On May 4th, there are often concerts for the Remembrance of the Dead. We have also recorded those more than once.
On May 4th, the Second World War is commemorated, both the military and humanitarian suffering. On that day, there are often concerts related to the Second World War, or that revolve around war and death in general.
In this program, we will hear two relatively short concerts for the Remembrance of the Dead. The first concert dates back to 1986. The generations who had experienced the war were still alive, and the Remembrance of the Dead was therefore a living memory. We will hear Poulenc’s Gloria, a light and carefree piece with which, it seems, the end of the war is mainly celebrated.
23 years later, in 2009, heaviness predominates. In this concert, we will hear music from two composers who were gassed in Auschwitz. And what is more: they wrote this music in Theresienstadt, the last stop before the extermination camp! Not that the very last music of Pavel Haas and Viktor Ullmann sounded fundamentally different from what they wrote in freedom. But these poignant, melancholic sounds hit us even harder when we know where and how they came about…
As a third piece, we will play a concert that has nothing to do with the Second World War, but everything to do with commemorating the dead. We will hear no less than two sixteenth-century requiem masses. This concert was recorded in 2007 in the Great Church of Wijk bij Duurstede. Not a huge location. Those who were at this beautiful concert were lucky. You can be lucky too, if you listen to this music with us.
Playlist:
1. Francis Poulenc – Gloria
2. Pavel Haas – String Quartet No. 3
3. Viktor Ullmann – The Lay of Love and Death
4. Filipe de Magelhães – Asperges Me
5. Tomas Luís de Victoria – Requiem
6. Duarte Lôbo – Requiem
Encore:
7. Salomone Rossi – Psalm 128 and 100
