LAST PAGAN CEREMONIES IN WATER TANKS

BRONIUS KUTAVIČIUS The Last Pagan Rites, oratorio for soprano, choir, organ and horns Cantiléna, children's choir at the Brno Philharmonic Choirmaster Michal Jančík When Moravian Autumn presented the oratorio The Last Pagan Rites by Lithuanian composer Bronius Kutavičius in 2017, the concert was described as one of the biggest events of the entire festival year. In 2021, Moravian Autumn presented the work again in an extraordinary way, as a tribute to the composer, who died shortly before the festival opened. Even then, the performance was met with great interest. The audience success and the enthusiasm of the children's choir Kantiléna for performing this work made The Last Pagan Rites a permanent program item of the Moravian Autumn and Tradition: the work was again presented with great interest and success in 2023 and is also planned for 2025: this time, however, for the first time in a recently discovered and made accessible architectural gem - in Brno's historical reservoirs, whose acoustics and almost temple-like architecture will undoubtedly enhance the effect of this suggestive oratorio by Kutavičius and offer it in a new context.