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The Zwols Vocaal Ensemble (= ZVE) was founded in 1986 by conductor Mertien Hovestad. The choir strives for a high technical level of singing. Good voice quality and 100% commitment are required from the approximately 32 members, who are all amateurs.
The repertoire of the ZVE is very diverse. It consists of works by composers from the early Renaissance to the 20th century. The choir has a great affinity with English church music. Composers such as Tomas Tallis and Benjamin Britten regularly return to the repertoire. The ZVE has presented a number of fascinating programs, including concerts with titles such as Musica Iberica (Spanish Renaissance), The Bach Family (a program around J.S. Bach), The Coronation Anthmens by George Frideric Handel, the Magnificat (BWV 243) by J.S. Bach. The choir has also sung several Requiems, including those by John Rutter, Maurice Duruflé, Gabriel Fauré and Magnus Lindberg (with a big band).
Once every three years the choir makes a concert trip abroad. In 1994 and 1997 the choir visited England and sang Evensongs in the cathedrals of Ely and York. In 2002 and 2005 the trips went to Germany. In 2008 the choir was in Denmark for the first time and in October 2011 they visited England again. This concert trip was dedicated to the ZVE's 25th anniversary. Two evensongs were sung in Ludlow and Shrewsbury and a total of 5 concerts were given. The last concert trip dates back to October 2014, when a visit was made to Sweden. There they took part in the international choir festival in Lund. In the autumn of 2017, a concert trip was made to Dresden and the surrounding area.
The choir is always up for special projects. For example, in November 2004 the ZVE gave a concert of G. Fauré's Requiem with the participation of a youth orchestra consisting of, among others, students from the Meander College in Zwolle, where Mertien Hovestad was a music teacher at the time. The level of the orchestra was astonishingly good. On November 25, 2006, the choir performed G.F. Handel's Dettingen Te Deum and W.A. Mozart's Coronation Mass. Again accompanied by an orchestra consisting of young people. On May 20, 2006, the choir sang a program with choral works by Johannes Brahms and the Swedish composer Stenhammar. |
