Vocal / Choral

Peter Schindler’s vocal output comprises choral music, chansons and compositions for voice(s) – from the small song to the large-scale staged project. The choral works range from sacred music and contemporary masses to staged cantatas, and are marked by great stylistic diversity: from classical sacred structures to influences from jazz, pop and rhythmic music that open up new tone colours and expressive possibilities for the choir.

In his mass settings, such as the “Missa in Jazz”, the Latin texts of the Ordinary are cast in a fresh, rhythmically pulsating musical language that draws on elements of jazz and other styles without losing its liturgical dignity. His choral work also includes staged cantatas and larger pieces such as “Sonne, Mond und Sterne” (Sun, Moon and Stars), in which texts from different centuries are woven into a musical kaleidoscope of life.

His large-scale project “Perpetuum mobile” is a space of sound in which voices meet like waves and continually take new shape. It shows Schindler’s range, playing with rhythm, sound and the voice as an instrument in motion – powerful and ceaselessly flowing. “Perpetuum mobile” draws on the Benedictine manuscript Codex Buranus (Carmina Burana) as its source.

Schindler has also composed choral arrangements and songs for smaller ensembles as well as for children’s and youth choirs, which captivate with their clear melodies and varied styles.