Between heaven and earth

When the splendour of Baroque sound meets contemporary expressiveness: in the LES CONCERTS series, the Zürcher Sing-Akademie and Orchestra La Sctintilla once again deliberately combine music from past centuries with contemporary works, thereby opening up new perspectives for listeners: between heaven and earth.

HEAVENLY RICHNESS OF SOUND

At the heart of the programme are two impressive sacred works by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. His Magnificat, composed in Leipzig in 1749, combines festive splendour, virtuosic choral passages and an extraordinary intensity of expression. It reveals Bach as an independent and bold composer who carries on his father’s tradition whilst simultaneously breaking new ground. The later Heilig was enthusiastically received by his contemporaries – with its radiant double choir and visionary richness of sound, it ranks among the most impressive sacred compositions of the 18th century.

WORLD PREMIERE

Between these two masterpieces, the world premiere of Michael Ostrzyga’s ‘Take Me to You’ for a cappella choir will be performed. The work is based on the harrowing farewell letter of the shipwrecked Tjark Evers, who tragically lost his life in the North Sea in 1866, and creates an intimate, moving counterpoint to Bach’s festive soundscape. The multi-award-winning German composer Ostrzyga is also an experienced conductor and knows the ‘instrument’ of the choir inside out. Like few others, he creates a musical language that is entirely his own – highly original yet accessible, exciting and moving.

BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH

With the Zürcher Sing-Akademie and the historically informed Orchestra La Scintilla under the baton of Florian Helgath, the works of Bach and Ostrzyga unfold into a multi-layered concert evening between heaven and earth – between hope and despair, the earthly realm and the transcendent, human finitude – and musical exaltation.

KLANGKREIS: 6.20 pm

CONCERT INTRODUCTION: 6.45 pm