Friday, 11/8/2024
at 8:00 PM


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„Libera Me“ — In farewell to Jörg Straube, the Bachchor sings works by
Donizetti and Verdi

On November 8th and 9th, the Bachchor will perform for the last time under the direction of Jörg Straube, before Christian Rohrbach takes over the baton for the Christmas concerts. For his final two concerts, the choir director has selected special works by two Italian opera composers, which are both dramatic and moving: the Requiem by Gaetano Donizetti as well as the “Quattro Pezzi Sacri” and the “Libera Me” by Giuseppe Verdi.
Gaetano Donizetti was, with about 70 composed operas, alongside Gioacchino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, the superstar of Belcanto, the “beautiful singing” in 19th-century Italian opera. He composed his grand Requiem in 1835 for his prematurely deceased friend and artistic rival Bellini. Thus, Donizetti's Requiem stands chronologically exactly between the Requiem compositions of Mozart and Verdi, and is indebted to the famous model of Mozart, while also anticipating the drama of Verdi. The endless melodic arcs and refined instrumentation showcase Donizetti’s mastery in Belcanto. His Requiem is a fascinating work that deserves more frequent performances. By the way, it was performed in June 2020 in the cemetery of his birthplace Bergamo in a moving concert in memory of the victims of the first wave of Corona, which hit Bergamo particularly hard.
The “Quattro Pezzi Sacri” is a collection of four sacred works published in 1898, composed by Giuseppe Verdi in his last decade of life. Thus, they serve as his musical legacy. While the “Ave Maria” and the “Laudi alla Vergine Maria” are simple pieces for a cappella choir, the “Stabat Mater” and the double-choir “Te Deum” evoke the sound world of Verdi's monumental Requiem with their massive orchestration. And just like there, the range of the music spans from archaic influences in Gregorian chant and old masters like Palestrina to the highest late Romantic drama.
The concert will be rounded off by the “Libera Me,” the final movement from Verdi’s Requiem, which recaps numerous highlights like a “Best of,” including the famous syncopated drum beats of the “Dies irae.”
(Robert Waltemath)

(c) Nils Ole Peters

Admission: 19:15 Uhr

Event data provided by: Reservix

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