Corul Madrigal – A retrospective of 2021

An outstanding creator of events that seamlessly integrate its unmistakable sound into innovative artistic and directorial concepts, Corul Național de Cameră „Madrigal – Marin Constantin” enjoyed a rich artistic year in 2021, encompassing numerous recitals, concerts, tours and cultural diplomacy initiatives, recordings of new albums, and a particular focus on developing its strategies for music education and social integration through music via Programul Național Cantus Mundi
Despite the year’s difficult circumstances for cultural reach and impact and for LIVE encounters with audiences, Corul Madrigal gave no fewer than eight live concerts, two national tours and one international tour, and three recorded performances broadcast on its social media channels and its online viewing app, MADRIGAL APP .

•    On 15 January, for Culture Day, Corul Madrigal celebrated in Romanian style, offering online audiences a choral intermezzo dedicated to national culture. On 3 March, in an intimate diplomatic setting, Corul Madrigal performed the „Madrigal 58” Gala at Palatul Cercului Militar Național, where it also presented the „Marin Constantin” Excellence Awards. This was followed by a special recording of the Special Easter Concert at Muzeul Național de Artă al României, conducted by Anna Ungureanu and Cezar Verlan, broadcast over Easter on MADRIGAL APP and on the Romanian Government’s and Ministry of Culture’s social media channels. On 1 June, Madrigal sang to children in a recital recorded at its new headquarters on Dealul Mitropoliei and broadcast online. On 27 July, Corul Madrigal, conducted by Anna Ungureanu, was the special guest at the public event „65 de ani România în UNESCO” at Opera Națională București, followed on 15 August by one of its now traditional concerts, „Ave Maria”, at Teatrul de Vară „Mihai Eminescu” in Bucharest. This was followed on 28 August by another „Ave Maria” concert on the esplanade of Opera Națională București. The „Ave Maria” concerts, a concept created exclusively by Corul Madrigal, featured guest actors Laura Oana and Marius Manole, together with children from the Cantus Mundi ensembles „Young Beats”, coordinated by Zoli Toth, and „Cor cu Dor”, coordinated by Teodora Jaworski. On 5 September, at St Joseph’s Cathedral in Bucharest, Corul Madrigal held a special concert in collaboration with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bucharest – the Special Concert „Nihil Sine Deo”. The series of concerts with live audiences continued with another event forming part of Corul Madrigal’s cultural diplomacy strategy – the Special Concert „Jerusalem of Gold”, held under the patronage of the Embassy of Israel in Romania at Teatrul de Vară „Mihai Eminescu”.
•    Corul Național de Cameră „Madrigal – Marin Constantin” also undertook two national tours this year – one in July to Miercurea Ciuc for the „Festivalul de Muzică Veche”, and the Christmas Tour to Târgu Mureș on 8 December.
•    Between 27 – 30 November, Corul Madrigal, conducted by Anna Ungureanu, undertook an international tour in Italy, with concerts in Parma – a gala concert at the second edition of the „Romano Gandolfi” International Choral Conducting Competition – and in Bologna – a Special Concert for Romania’s National Day at Basilica San Petronio, under the patronage of the Romanian Embassy in Italy, at the invitation of the Romanian Consulate in Bologna, the Romanian-Italian cultural association Propatria and Academia di Romania in Roma (ICR).
•    As part of its cultural diplomacy strategy, Corul Național de Cameră „Madrigal – Marin Constantin” recorded and offered, for their respective national days, almost 20 official national anthems of countries with diplomatic missions in Romania, performed in their original languages in accordance with official customs and protocol.
•    As in the previous year, Corul Madrigal continued its collaboration with the record label Roton Music and released three new albums: „Ave Maria”, conducted by Anna Ungureanu, and „Săptămâna Patimilor”, conducted by Cezar Verlan, both for Easter, and the album „Hora staccato”, conducted by Anna Ungureanu, featuring music inspired by Romanian folk traditions. All Corul Madrigal albums can be ordered on the website in the Madrigal Shop.
Furthermore, the album „Săptămâna Patimilor”/ „Holy week”, released in May 2021, was nominated in the prestigious International Classical Music Awards – ICMA, 2021, among the European recording industry’s most important awards dedicated to classical music.
