Madrigalchor Wins Bavarian Choral Competition
On November 12, 2026, the Madrigalchor der Hochschule für Musik und Theater München performed its program titled »Missa« in Munich, Klassik begeistert reported.
The concert took place just days after the choir won in the mixed choirs category with 32 or more participants at the Bavarian Choir Competition in Bamberg on November 8, 2026. Reviewer Frank Heublein described the performance as displaying top-level precision, strong volume, and perfect choral unity across a nearly 100-strong ensemble.
The program combined an ordinary and a proper from the Catholic mass liturgy featuring compositions from multiple eras. Works performed included pieces by Josef Gabriel Rheinberger, Frank Martin, and Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, alongside contemporary compositions.
The evening’s repertoire featured a diverse selection of sacred and secular vocal works spanning several centuries. The nearly 100-member choir performed most pieces, while a smaller specialized formation handled Palestrina’s Credo from the »Missa Papae Marcelli«.
That smaller grouping consisted of six male bass and tenor voices alongside three female soprano and alto voices each. Conductor Martin Steidler led the ensemble through dynamic shifts and expressive phrasing.
The complete performance order included Rheinberger’s Kyrie from »Cantus Missae«, Martin’s Gloria from »Messe pour double choeur«, Gottfried August Homilius’s motet »Seid fröhlich in Hoffnung«, and Peter Cornelius’s »An den Sturmwind«. The program also featured Josep Vila i Casañas, Knut Nystedt, Ola Gjeilo, and Owain Park, closing with Wastl Fanderl’s regional piece »Kimmt schö hoamli die Nåcht« as an encore.
Following its success in Bamberg and the Munich performance, the choir is preparing for an international exchange. The Madrigalchor will travel to visit its partner choir in the United States in March 2027.
During the Munich concert, a choir member appealed to the audience for financial donations to support the upcoming trans-Atlantic journey. Listeners interested in the ensemble’s previous work can also view and hear its performance of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion online via YouTube.