This February, a unique group will descend on Delhi straight from the Swiss countryside, bringing their celebration of wine and music to the capital. In association with the Capital City Minstrels, the all-male choir of the Brotherhood of the Knights of Beau-Soleil will delight music lovers with a selection of Swiss folk music that applaud the vine and wine, and of course that heady emotion – love!
Delhi’s iconic choir, the Capital City Minstrels (CCM), is delighted to welcome some very special guests to the capital this month. CCM travelled to Europe in June 2015 for a two-week tour of Germany, Hungary and Switzerland. Hosted by and jointly performing with various choirs in these countries, it was in Switzerland that CCM had the privilege of performing with the Brotherhood of the Knights of Beau- Soleil. This wonderful choir will be in Delhi on February 12, 2016 for a concert at the India International Centre. Accompanied by CCM, music lovers should not miss an enthralling performance by this unique group.
About Brotherhood of the Knights of Beau-Soleil
The Brotherhood of the Knights of Beau-Soleil is a small bacchic society located in the eponymous Domaine Mont sur Rolle. It has about seventy members of very varied professions and its Governor is Thierry Durand, owner of the estate. In 2010, thirty years after the formation of the Brotherhood, the then Governor Maurice Durand created a small group to sing at the Ressat and to lead this group he approached René Martinet, a well-known conductor. Thus, the Choir was born!
The choir has grown to an accomplished ensemble of 21 voices, all members of the Brotherhood. With the sole goal of entertaining the public, its repertoire has expanded to include songs that not only celebrate the vine and wine but those that embrace nature, love, work and the joys of life.
About their music
Ländlermusik or Swiss folk music is an essential element of popular instrumental music in Switzerland and is also a specific term for rural dance music in triple time. Other rhythms such as marches, scottish, mazurkas or foxtrots are also played in traditional rural Swiss dance music. Typical instruments played by ländler bands include the accordion, clarinet and contrabass and it is in this formation that the three musicians accompanying the Beau-Soleil choir will play.
The alphorn is the most typical of Swiss musical instruments. Carved from spruce wood the wind instrument is about 360 cm long. It first appeared in the fourteenth century. Because its sound can carry over long distances it was used to alert remote mountain villages of approaching danger or to summon
villagers to church. Today alphorns are also made of carbon fiber and so are lighter and easily transportable. The sound of the alphorn renders it difficult to play in combination with other instruments. It is usually played by groups of two, three or more alphorn players.
About The Capital City Minstrels
The Capital City Minstrels (CCM) is comprised of people from all walks of life – university students and professionals such as doctors, lawyers, architects, teachers, development practitioners, corporate executives and embassy personnel, of all ages and nationalities. Originating in 1994, the choir is now in its 21st year. Over these two decades CCM has performed more than 200 concerts at prestigious venues around the capital such as the India Habitat Centre, India International Centre, Epicentre – Gurgaon, Rashtrapati Bhavan and hotels like the Imperial, the Hyatt and the Ashoka. The choir has also established strong cultural links with the Hungarian Cultural Centre, Alliance Francaise, the German and Vatican Embassies and the Delhi Gymkhana Club and regularly perform for important events at these places. They are presently led by their very talented Conductor Ms. Carolin Remy, who holds a senior position in the German school. CCM’s repertoire spans a wide range from the earliest choral music to the entire spectrum of western classical music, and opera to ballads, folk songs, Broadway musicals, rock, pop, jazz as well as Indian music arranged for choir performances. Touring in India and abroad to share their love for music, CCM has over the years performed in Goa, Kashmir, Budapest, Remscheider (Germany), Paris and their recent European tour in June 2015 took them to Bad Tolz (Hungary), Berlin, Geretstried (near Munich) and Rolle (Switzerland).
For more information about the Brotherhood of the Knights of Beau-Soleil or the Capital City Minstrels
India International Centre | 40, Max Mueller Marg, New Delhi
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