Bavarian Radio Chorus and Symphony Orchestra with Sir Simon Rattle
Saturday, 6 March 2021 | Herkulessaal of the Residency Munich | 9.30 pm
Programme
Henry Purcell [1659–1695]
Funeral music of Queen Mary
for chorus and instrumentalists
Georg Friedrich Haas [*1953]
in vain
for 24 instruments [2000]
Munich premiere
performers
Zoro Babel, light design
Bavarian Radio Chorus
chorus master: Howard Arman
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
rehearsal conductor: Duncan Ward
Sir Simon Rattle, conductor
about the Programme
At the end of the 17th century Henry Purcell, the organist of the Chapel Royal, was given the task of writing a funeral piece for the recently deceased young Queen Mary II, a piece capable of doing justice both to the political ramifications of this event and to the feelings of the mourning nation. Is it absurd if Sir Simon Rattle proclaims precisely this work to be a masterpiece of the 21st century, a work that pursues no other aim than to express in sound the vanity and ephemerality of existence? But there is more: Georg Friedrich Haas, with in vain, has created an extravagant, even excessive composition that adheres to no standards or norms. He leads us through day and night, through heights and depths, through extremely slow and maniacally fast soundscapes, but always inscribing a circle. Every earthly effort is doomed to failure, but what a failure it is! Experiences of lowliness and sublimity lie close together in this timeless hour. The music unites the urge to overwhelm with extreme moments of motionlessness. As in the Baroque Era, but with modern-day resources, Georg Friedrich Haas has fashioned a piece that reminds us how tiny the human being is – and how beautiful music can be.
Concert Photos
Sir Simon Rattle conducts Henry Purcell's Funeral music of Queen Mary
Performance of Henry Purcell's Funeral music of Queen Mary at the Herkulessaal in Munich
Sir Simon Rattle during Henry Purcell's Funeral music of Queen Mary
Singers from the Bavarian Radio Chorus
Funeral music of Queen Mary by Henry Purcell with the BR Chorus and Sir Simon Rattle
Sir Simon Rattle conducts in vain by Georg Friedrich Haas for 24 instruments
Christian Pilz from the BRSO
BRSO viola player Giovanni Menna
Sir Simon Rattle conducts in vain by Georg Friedrich Haas
Harpist of the BRSO Magdalena Hoffmann
Impressions from the rehearsals
Sir Simon Rattle during the rehearsals of Georg Friedrich Haas' in vain.
Sir Simon Rattle conducts the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
Musicians of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
Duncan Ward rehearsing Georg Friedrich Haas' composition in vain.
BRSO cellist Hanno Simons
Accordionist Konstantin Ischenko
Sir Simon Rattle during rehearsals
NO LIVE AUDIENCE until March 28, 2021
On March 3, 2021, the Federal Chancellor and the heads of government of the federal states decided to extend the lockdown until March 28, 2021, among other measures to contain the corona pandemic. On this basis, the Bayerischer Rundfunk is forced to cancel the concerts of its orchestras, choir and musica viva with live audience until March 28, 2021.
