The St. John Passion by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt will open the 32nd Easter Festival of Sacred Music this Sunday. The renowned French ensemble Les Traversées Baroques, which specialises in the enlightened interpretation of Baroque music, will also be visiting the festival for the first time.
"We've added tickets for fifty more seats, so anyone interested still has a second chance," says director of the Brno Philharmonic Marie Kučerová. The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to John will bring the Martinů Voices ensemble to the festival for the first time and will also celebrate Pärt's 90th birthday. "It is one of the composer's most popular works and one of the most performed Passion pieces. Upon hearing the first notes, tens of thousands of new listeners feel that this music resonates in their hearts and refreshes their souls," said music publicist Wanda Dobrovská. The Easter Festival of Sacred Music takes place from 13 to 27 April 2025.
This year, the festival will feature the renowned French ensemble Les Traversées Baroques, specialising in the enlightened interpretation of Baroque music. "They will treat us to Marc Antonio Ziani's evocative and haunting sepolcro La Morte vinta sul Calvario. "Five soloists, led by mezzo-soprano Dagmar Šašková, will perform the story of Christ's Passion. More than the plot, however, it is about drawing the audience in to give them an intense experience," said festival dramaturg Vladimír Maňas. He also drew attention to the Spanish Renaissance Vespers concert. It will feature the little-known but beautiful music of Diego Ortiz, specifically Vespers from his collection Musices liber primus. Twenty musicians and eight singers of the More Maiorum ensemble, led by Jakub Kydlíček, will offer a hugely varied experience. "People will hear instruments such as a shawm, a dulcian and a cornett," added Maňas.
For a change, one of this year's concerts will take place outside a church - in the Besední dům. It will feature the Luboš Šrámek Trio, which will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of jazz great Oscar Peterson by performing his Easter Suite. "This is a distinctive nine-movement interpretation of the St John Passion, in which everything is illustrated by the melodic runs and very different characters of the individual movements. The composition is not written down in sheet music and is largely based on improvisation," said musicologist Petr Mečkovský.
Hopelessly sold out, the Tenebrae will take place over three nights in all three of the Water Tanks under Žlutý Kopec and will offer various forms of chant, including scenic elements. Christoph Mantoux's organ concert and the final concert, featuring the Brno Philharmonic with Josef Špáček under the baton of Finnish conductor Anna-Marie Helsing, are also sold out. Helsing will return to Brno in October to open the Moravian Autumn festival with her BBC Concert Orchestra.
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