2023-09-06 15:23:35
In fantastic late summer weather, 17 shepherd children with their adult artist colleagues and supervisors practiced again this week in the Soderkaser on the Loferer Alm for the Advent singing in the Festspielhaus. The piece “Fear not” will be performed, which is now being rehearsed for the third time, but has still not had its premiere
The overall director of Advent singing, Hans Köhl, wrote this piece for the 75th anniversary in 2021. It should be performed for the first time in 2020. The children started rehearsing. In October, however, all events had to be canceled due to the second corona wave. In the anniversary year 2021 they tried again. “We were all set, including the costumes. The stage design in the Festspielhaus was ready. Then, surprisingly, we were locked down again on the Monday before the premiere.” In 2022, everyone involved would have needed a new piece. So they performed “Snow in Bethlehem”. The premiere of “Fear Not” is now on December 1st. There are around 34,000 tickets for the 17 performances, around 80 percent of which have been sold. Seats can be reserved online via the Advent Singing website.
For the 17 shepherd children between the ages of eight and 14, the days on the alp are a time of intensive work. Köhl says it’s amazing what the children can do during this time on the Alm, when they are completely focused on rehearsals and are together around the clock. “They learn from each other. The experienced help the newcomers.”
We owe the days on the Alm to Georg Dürnberger. When Köhl took over the Advent singing in 2000, he wanted the shepherd children to get to know shepherd life on an alpine pasture. Many came from the city, and had no idea. Köhl was advised to talk to Dürnberger, who had rebuilt the Kaser in 1998. The construction in the Canadian style with logs was new on the Alm, but has fully proven itself due to the better insulation. The shepherd children have been rehearsing there since 2002. This year, the mood is a bit gloomy, especially among adults, because Dürnberger died unexpectedly on Christmas Eve 2022, shortly after his 70th birthday. It was a heavy blow for the big family and for all of Lofer. This year, Köhl discussed everything with Dürnberger’s daughter Bettina.
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