Church music from the Baroque to modern times | Philippe Herreweghe & Collegium Vocale Gent

Enjoy some highlights of spiritual choral and organ music from the Baroque to the modern era. The Collegium Vocale Gent under the direction of Philippe Herreweghe performs motets, mass movements and organ pieces by Monteverdi, Bruckner, Pärt and Messiaen. On the organ: Maude Gratton. The concert took place on September 22, 2020 at Saint Bavo’s Cathedral Ghent.

(00:00) Coming on stage
(00:22) Arvo Pärt: Annum per annum
(09:09) Claudio Monteverdi: “Kyrie” from Missa a quattro voci da cappella
(12:55) Anton Bruckner: Locus iste
(15:43) Claudio Monteverdi: “Sanctus-Benedictus” form Missa a quattro voci da cappella
(16:17) View of Jan van Eyck's “Adoration of the Mystic Lamb”
(17:12) View of the Ghent altarpiece
(19:24) Claudio Monteverdi: “Agnus Dei” from Missa a quattro voci da cappella
(21:59) Anton Bruckner: Os justi
(26:19) Arvo Pärt: For Jan van Eyck
(29:12) Olivier Messiaen: Dieu parmi nous

Maude Gratton | ORGAN
Philippe Herreweghe | CONDUCTOR
COLLEGIUM VOCALE GENT
Annelies Brants | SOPRANO
Magdalena Podkascielna | SOPRANO
Joowon Chung | SOPRANO
Cécile Pilorger | ALTO
Alexander Schneider | ALTO
James Hall | ALTO
Tore Denys | TENOR
Benedict Hymas | TENOR
Vincent Lesage | TENOR
Jimmy Holliday | BASS
Robert van der Vinne | BASS
Bart Vandewege | BASS

This concert is not dedicated to a great musician, but to a great painter, with selected church works from the early Baroque to modern times. The Collegium Vocale Gent under the direction of Philippe Herreweghe sings in Saint Bavo’s Cathedral Ghent, where the world-famous monumental altar by the van Eyck brothers stands with its central painting “Adoration of the Mystic Lamb”.

In 2020, the first year of the Covid pandemic, the Belgian city of Ghent celebrated the Flemish master of the late Middle Ages Jan van Eyck (born around 1390-1441). A commission in his honor went to the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. His work “For Jan van Eyck” was inspired by the 18 biblical scenes on the altarpieces. Pärt studied the music of the Middle Ages extensively. He wrote his well-known mystical organ work “Annum per annum” (Year by Year) in 1980 for the 950th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone of Speyer Cathedral. This five-part work refers to the sequence of the Holy Mass, which includes Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus and Agnus Dei. It is played at the opening of the concert.

“Kyrie”, “Sanctus-Benedictus” and “Agnus Dei” are taken from the four-part mass “Missa a quattro voci da cappella” by Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643). The Italian composer is considered the “inventor” of opera and wrote world-famous vocal works. His “Missa a quattro voci da cappella” was published posthumously in 1650 in a collection of spiritual music. The exact year of composition is unknown.

Two works by Anton Bruckner are on the program: his Latin motets “Locus iste” (This place), in C major and “Os Justi” (The mouth) in the church key of “Lydian”. He composed the four-part motet “Locus iste”, in 1869 for the inauguration of the votive chapel in the “Mariä-Empfängnis-Dom” in Linz, where he worked as organist for 10 years. It is a “gradual” prayer that is sung after the first reading in the Catholic liturgy. Today, this simple piece of music is very popular with choirs. Ten years later, he composed his motet “Os justi” with Gregorian chants. Bruckner himself played the organ at the premiere in 1879.

Arvo Pärt’s world premiere “For Jan von Eyck”, the penultimate piece in this concert, is actually intended for 40 singers and organ. However, due to Covid restrictions in 2020, the founder and director of Collegium Vocale Gent, Philippe Herreweghe, had to make do with twelve singers, meaning he only had three singers for each voice part, which presented a particular challenge for the choir.

Olivier Messiaen’s “Dieu parmi nous” (God among us) is the last movement of the organ work “La Nativité du Seigneur” (The Birth of the Lord) from 1936. This part of the “nine meditations” once again summarizes the stages of Jesus’ life from his birth to the resurrection and concludes the concert.

© 2020 Evil Penguin

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