Chamber Choir of Palacký University Olomouc. In addition to the final concert at Olomouc’s Red Church, a CD was also produced, which is now available for free on YouTube.
The university choirs set out to celebrate and preserve the richness of the national folk traditions of the Visegrad Group region (V4). The CD therefore contains a joint recording of choral arrangements of folk songs in the original languages of all participating countries, conducted by the choirmasters of each choir. Thanks to this project, singers and listeners can get acquainted with the unique musical roots and traditions of the V4 region via carefully selected and elegantly rendered compositions.
“Our goal was not only to convey the beauty and depth of folk music but also to strengthen cultural awareness and connections between our nations,” said Pavel Režný, the main organiser of the project and choirmaster of Palacký University’s Ateneo. “The joint recording on CD is a tangible result of this unique cooperation, which brings joy not only to the singers involved but also now to the general public,” he added.
The recording took place at the last joint meeting of the four choirs in April this year in Olomouc, after which the editing, mixing, and remastering of the recordings followed. The recording can now be listened to for free on the Ateneo Choir’s YouTube channel, making the results of the project widely and sustainably available to all interested parties. The project builds on successful collaborations from 2010 and 2017 and is a testament to the power of music to transcend borders and unite nations.