Arvioitu kesto

1 h

Järjestäjä

Taideyliopiston Sibelius-Akatemia

So, What Is Love?

The theme of love as the central concept of this concert arose naturally, as it is one of the most important aspects of every person’s life. We all long to feel loved and cared for, and at some point in our lives, each of us has loved or been in love. This led me to reflect on how the theme of love has been expressed in music across different eras, and on what each composer sought to convey or teach us about it.

In this concert, the impossible becomes possible as four great masters of Western European music history, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Claudio Monteverdi, Johannes Brahms, and Olivier Messiaen, come together, expressing through their music the most subtle shades and nuances of love.

The program opens with Palestrina’s Viri Galilaei, which conveys deep gratitude for the Lord’s resurrection and ascension into Heaven, while also promising eternal life to humanity. The concert then turns to the inner torment of unattainable love, a theme present both in Brahms’s Vier Gesänge, Op. 17 and Monteverdi’s Hor che ’l ciel e la terra. It is fascinating to observe how the same artistic idea is shaped and expressed across different musical eras. As the final work, Messiaen’s surreal and divinely erotic Cinq Rechants is presented, reminding us of the irresistibly powerful and primal force of love.

Program

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c. 1525–1594) Six‑voice a cappella motet Viri Galilaei (Eng. Men of Galilee) Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) Vier Gesänge, Op. 17 for women’s choir, harp, and two French horns Claudio Monteverdi (c. 1567–1643) Madrigal Hor che ’l ciel e la terra (Eng. Now That the Sky and the Earth) for six voices with instrumental accompaniment Olivier Messiaen (1908–1992) Cinq Rechants (Eng. Five Refrains) for twelve voices a cappella Performers

Performers

  • Sibelius Academy vocal ensemble Vokis
  • Women’s choir Aiolis
  • Harpist Onofre Lapiedra Casades
  • French horn players Chloe Matthews and Matīss Lektauers
  • Early Music musicians Anna‑Mari Ablouch (baroque violin), Julia Vasileva (baroque violin), Teuvo Taimioja (theorbo), Dávid Szilasi (portable organ), and Risto Kytö (viola da gamba).
  • The concert is conducted by Goda Marija Guzauskaitė, under the guidance of Prof. Nils Schweckendiek.

Changes are possible.

Additional information: Arturo Alvarado, arturo.alvarado@uniarts.fi