The main theme of this year’s 25th International Festival is Heart/Refuge. The festival will feature nine concerts in Brno churches, three of them at night by candlelight. The programme includes works by Antonín Dvořák, Petr Eben or František Xaver Richter, whose oratorio La deposizione dalla croce di Gesú Christo will premiere in the Czech Republic. Some of the performers include the Brno Philharmonic, Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava, French choir Discantus, the Czech Philharmonic in Brno, Czech Ensemble Baroque, Ensemble Opera Diversa and Marek Eben as a reciter.
The opening concert featuring the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava under the baton of its chief conductor Heiko Mathias Förster will present infrequently played works by Miloslav Kabeláč, Luboš Fišer and a song cycle by Jan Hanuš Dřevěný Kristus (Wooden Christ). Other special concerts will include the oratorio La deposizione dalla croce di Gesú Christo by František Xaver Richter performed by the Czech Ensemble Baroque, which will premiere in the Czech Republic, and a performance of the female choir Discantus from France. The festival will take place from 20 March to 3 April in selected churches in Brno.
The festival programme director Vladimír Maňas explained the topic of the jubilee event: "A five-year series of Easter Festival of Spiritual Music with motifs of movement and pilgrimage concludes the return to absolute internality in the 25th anniversary event. This time, the festival is characterised by the motifs of a labyrinth, searching for lost sheep, and return. With reference to the symbol of the heart - refuge, primarily compositions with ties to the Czech lands are played during the festival."
The Director of the Brno Philharmonic Marie Kučerová said about the festival: "This year’s theme is turning to home, the symbolism of the heart as a refuge. Therefore, there will be a lot of music associated with the Czech lands ranging from the Middle Ages to the 21st century. The audience can enjoy the works of Czech modern authors, Richter’s Descent from the Cross (Snímání z kříže), complete Zelenka’s lamentations and responsories in the dark hours of the Jesuits, Easter chants from antiphonaries of Elizabeth Richeza of Poland in the Old Brno Basilica, and at the end at the Foerster’s symphony Great Night (Veliká noc) and Dvořák’s Te Deum. Guests in Brno will include the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra, the excellent French ensemble Discantus, reciter Marek Eben, conductors Heiko Mathias Förster and Libor Pešek, singing and playing will be the Czech Philharmonic in Brno, Czech Ensemble Baroque, Ensemble Opera Diversa and, of course, the Brno Philharmonic. Therefore, there will be plenty of experiences."
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