The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir embarks on a collaboration with Europe’s leading baroque orchestra, Concerto Copenhagen, under the direction of Tõnu Kaljuste, to present a program of works by Arvo Pärt and Georg Friedrich Händel to audiences at major events in Estonia and in many parts of Europe. Arvo Pärt’s work will be recorded with the same cast and released by the Berlin Classics label.
The concerts will be held in Estonia on August 25 in Tartu St Paul’s Church as part of the main programme of the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024, and on September 2 as a kick-off to the Arvo Pärt Days in Tallinn’s St John’s Church, organised by the Nargenfestival. Next year, a tour of various European venues awaits.
The concert programme Pärt & Händel creates a musical bridge between different eras, combining the sounds of the 18th century with the most influential music of today. For a long time, the orchestra and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir have been planning to perform, alongside early music, the works of Arvo Pärt, whose first works for tintinnabuli were inspired by early music and also premiered on historical instruments.
According to Nikolaj de Fine Licht, managing director of Concerto Copenhagen, this collaboration has been a long time coming. About the programme, he says: “One might ask, what do Pärt and Händel musically have in common. Musically speaking, the
answer is: nothing. But perhaps both composers, in all their differences, are seeking the divine? Händel is almost the incarnation of ornamentation and virtuosity, Pärt is precisely the absence of all that. Where beauty lies is for audience to judge.”
For the first time, Concerto Copenhagen interprets Arvo Pärt’s works on period instruments, he said, which allows the discovery of new soundscapes in the composer’s deep and multilayered oeuvre. „It has always seemed to me that Arvo Pärt actually wrote many of his works for baroque strings. Now we can begin this exciting journey of discovery with Tõnu Kaljuste and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir,” says Nikolaj de Fine Licht.
For over thirty years, Concerto Copenhagen has embarked on a journey of discovery, exploring music from the Baroque, Viennese Classical, and Early Romantic periods with historical awareness and unwavering commitment. Today, Concerto Copenhagen stands as a leading light in its field, both nationally and internationally. Under the musical direction of Lars Ulrik Mortensen, Concerto Copenhagen combines a methodical approach to historical material with artistic originality and a continual evolution in performance style and delivery. This ensures that the music is brought to life in a process of dynamic renewal and remains relevant to contemporary audiences. Since its inaugural concerts in 1991, Concerto Copenhagen has released multiple internationally
acclaimed albums and participated in hundreds of concerts, opera productions, as well as soundtrack and video productions around the world. With a repertoire that combines more familiar European music with lesser-known works of Scandinavian origin and new music, the orchestra celebrated its 30-year anniversary in 2021 and was subsequently nominated for P2 Artist of the Year 2022. In 2023 the orchestra received the great acknowledgement of being adopted on the Finance Act 2024.
Read more about the orchestra: concertocopenhagen.dk
25 August 2024, at 18 St Paul’s Church, Tartu – the concert belongs to the programme of Tartu
2024, the European Capital of Culture.
2 September 2024 at 19 St John’s Church, Tallinn – the opening concert of Pärt Days
Program:
Arvo Pärt: „Silouans Song“ for string orchestra
„Trisagion“ for string orchestra
„Stabat Mater“ for mixed-choir and string orchestra
Georg Friedrich Händel: Concerto Grosso Opus 6 No. 5 in D Major
„Dixit Dominus“ for solisoists, choir and orchestra
Tickets in www.piletilevi.ee
Ticket 30 €
Ticket for students / pensioners 20 €
Ticket for two 50 €
Supporter’s ticket 100 € (including reserved seat, booklet and a gift)