30.11.25 Seville – Spain

COLLABORATION CONCERT WITH PROYECTOELE, CARLOS CANSINO (CONDUCTOR)

Place: Fundación Tres Culturas del Mediterráneo.
Pabellón Hassan II, C. Max Planck, 2, 41092 Sevilla, Spain

Program

Encuentro Coral brings together two vibrant artistic forces from different corners of Europe: proyectoeLe (Seville, Spain) under the direction of Carlos Cansino, and Lassenne Vocale (Brussels, Belgium) led by Ivan Yohan. United by a shared commitment to contemporary choral expression and bold artistic exploration, the two ensembles offer a journey through contrasting sound worlds, from Renaissance austerity to immersive soundscapes, from poetic introspection to socially charged contemporary works.

proyectoeLe opens the evening with a program that highlights their characteristic sonic curiosity and emotional range. Matthew Whittall’s Lauantaisauna evokes meditative Nordic atmospheres, followed by Debussy’s intense and harmonically adventurous Dieu! Written nearly a century later, Knut Nystedt’s Immortal Bach reimagines Bach’s chorale Komm, süßer Tod through overlapping temporal layers, creating a timeless, floating texture. José Manuel “oC” Gil’s Contemplación continues this reflective spirit with an intimate contemporary idiom, before Jaakko Mäntyjärvi closes their set with the lively, theatrical incantations of Double, double toil and trouble, inspired by Shakespeare’s witches.

Lassenne Vocale then presents a program rooted in expressive contrasts and timbral richness. Robert Ramsey’s O vos omnes offers a poignant example of English early-Baroque melancholy, while Ludo Claesen’s Ad te levavi brings clarity and luminous modern counterpoint. Damijan Močnik’s Acclamatio shifts the atmosphere entirely with its rhythmic vitality and ritualistic intensity. Brahms’s Letztes Glück from the 5 Gesänge Op. 104 offers late-Romantic warmth and introspection, followed by the Baltic stillness and spiritual simplicity of Pēteris Vasks’ Mãte Saule. The set concludes with Eric Whitacre’s With a lily in your hand, a harmonically radiant setting of Federico García Lorca.

To close the concert, both ensembles join forces for two works that reflect the creative identities of their conductors. Carlos Cansino’s setting of Greta Thunberg’s 2019 speech at the UN transforms a defining moment of contemporary activism into a charged musical statement—urgent, direct, and deeply resonant. Ivan Yohan’s Negros fantasmas then brings the program to a powerful conclusion, blending rhythmic drive with atmospheric color to weave a sound world that draws from cultural memory and narrative intensity.

This collaboration celebrates not only the distinctive voices of both ensembles but also the shared spirit of innovation that connects them. Together, proyectoeLe and Lassenne Vocale invite the audience into a dialogue of cultures, eras, and artistic visions—an evening where choral music becomes a bridge across borders, imagination, and time.

Proyoectoele

ProyectoeLe is a vocal ensemble with electronic accompaniment, dedicated to the performance of contemporary music, improvisation, and sound art in general. It presents shows of various kinds as well as sound interventions in different spaces.

In 2002, with the dawn of the new millennium, a group of young people began meeting occasionally in the city of Seville to study and explore contemporary music, improvisation, and electronics. Shortly after, it became a stable ensemble, essentially vocal in nature, which now celebrates 12 years of activity, with around twenty different shows and three recordings: Origen, Paisajes Sonoros, and Chansons. The key, we believe, lies in the enthusiasm that each of us in proyectoeLe puts into the work, along with the shared desire to contribute to today’s musical and artistic scene with performances that are diverse, impactful, visually engaging, sonically impeccable, and, above all, contemporary.

Admittedly, it is an elusive term, since our work includes: choral sonorities, vocal games, phonetic poetry, improvisation, experimentation with theater or performance, as well as the execution of works expressly conceived for amplified voices and live electronics. The most beautiful part of this journey has been finding ourselves in a virgin territory, scarcely explored in our surroundings, which has allowed us to embark on a creative endeavor with a high degree of experimentation, while also offering new composers a solid ensemble ready to take on all kinds of challenges.

The original formation, made up of 15 singers, was under the artistic direction of José Manuel Gil until 2009, when Carlos Cansino and Ainara Estívariz took over. The group has also collaborated with guest conductors and composers on various projects, including Jesús Villa-Rojo, Michael Thomas, Nacho Rodríguez, Ignacio Torner, and Marcos Jara.

Carlos Cansino, conductor

Carlos Cansino Pérez is a Spanish percussionist and conductor, renowned for his innovative work in contemporary choral music. He has been the artistic co-director of the vocal ensemble ProyectoeLe since 2009, a group based in Seville that merges choral singing with electronic music, improvisation, and performance art .

Cansino Pérez studied at the Conservatorio Superior “Manuel Castillo” in Seville and has been involved with the Orquesta Joven de Andalucía (OJA) . He has also worked at the Conservatorio “Francisco Guerrero” in Seville.

Under his direction, ProyectoeLe has produced several albums, including Origen (2005), Paisajes sonoros (2009), and Chansons (2013). The ensemble has performed at various festivals and venues, such as the Oerol Festival, Zwarte Cross, and the Grachtenfestival, among others.

In 2022, ProyectoeLe celebrated its 20th anniversary by releasing a series of five music videos based on works by Swedish composer Arne Mellnäs.

Cansino Pérez’s work continues to explore the intersection of music, technology, and performance, contributing to the evolution of contemporary choral music in Spain.