The festival, which will run from April 5th-19th, will see churches all around Brno play host to performances of spiritual classical music. Tickets are on sale today for all of the performances. Photo credit: Filharmonie Brno.
Brno, Feb 24 (BD) – The Easter Festival of Sacred Music, in its 29th year this year, is one of Central Europe’s most distinctive classical music festivals. This year, the festival will continue with its tradition of championing historically neglected works, whether they have been concealed by the sands of time or because the composer in question was unjustly silenced. Another tradition that will continue will be the presentation of a new work specially commissioned for the festival, this year composed by Martin Smolka. However, the proximity of the most important Christian festival of Easter remains the key dramaturgical starting point for program director Vladimír Maňas, based around this year’s theme of Light / Illumination.
The festival will begin on Palm Sunday, April 5th, with the Czech premieres of French late romantic works by Henri Tomasi and Marcel Dupré, performed by Filharmonie Brno with the Brno Philharmonic Choir, and conducted by Jaroslav Kyzlink. Highlights of the program include the complete cycle of Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa’s “Responsories”, completed in 1611, which will be played over three nights at the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady on Jezuitská and performance of the vocal ensemble Cappella Mariana from Prague.
The festival will conclude on Sunday April 19th with a performance of Beethoven’s Mass in C major by Filharmonie Brno, in the Church of “Svatého Jakuba”. This choice of work is to mark the 250th anniversary of the artist’s birth, but this composition also has a long tradition of association with Brno. The original printed score has been preserved in the parish of St. James, from where the choir director Leopold Streit conducted the mass in its Brno premiere in 1826. The soloist Petr Nekoranec is one of the top singers of the young generation.
Tickets for all the performances are on sale now from the Filharmonie Brno store on Besední (Mon-Fri 1-7pm) and the House of the Lords of Lipé on náměstí Svobody (Mon-Fri 8am-6:30pm), or online at the Filharmonie Brno website. Ticket start at CZK 240.
