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Stage Classical
On Sept. 10, 2023, Cappella Amsterdam and Holland Baroque conducted by Daniel Reuss performed Herman Finkers’ work Benedictus in a broadcast of Podium Klassiek. Herman Finkers (*1954) is a Dutch cabaret performer, songwriter, singer, screenwriter and actor. In the episode, Finkers talked about the composition of this mass, and Cappella Amsterdam and Holland Baroque perform some of the parts.
Missa Sancti Georgii
On the occasion of his wedding on June 15, 1990, he composed a classical mass for organ and choir, the Missa Sancti Georgii. Or in other words, the Mass of St. George. Although intended only for that one day, with family and friends as audience members, the piece was picked up more widely and added to the repertoire by several choirs in the Netherlands. Since that wedding day in 1990, it has regularly been performed somewhere. This resulted in several versions for choir and musical ensemble, with the conversion of the organ part to various third-party instruments. A first CD recording appeared in 1992, with the Valerius Ensemble and the Vocal Ensemble Exicon. Gradually, the need grew for Finkers to create his own instrumentation entirely and replace some excerpts. In 2023, the Missa received its final completion in a version for choir, strings, oboe, harp, pipe organ and harpsichord, in a performance by Cappella Amsterdam and Holland Baroque, conducted by Daniel Reuss.
The accessible written work, with its mixture of various styles, takes its name from the St. Georgius Basilica in Almelo, where the wedding blessing took place in 1990.
The scores can be found and downloaded from Herman Finkers’ website: hermanfinkers.net.
Program
Herman Finkers (*1954) Benedictus
performed by
Cappella Amsterdam
Holland Baroque
Daniel Reuss conductor
