However, he turned Hölderlin’s endgame on its head: the worlds of men and the gods do intersect, or how would the earthly mother mourn the death of the godly boy?

The mourning of a mother could not have been captured more profoundly and beautifully than in Stabat Mater. This wonderful medieval hymn is one of the texts most frequently set to music, moving almost 600 composers to write musical interpretations. Dvořák’s oratorio is a monumental piece of work comprising ten movements performed by soloists, a mixed choir and a full orchestra.

Music historians believe Dvořák to have been influenced by such great compositions as Brahms’s German Requiem, Verdi’s Requiem and Liszt’s Christus oratorio. It is worth noting that Church music in the Romantic age - particularly that of Brahms and Dvořák - was not only a personal pronouncement of faith, but also an opportunity to reflect on music history. The past as generally depicted by Brahms and Dvořák is a golden age that, if it cannot be brought back, should be given the fondest possible farewell. It is perhaps precisely this musical gesture that makes the dignity of Schicksalslied and Stabat Mater so close and so human.

Date and time: 15 April 2014, 7.30 pm - 10.00 pm
Venue: Bartók Béla National Concert Hall
Address: 1095 Budapest, Komor Marcell utca 1.

Brahms: Schicksalslied, op.54
Dvořák: Stabat Mater, op. 58

Conductor: Gergely Vajda

Prices: 2000, 2800, 3600, 4200, 5000 Ft

Source: Palace of Arts