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Alfred SCHNITTKE (1934-1998):
Lento 1 allegro from Piano Sonata No.1
Concerto for Choir
György KURTAG (°1926):
Versetto : Temptavit Deus Abraham+ (Apocryphal organum)
An apocryphical hymn+ (in the style of Alfred Schnittke)
György LIGETI (1926-2006):
Automne à Varsovie
Lux eterna
L’escalier du diable
Jan Michiels _piano_
*Collegium Vocale Gent*
Kaspars Putnins _conductor_
Alfred Schnittke once said that he did not create music but merely listened, like a medium, and let others hear the sounds from the ‘world beyond’. The _Concerto for Choir_ is a prime example. Even in Soviet Russia, the sense of ‘something larger’ transcending our existence motivated Schnittke to set the medieval Book of Lamentations. Its unusually rich and compelling tonal language makes it one of the most powerful cycles in the choral literature. Ligeti’s iconic _Lux aeterna_ will provide an unreal upbeat!