programme
Arvo Pärt (*1935) Kanon pokajanen
performers
Cappella Amsterdam
Daniel Reuss conductor
Endrik Üksvärav conductor (Bad Gandersheim, Haarlem, Enschede)
background
Arvo Pärt has been the most performed living composer in the world for several years running. However, his monumental Kanon Pokajanen (1997) for four-part choir has been rarely heard—until Daniel Reuss and Cappella Amsterdam took it on. A previous performance at the Muziekgebouw in 2015 was a great success, and the CD recording received 5-star reviews and an Edison Klassiek award. Pärt poured his deeply spiritual quest for forgiveness into magnificent music, seemingly made for the golden voices of Cappella Amsterdam.
With seemingly simple means, Pärt creates a vast richness of sound possibilities in Kanon Pokajanen, from the thunderous opening to monophonic recitatives and voluptuous chords A canon is a hymn from Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and the Kanon Pokajanen is the canon of penance. Pärt composed the work for the 750th anniversary of Cologne Cathedral and dedicated it to Tõnu Kaljuste and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, who premiered it in the Cathedral in 1998. Cappella Amsterdam is starting a new tradition by performing Kanon Pokajanen annually.
about
Conductor Endrik Üksvärav (Estonia, 1980) has received recognition for his work on concert stages both in Estonia and abroad. His repertoire ranges from baroque to the most challenging works of contemporary composers. He has a special fondness for Estonian composers, including the country’s most renowned composer, Arvo Pärt.
He has participated in conducting masterclasses with Neeme Järvi, Jorma Panula, Eri Klas, and Paavo Järvi. Besides Estonia, he is also active in various countries across Europe, particularly in the Netherlands. In 2018, the King of the Netherlands awarded Endrik Üksvärav a medal from the Order of Orange-Nassau.
