Symphonies – Vratsa with a spectacular Easter concert “Composers and faith: Between the earthly and the heavenly”

On April 26, at 7:00 p.m., the outstanding music of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov – “Russian Easter: Overture on Liturgical Themes”, op. 36 and Gabriel Fauré – Pavana, op. 50 and “Requiem”.

The brilliant soloists: Kristina Oltean (soprano), Petar Danailov (baritone) and together with the Symphony-Vratsa under the baton of Ivan Iliev, will transport us with the impressive program of the concert “Composers and Faith” between the Earthly and the Heavenly.

Tickets for the exceptional musical event on 26.04 at 7:00 p.m. in the city concert hall are now on sale in the “Mushroom” next to the “Hemus” building.

Petar Danailov (Baritone) (Source: Symphonies – Vratsa)

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844 – 1908) was a Russian composer, pedagogue, conductor, public figure, music critic, member of the Mighty Five – a creative association of composersthe zitors Balakirev, Mussorgsky, Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov and Cui. His overture “Russian Easter: Overture on Liturgical Themes” is a unique work for Russian symphonic music. Rimsky-Korsakov himself gives a detailed description of the work in “Chronicle of My Musical Life”:

“The very long slow introduction of the Easter Overture on the theme ‘Rise God’, alternating with the church theme ‘An angel cried’, seemed to me at first like a prophecy of the ancient Isaiah about the resurrection of Christ… the trumpet solemn archangel’s voice alternated with the sound production to a joyous, almost dancing peal of bells, alternating with the reading of the gospel. The common theme, “Christ is Risen,” which is the second theme of the overture, appeared amid the trumpet voice and peal of bells, also forming a solemn conclusion.”

Maestro Ivan Iliev (Source: Symphonies – Vratsa)

The composer, organist, pianist and pedagogue – Gabriel Fauré is among the bright representatives of the French musical culture of the second half of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. The elegant piece Pavana, Op. 50 was created in an orchestral version in 1887, with the composer subsequently adding an invisible choir to accompany the orchestra.

Requiem, Op. 48, D minor is one of Gabriel Fauré’s most famous and performed works. The composer worked on this work from 1887 to 1900, creating three original versions. In Vratsa, on 26.04, we will hear the second (in 7 parts, 1893), for mixed choir and chamber orchestra with the addition of 2 bassoons, 2 horns and 2 trumpets. It is believed that the reason that prompted the composer to create a requiem was the loss of his parents, as well as the composers Liszt and Frank, who had a strong spiritual influence on him. But the composer himself claimed in his letter that his motive was purely creative. The lyricism and intimacy that the music brings embody in sound his idea of ​​recreating from beginning to end the belief in eternal rest.

Municipal Choir “Gena Dimitrova” – Pleven, with conductor Diana Ruseva (Source: Symphony – Vratsa)