Another video of the ones I recorded in 2021 for All of Bach got released. Here I sing my favourite childhood Christmas song: Ich steh an deiner Krippen hier. Accompanied by the fabulous Mieneke van der Velden (Viola da gamba) & Mike Fentross (theorbo). Enjoy the video here.
In 2021, during one of the many Covid lockdowns, I had the chance to record the soprano solos of Handel’s Messiah together with Felix Koch, his Neumeyer Consort and the Gutenberg Kammerchor. Based on the composer‘s two autograph scores, the musicologist Malcolm Bruno has reconstructed an early version of this iconic piece from 1741. I’m glad to announce the Release of this world premiere recording with the label Rondeau. Link to the album here.
..an idea popping up more than two years ago, followed by massive action, endless emails, zoom calls and planning. and now it’s happening. Sjaella’s first tour to Australia will take us to some of the most beautiful places and venues. I can’t wait to explore this country and share of music with its people!
All of Bach has recently released a new video that I recorded in 2021. It is a moved version of Vermeer’s Melkmeijsje. I had the pleasure to contribute my own a cappella version of the Chorale "Christum wir sollen loben schon" (based on Bach, Luther, and the original Latin hymn) to it
Link to the video here!
Merry Christmas
After two years with not many Christmas concerts possible, I’m enjoying to sing Bach’s famous Christmas Oratorio almost every day this year, with the wonderful Netherlands Bach Society.
Viola Blache - soprano
Ulrike Malotta - contralto
Daniel Johannsen - tenor
Matthias Helm - bass
Shunske Sato - artistic direction
Tour dates:
11/12 Amsterdam
14 + 15/12 Naarden
16/12 Utrecht
17/12 Hasselt (BE)
18/12 Haarlem
20/12 Kampen
21/12 Alkmaar
23/12 Tilburg
It’s a pleasure to sing with Peter Dijkstra for the first time and meet the wonderful Luthers Bach Ensemble from Groningen. We’re performing four concerts with Handel’s oratorio Saul in The Netherlands.
I’m looking forward to starting the new season with a very special production of Ballett am Rhein. We will perform David Lang’s iconic piece The Little Match Girl Passion , choreographed by Demis Volpi. A theatrical dance evening about empathy, big dreams and small utopias.
performance dates:
09/07 - Theater Duisburg
09/10 - Theater Bonn @Beethovenfest Bonn
09/13 - Theater Bonn @Beethovenfest Bonn
09/24 - Theater Duisburg
09/28 - Theater Duisburg
10/11 - Theater Duisburg
10/21 - Theater Duisburg
Sjaella released a new music video. Watch it here.
music: Stars by Ēriks Ešenvalds
production & editing: Thomas Radlwimmer
glass art: Lydia Wassner-Hauser
This is a proper Easter experience. I will sing Bach’s St.John’s Passion with Vox Luminis and Café Zimmermann at the Festival de Paques in Aix-en-Provence, live-broadcasted by Radio Classique. While the Saturday is left for contemplation, I will celebrate Jesus’ resurrection on Easter Sunday with a very special version of the Bminor Mass with Ensemble Continuum at the Thüringer Bachwochen.
Sjaella went to San Miguel de Allende, México, to be part of the Con Alma Live concert and documentary shooting. This project means so much to me, as it is born out of pure love for human connection and the friendship between composer Paola Prestini and jazz vocalist Magos Herrera, two truly inspiring women.
The documentary (by directors Marta Ferrer and Pedro González Rubio, in progress) is a poetic experience that elevates isolation to bonding and creation. Stay tuned for the release in 2023 and more live concerts.
Find more information about Con Alma here.
On March 4 at 8am, with the first sun-rays, we will fill the walls of the famous Oude Kerk Amsterdam with sound and premiere Part 1 of '40 Ways of Being (a Woman)'. Composer Andrea Gutuerres wrote an amazing and challenging piece for organ, voice and electronic soundscape, addressing the subject of being a woman in today's world.
Due to the Covid measures applying in The Netherlands, the tour of J.S.Bach - The Apocalypse had to be cancelled. I have been part of this wonderful collaboration between Opera2Day and The Netherlands Bach Society for three months. It is extremely sad to not be able to tour the piece after having worked on it for so long and after having grown into a family within the team. But as the official statement of the company says: ‘the number of people we take on tour (about 70) in this production, is not in balance with the number of people allowed in the audience.’
Nevertheless we will take it to its premiere on February 9th in the Royal Theatre The Hague. The tour of ’the opera that Bach never wrote’ will have to wait until 2024.
Looking back I can say that 2021 was a good year for me. Despite the pandemic I was blessed with many possibilities. The most meaningful achievement was the development and album release of Sjaella’s new programme Origins. We have organised our own festival, Sjael La Vie, in Leipzig and have performed at Musikfest ION, in Hungary, at Musica Divina in Belgium, and at the Tolosa Choral Festival. Furthermore I sang with Collegium Vocale Gent at La Folle Journée (Nantes) and with Vox Luminis at Oude Muziek Festival (Utrecht). As soloist I sang with the Netherlands Bach Society at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam for the first time, I recorded the solo parts of Handel’s Messiah with Felix Koch and the Neumeyer Consort, and I recorded some Bach songs for the well known platform All of Bach. As a highlight to end the year I performed Bach’s Christmas Oratory with Vlaams Radiokoor and Il Gardellino.
I’m grateful for all the musical moments and encounters with people that I’ve experienced.
From today on Sjaella’s new album ORGINS, released by Outhere Music, is available for purchase. The project, a real Corona-Baby, combines early and contemporary compositions around the topic of natural cycles.
link for purchase and streaming via Outhere Music
webshop Sjaella
I’m excited to join the performing arts company OPERA2DAY, based in The Hague (NL), for their new production J.S.Bach - The Apocalyps: 'the opera that Bach never wrote’.
Imagining what a Bach opera might have sounded like, this co-production of OPERA2DAY and The Netherlands Bach Society tells the story of the tyrannical leadership by religious fundamentalist Jan van Leyden.
Find out more about the story and the cast here.
The production will go on tour from January through March 2022.
Check out the dates in my calendar.
We started a crowdfunding to finance the production of our new musical album „Origins“. Our own resources are almost exhausted by the Corona crisis and yet we felt the need to take this big step with "Origins". Let's make this step bigger together!
click here for the English version
click here for the German version
We’re all getting tired of video streams. This one from Concertgebouw Brugge though is special, bringing together that beautiful English polyphony music (Tallis, Sheppard, Morley, Weelkes) and the visual experience of a truly connected ensemble. available to watch until the 27th of June 2021.
The streamed concert of Reinhard Keiser’s Brockes Passion, performed by The Netherlands Bach Society at the Zaterdagmatinee in the Concertgebouw van Amsterdam, is still online.
This year’s lent will be filled with passion music again. I’m thankful to be part of three different productions, albeit only streamed.
Bach’s St. John Passion from the dome of Ratzeburg (photo)
Reinhard Keiser’s Brockes-Passion from the Concertgebouw Amsterdam (Netherlands Bach Society)
Bach’s St. Matthew Passion from the Concertgebouw Amsterdam (Collegium Vocale Gent)
