programme
Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) Un soir de neige
Rudolf Escher (1912-1980) Le vrai visage de la paix
Ton de Leeuw (1926-1996) Elégie pour les villes détruites
Orlando di Lasso (1532-1594) Sacrae lectiones ex propheta Iob
Francis Poulenc Figure humaine
performers
Cappella Amsterdam
Daniel Reuss conductor
background
To contain a further outbreak of the coronavirus, the Dutch government, in consultation with the RIVM, has extended the ban on events and gatherings until June 1, 2020. The safety of our visitors and choir singers takes precedence above all. The Figure humaine concerts by Cappella Amsterdam have been canceled.
In Figure humaine, Francis Poulenc a poignant portrait of humanity yearning for freedom, enduring the horrors of World War II — the terrible war that ended exactly 75 years ago in 2020. Paul Eluard wrote the texts featured in Figure humaine with the aim of encouraging resistance.
Rudolf Escher’ s Le vrai visage de la paix is also based on texts by Paul Éluard, depicting the freedom won that marks a new beginning for all human life. However, unfortunately, humanity forgets. Di Lasso portrays an old, forgetful man in his Sacrae lectiones ex propheta Iob. This forgetting can be disastrous. Elégie pour les villes détruites sings of the destroyed cities of this earth — a shocking reality that continues to exist even after World War II.Even after World War II, unfortunately, this is still a staggering reality.