ConcertPulse
Forum musicum - Ein vielsprachiger musikalischer Dialog
Gewandhaus Leipzig, Mendelssohn-Saal (Leipzig)
Empfohlen ab 10 Jahren
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What traces do wars leave on the music of the time? The Hathor Consort, a viol ensemble of to which harp, organ and cornett are added, joins forces with soprano Dorothee Mields to look for echoes of the Thirty Years’ War in the works of composers who witnessed this catastrophic period in European history. With his »Trostgedichten in Widerwertigkeit deß Kriegs«, the poet Martin Opitz wrote an influential treatise of edification in the midst of this fierce conflict that claimed the lives of around a third of the population. The composers of the age attempted to process the deep trauma of violence, hunger and utter defencelessness through their music. This programme brings together four musical witnesses of the time:Heinrich Schütz, Samuel Scheidt, Andreas Hammerschmidt and Heinrich Albert. The acclaimed Hathor Consort focuses mainly on Renaissance and Baroque music, but it regularly combines this with music from other cultures as well as with contemporary works. Dorothee Mields likewise focuses entirely on Early Music, and her clear and intimate soprano is regarded as one of today’s top voices in the field of historic performing practice.
No other musician combines works from bygone eras with a topical message to such powerful effect: Jordi Savall – viola da gamba player, conductor, musicologist and star of the early music scene. His new programme »War and Peace« is a diverse musical fresco that evokes an age of battles and ceasefires, starting with the outbreak of the Thirty Years’ War in 1618 and ending with the Peace Treaty of Aix-la-Chappelle in 1748. »The emotion of the music linked here to the historic events allows us, perhaps, to see everything in a new light,« says the Catalan conductor, who was named UNESCO »Artist of Peace« in 2009. Savall is travelling to Hamburg not only with a wealth of great music, but also with his early music instrumental ensembles Hespèrion XXI and Le Concert des Nations, and his ten-strong vocal ensemble La Capella Reial de Catalunya. On their search for the authentic sound of the age, they play music from the 17th and 18th centuries. The orchestras are complemented by four musicians from Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey, who enrich the music with oriental sounds. However, the concert comes to a close with Arvo Pärt’s prayer for peace »Da pacem Domine«, which he composed in 2004 in memory of the victims of the Madrid bombings.