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BEETHOVEN / EASTMAN - An oratorio concert with music by Ludwig van Beethoven / Julius Eastman
"From the heart - May it go again - to the heart" - This year marks the 200th anniversary of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis. This monumental work was considered so demanding that at its first performance in Vienna on May 7, 1824, only three movements were performed: the Kyrie, the Credo and the Agnus Dei.
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Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche
The Sing-Akademie zu Berlin commemorates the creation of what is probably the most famous mass in Western art music by performing these three movements and combining them with the music of another outstanding composer, whose works were once considered ingenious and sophisticated and are now being rediscovered.
The African-American composer Julius Eastman (1940-1990) is celebrated as a pioneer of minimal music and the Black Lives Matter movement. His compositions combine apparent opposites: serial abstraction and deep emotionality, spiritual music and queer performance art. Eastman died 33 years ago, homeless and forgotten in New York.
- Hanna Herfurtner (soprano)
- Olivia Vermeulen (messoprano)
- Volker Arndt (tenor)
- Davóne Tines (baritone)
- Singing Academy in Berlin
- Berlin Singing Academy State and Cathedral Choir Berlin Chamber Symphony Berlin
- Musical direction: Kai-Uwe Jirka
- Program & scenic design: Christian Filips
Works performed:
- Prelude to the Holy Presence of Joan d'Arc - Julius Eastman
- Kyrie from the Missa Solemnis - Ludwig van Beethoven
- The Holy Presence of Joan of Arc - Julius Eastman
- Credo from the Missa Solemnis - Ludwig van Beethoven
- The Lord has given, the Lord has taken - Julius Eastman
- Agnus Dei from the Missa Solemnis - Ludwig van Beethoven
- O Love, into thy bosom let me rest in peace - Julius Eastman
