Vox Luminis / L’Achéron
Schütz / Legrenzi / Kerll
Through the darkness to the light
Their name is their programme: French Baroque ensemble L’Achéron is named after one of the mythical rivers of the underworld. And the members of the ensemble are committed to connecting worlds: the world of the living and the world of the dead, past and present, dream and reality. Tonight’s concert given by L’Achéron together with the Belgian vocal ensemble Vox Luminis is entirely dedicated to this idea.
The programme features works by the Baroque composers Heinrich Schütz, Giovanni Legrenzi und Johann Kaspar Kerll, all of which focus on the subjects of death and the hereafter. Schütz’s »Seven Words of Jesus Christ« portray Christ’s death on the cross with musical gestures as sparing as they are vivid.
Giovanni Legrenzi’s »Dies irae« is an impressive depiction of the Last Judgement. And the last piece on the programme, Johann Caspar Kerll’s Requiem, brings the evening to an almost intimate close: the composer, who enjoyed wide fame in his lifetime, wrote it by his own admission »to help my soul find peace«. L’Achéron and Vox Luminis bring these Baroque masterpieces to life with a sound rich in nuances and immaculate ensemble playing.
Performers
L’Achéron gamba consort
Vox Luminis vocal ensemble
Programme
Heinrich Schütz
Die sieben Worte Jesu Christi am Kreuz SWV 478
Giovanni Legrenzi
Sonata a 4 / aus: La cetra op. 10
Dies irae, Prosa pro mortuis
– Interval –
Johann Kaspar Kerll
Missa pro defunctis (Requiem)
Subscription
Das Alte Werk