programme
Pēteris Vasks (1946) The Fruit of Silence (arr. Peter Vigh for saxophone quartet and choir)
Lera Auerbach (1973) 72 Angels (selection)
Pēteris Vasks (1946) Actus Caritatis (a cappella)
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) From Jewish Folk Poetry, Op. 79: No. 3, Lullaby (arr. Max Knigge)
Peter Vigh (1987) Seven years and three weeks – the flight of Leo and Bella Adler
performers
Cappella Amsterdam
Daniel Reuss conductor
Berlage Saxophone Quartet
Jan Brokken recitation
background
With The just, based on the book of the same name by Jan Brokken (1949), we bring you the story of Dutch consul Jan Zwartendijk who put his life on the line for the freedom of others. Zwartendijk is savior of thousands of lives, of Polish Jewish men, women and children who fled to Lithuania and desperately sought a way out of Europe. He issued visas that allowed Jews to travel, on the Trans-Siberia Express, from Lithuania through the Soviet Union to Vladivostok, on to Japan and on to America, Shanghai and other countries, saving them from the Holocaust.
An impressive story that will also address the rescued Leo Adler and his wife Bella Hamburg who reached New York after a six-year flight, but remained homesick for their native continent and language.
Through readings by Jan Brokken, woven into music for choir and saxophone quartet, we experience in this through-composed concert how the good deeds of one person can save thousands of lives.
Photo: Cappella Amsterdam performs The just (2022)
Photographer: Milagro Elstak
