Estimated duration

1 h 45 min., incl. intermission

Organizer

Suomalaisen barokkiorkesterin kannatusyhdistys ry

Det Norske Solistkor returns to the series Top European Choirs! The main works of the concert are real treats from the Baroque choral repertoire: Dixit Dominus by Georg Friedrich Händel and Te Deum by Marc-Antoine Charpentier. The Norwegian choir and the Finnish Baroque Orchestra (FiBO) are conducted by Justin Doyle, the artistic director of RIAS Kammerchor Berlin and former guest professor of early music at the Sibelius Academy.

Georg Friedrich Händel wrote his psalm composition Dixit Dominus (1707) in Rome when he was 22 years old. Händel had worked at the opera in Hamburg before he travelled to the Papal states, and his music is full of creative power. Opera wasn’t allowed in Rome, but the stark words of the Psalm, describing victory over an enemy, take on a striking and majestic form. Dixit Dominus is among the finest of Händel’s works and also one of the most demanding for the choir.

Charpentier’s most well-known work Te Deum (1692) is recognised by anyone who has seen the Eurovision Song Contest or broadcasts by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The overture became the EBU’s anthem immediately after the work was rediscovered in 1954. Charpentier is among the grand masters of the French Baroque. Te Deum celebrated a war victory and alternates between choir movements, sparkling with wind instruments, and delicate solo passages.

The concert programme also features Antonio Vivaldi’s concerto for strings (RV 114).

In its series Top European Choirs, FiBO has invited notable international choirs to join in concerts since 2022. The Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation supported the series during 2023-2025. This is the last concert of the series.

The pre-event will take place from 2 to 2.30 pm in the main foyer of the Musiikkitalo, at the café end.