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Polyphonia Khoros is primarily a chamber choir and its a cappella repertoire includes Baroque, Classical, Romantic and modern erudite pieces. But it is also an eclectic group that presents complete works for choir and orchestra, choir and pipe organ, choir and piano, and participates in opera editing. Its repertoire also includes Brazilian popular music and folklore set for choir, with special attention to composers and folklore from Santa Catarina.
Polyphonia Khoros was born from the initiative of conductor Mércia Mafra Ferreira to carry out a work of excellence. Through the Instituto Polyphonia, a non-profit organization, the choir has since 2000 promoted the practice and appreciation of vocal music, forming singers and wide audiences.
Polyphonia Khoros made its debut in 2001, at the IX Oficina de Música de Itajaí (Santa Catarina). Since then, the choir has made annual tours of Santa Catarina, Brazilian capitals and concerts in Buenos Aires and Montevideo. Also annually, Polyphonia performs different a cappella repertoires and sacred works for choir and orchestra such as J.S. Bach's Johannes-Passion (BWV 245) and Magnificat (BWV 243) (2010 and 2005 respectively), George Frideric Handel's Messias (2007), Haydn's Creation (2008) and L.v. Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 (2007, repeated in 2009 and 2011), in partnership with the Camerata Florianópolis orchestra.
Although it transits between different genres, the main work of Polyphonia Khoros is in the a cappella repertoire, where the conductor Mércia Mafra Ferreira shows her musical interpretation entirely through the voices of the members, preferring to interact with the privileged acoustics of churches. The choir's traditional repertoire includes Ronaldo Miranda's Três Cânticos Breves on poems by Fernando Pessoa, Motets by Bruckner and Paul Hindemith's Six Chansons on poems by Rilke.
Polyphonia is also a group of intense operatic activity, having been the official choir of the Festival Aldo Baldin between 2002, when it debuted in the production of Madame Butterfly, and 2009. In 2004, in addition to several tours around the state, the choir participated in the Grande Concerto Lírico, at the opening of the Festival Nacional Aldo Baldin. Also in 2004, the conductor Mércia Mafra Ferreira became, in addition to being the preparer of the choir, the artistic director of these operas. Since 2010, Polyphonia acts as part of Cia Ópera Santa Catarina. The choir's opera repertoire includes, among others, Georges Bizet's Carmen, Cavalleria Rusticana and La Traviata.
In 2010, the choir produced an independent montage of A Flauta Mágica in a version for choir, piano, soloists and narrator, in an initiative to introduce the opera genre to countryside cities, especially to children and teenagers. In the same spirit, Polyphonia took, in 2010 and 2011, an introduction of choral music to public schools in Florianópolis, in addition to frequent Christmas concerts in the communities' churches.
The choir's eclecticism allows it to encompass not only the renowned repertoire but also contemporary music, interpreting pieces by composers such as Ronaldo Miranda and Ricardo Tacuchian, from Rio de Janeiro. Polyphonia is a choir receptive to new composers, having premiered works by composers based in Santa Catarina.
Polyphonia Khoros is considered one of the most important vocal groups in Santa Catarina. Among its main achivements, can be highlighted in 2001 the tour Música Sacra nas Igrejas, in eight cities in the state. In 2002, the choir toured six cities in Santa Catarina with Camerata Florianópolis and participated in the opera Madame Butterfly by Puccini. This was followed by apprances in the Capital, with Camerata Florianópolis, performing Alberto Heller's Oratório de Natal. Participation in the recording and release concert of the CD "Memória Musical Catarinense", by Camerata Florianópolis. In 2003, the choir performed two tours in twenty cities in the state, alternating works by composers from Santa Catarina and composers from the 19th and 20th centuries for a cappella choir. |
