ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
PHILIPPE HERREWEGHE
Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827):
Ouverture “Die Weihe des Hauses” op.124
Chorphantasie op.80
Elegischer Gesang op.118
Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt op.112
Missa in C op.86
Genia Kühmeier _soprano_
Elisabeth Kulman _alto_
Maximilian Schmitt _tenor_
Krešimir Stražanac _bass_
*Collegium Vocale Gent*
Orchestre des Champs Elysées
Philippe Herreweghe
The under-rehearsed first performance of the _Mass in C_ was a failure, and Prince Nikolaus Esterhazy II, who had commissioned Beethoven to write it, wrote “Beethoven’s mass is unbearably ridiculous and dreadful. I am furious and ashamed”. However, the deeply religious Beethoven’s focus was not superficial display, but rather the emotionally charged text of the mass itself. Emotional depth and immediacy characterise this seldom-performed masterwork, seemingly created for the concert hall!