programme
Fawaz Baker Que le néant
Komitas Vardapet (1869–1935) Excerpts from the Divine Liturgy (arr. Vache Sharafyan)
performers
Cappella Amsterdam
Sousan Eskandar violin
Modar Salama percussion
TBC oud
TBC narrator/soloist
Krista Audere conductor
background
Classical Audience Award and the VSCD Ovation, as well as Cantigas (2023 and 2026) and alBahr (2021), Cappella Amsterdam returns with a concert set at a crossroads of cultures, where ancient traditions meet contemporary stories. The program features, among others, Sephardic and Aramaic music, as the choir and renowned musicians from the Middle East explore intercultural themes of belonging and memory.
Mare Nostrum seeks out connections between music from the countries surrounding the Mediterranean. For centuries, not only goods but also art and music have been exchanged across these waters. The origins of both Arabic and Western classical music are closely intertwined. At the heart of the program is the powerful composition Que le néant by Syrian composer Fawaz Baker, commissioned by Cappella Amsterdam. This profound work—previously performed in Aleppo—depicts the inner landscape after loss: of a city, a home, a time.
Alongside Que le néant, the program features music by Komitas Vardapet (1869–1935), an Armenian priest, ethnomusicologist, and composer who preserved traditional Armenian chants during a period of major cultural upheaval. His Divine Liturgy, in an arrangement by Vache Sharafyan, reflects the spirit of an ancient spiritual practice that has withstood the test of time.
