The Sängerbund succeeds for the same reason other choirs succeed: People enjoy getting together and being entertained wherever mellow music and pleasing melodies are offered. Every second year the mixed choir successfully switches to the genre of popular (“pop”) music. Only once in Saturday’s concert did they break with their pop music pattern. In their rendering of "Pie Jesu" from reknown composer Andrew Lloyed Webber’s "Requiem" they offered a deeply sentient excursion into modern classical music. The two outstanding choir soloists Angelika Nestmann and Regine Kullen earned the choir a special measure of applause with this concert of colorful music.
There was plenty of applause throughout the evening, in fact. The audience appreciated the other two soloists as well, Eva Weckert and 19 year old guest vocalist Rachel Rudigier from Lörrach.
The 50 singers of the mixed vocal club excelled with extremely demanding works from "My Fair Lady", "Tabaluga", "Tarzan", "The Wizard of Oz", "Les Misérables", "Fame", "West Side Story," and "The Man of La Mancha".
Getting the tone and character of the songs just right was not always an easy task for the choir. The performance of "Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina" (from the musical Evita) brought beads of sweat from conductor Erhard Zeh’s forehead. But the singers of the Sängerbund put their difficulties behind them and carried on with grace. Straight afterward - without the slightest effort – they excelled as usual at a high level and swept the visitors away.
There were enthusiastic cheers throughout the concert. Loud applause from a grateful audience rained down on the chorus. Only after two encores was the choir finally released from the stage.
Engaging the Henry Uebel trio turned out to be a lucky choice once again. Mr.Uebel at the piano, Rainer Müller on drums, and Conny Hossfeld on bass and keyboards not only accompanied the choir, but also added their own interpretive accents.
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