Hungarian National Choir

2 May 2020, Saturday
7:30 pm — 10 pm

    Gretchaninov: Vespers - excerpt
    Levente Gyöngyösi: Missa Quinque Auctorum - Gloria
    Lajos Vass-Paul Verlaine: Nocturne
    György Orbán-Sándor Weöres: The Key to Secrets
    György Orbán-Sándor Weöres: Tree Swing
    Tormis: Curse upon Iron - with shaman drum and voices
    Orff: Carmina Burana

For decades, one of Hungary's most outstanding professional choirs has worked with unbroken intensity under the direction of leading choir masters, and is well-versed in all areas of the choral literature. While they work symbiotically with an orchestra which forms an essential part of their oratorical evenings, their independent concerts are memorable as well.
Along with many of its other attributes, the Hungarian National Choir demonstrates its versatility as it takes the stage at Müpa Budapest as the Ensemble of the Season. Under the direction of conductor Csaba Somos, it will perform a capella compositions in the first half of the evening, while the concert's grand finale, this time with accompaniment from the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Zsolt Hamar, will be one of the 20th century's most popular oratorical works. The programme forms a colourful palette which allows the choir to demonstrate its proficiency in many areas.
The music of Russian late Romantic composer Alexander Gretchaninov, who emigrated to France at the beginning of his life and later to the United States, guides us into the world of Russian orthodox liturgical music. The works of Levente Gyöngyösi and György Orbán represent the fruits of Hungary's most popular contemporary choral composers, while Lajos Vass' finely composed Nocturne evokes the taste of Hungarian followers of Kodály from past decades. The musical adaptation of Kalevala by Estonian Veljo Tormis brings the barbarous sounds of prehistory to the halls of Müpa Budapest, while an erotic love hymn by Carl Orff is a suggestive confrontation with the rhythm-driven 'archaic modernity' of the first half of the 20th century.

Conductor: Csaba Somos, Zsolt Hamar

Featuring:

soprano    Kinga Kriszta
tenor        István Horváth
baritone    Csaba Szegedi

Hungarian National Philharmonic