•    In 2021, Corul Madrigal and Cantus Mundi were also involved in three successful publishing launches for music education and children’s integration through music: the textbook „Muzică și Mișcare pentru clasa a III-a” with Editura Corint, the guide „Muzica pentru toți. Integrarea și incluziunea socială a copiilor și tinerilor cu cerințe educaționale speciale prin intermediul muzicii” with Administrația Fondului Cultural Național, and the launch, which they supported, of „Aritmetica sunetelor. Muzica pe care nu o înveți la școală” by Ana-Maria Rusu, music teacher, trainer and Cantus Mundi conductor.
•    Specialists from Corul Național de Cameră „Madrigal – Marin Constantin” and Programul Național Cantus Mundi continued their professional training activities in 2021 through the now established Music Education and Choral Conducting Webinars. Over the year, there were 28 editions, with 84 courses and 10.000 people registered – music teachers, educators, conductors and choir coordinators from Romania, Italy, the Republic of Moldova and Hungary.
•    Programul Național Cantus Mundi continued its activities and projects for children throughout 2021. These included choral webinars for children (Spring Workshops), the high-school choir, children’s choral, percussion and recorder workshops held at the institution’s headquarters and online, the Cantus Mundi online environmental school, the launch on 22 March of the „Water Song” video for World Water Day, the „Vacanță Activă în București la OCC și Cantus Mundi” activities, participation in „Senatul Copiilor” on 1 June, two months and 5 series of Școala de Vară Cantus Mundi hosted at the headquarters, children’s choir concerts in museums and „Noaptea muzeelor” hosted by Opera Comică pentru Copii, children’s choirs and instrumental ensembles participating in Corul Madrigal’s LIVE concerts, concerts by the Young Beats percussion ensemble, coordinated by Zoli Toth, and their appearance as special guests at the opening of Romania’s Pavilion at EXPO 2020 Dubai, the „Cor cu Dor” anniversary concert, coordinated by Teodora Jaworski, at Opera Națională București,  100 choirs with over 6000 children participating in LIVE concerts on the Cantus Mundi Stage at CLASSICAL CHRISTMAS MARKET, over 300 children participating in the 2 performances of the Special Performance „Pe drumul Crăciunului”, conducted by Anna Ungureanu, at Opera Națională București, and many other cultural activities involving Cantus Mundi children’s choirs in Bucharest and across the country.
•    December is a special month in Madrigal’s calendar. Together with Opera Națională București, Corul Madrigal and Programul Național Cantus Mundi organised the Christmas market CLASSICAL CHRISTMAS MARKET for the first time this year. Opened in central Bucharest on 3 December 2021, on the Opera esplanade, CLASSICAL CHRISTMAS MARKET was built around classical Christmas music and attracted over 200.000 visitors from Bucharest and across the country during December 2021. Audiences enjoyed the finest Christmas market attractions, brought to life by the live sound of carols sung by over 6.000 children from almost 100 choirs in Programul Național Cantus Mundi, who took turns on the stage in front of Opera Națională București. Alongside the concerts on the Cantus Mundi Stage, visitors enjoyed rides in the Magic Carriage, the OCC Polar Express and VR sleigh journeys, or the Elves’ Workshops, where children could make their own Christmas gifts. Children’s encounters with Father Christmas, who received their traditional letters for Christmas Eve, were full of emotion, as were the OCC Shop and stalls selling traditional treats, all set within a fairy-tale landscape covering no less than 12.000 square metres. Throughout January 2022, one of the stars of CLASSICAL CHRISTMAS MARKET – its 600-square-metre ice rink – will remain open to the public.
•    For over half a century, Romanians have associated the sound of Christmas with Madrigal, whose Christmas concerts are one of Romania’s longest-standing and most consistent cultural traditions. In 2021, Corul Madrigal created an unprecedented performance – „Pe drumul Crăciunului”, bringing together the unique sound of the ensemble conducted by Anna Ungureanu, theatrical art, impressive stage design and an exceptional blend of the Madrigal singers’ voices with those of over 300 children from Programul Național Cantus Mundi. Acclaimed by audiences and critics, the two performances were SOLD OUT on 16 and 17 December in the magnificent auditorium of Opera Națională București. Guest actors Ofelia Popii and Marius Turdeanu completed and heightened the emotional thread of this major project, a landmark in Madrigal’s events calendar.

Furthermore, once again, Corul Național de Cameră „Madrigal – Marin Constantin” is offering this Christmas performance to Romanians worldwide, recorded to exceptional standards and broadcast on streamerse.net, via the viewing link „Pe drumul Crăciunului”

Thank you to our wonderful audiences, partners, collaborators and the Madrigal & Cantus Mundi teams. See you again in 2022!