programme
Ton de Leeuw (1926-1996) Prière
Arvo Pärt (*1935) And I heard a voice
Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998) 3 Sacred Hymns
Pēteris Vasks (*1946) Mīlas dziesmas (Love Songs)
Pēteris Vasks Zīles ziņa (The Message of the Titmouse)
Krists Auznieks (*1992) Song of Myself (world premiere)
Adjusted program in Maastricht:
In addition to And I heard a voice, Arvo Pärts Prayer after the canon; and instead of Mīlas dziesmas and Zīles ziņa: Pēteris Vasks’ Pater Noster.
performers
Cappella Amsterdam
VU Chamber Choir
Krista Audere conductor
Maartje van de Wetering lecture (Maastricht and Flushing)
Maaike Martens lecture (Amsterdam and Utrecht)
Pepijn Cladder director
background
In a love letter, one reveals oneself in the most intimate way, initially not meant for others to see. Love letters not only express the writer’s affection for their beloved but, above all, they reveal the writer themselves. Conductor Krista Audere (1989) was given free rein and curated a program that explores all aspects of love. This includes love for another person, love for her homeland Latvia, love for God, and self-love.
Dutch actress Maartje van de Wetering or Maaike Martens (depending on the concert date) will read unique confessions from both famous and everyday letter writers. Correspondences between Abélard and Héloïse, Fernando Pessoa and Ofélia Queiroz, Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, Johnny Cash and June Carter, Beethoven to his “immortal beloved,” and Hildegard von Bingen to a deeply cherished God will be interwoven with music by Ton de Leeuw, Alfred Schnittke, Pēteris Vasks, and a special commission for young Latvian composer Krists Auznieks (1992).
'I have experienced Krista Audere on several projects and, impressed by her skills, decided to offer her a 'carte blanche.' Coming from the choral mecca of Riga, she has inherited Baltic choral culture with her mother's milk.'