ABOUT THE WORKS
8 + 9 MAY
MISSA SOLEMNIS IN D MAJOR, OP. 123 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 to 1827)
Friday 8 May 2020 / 7:30PM Saturday 9 May 2020 / 7:30PM Jack Singer Concert Hall Showcase
Beethoven: Missa Solemnis SPONSORS + SUPPORTERS Guest Artist Supporter: Naomi + John Lacey Virtuoso Programme Chorus Supporter: Borak Forte Programme Conductor Couturier: Umberto Custom Tailors Ltd.
PROGRAMME Rune Bergmann, conductor Erin Wall, soprano Susan Platts, mezzo-soprano John Tessier, tenor Robert Pomakov, bass Calgary Philharmonic Chorus Cantaré Children’s Choir Beethoven Missa solemnis in D Major, Op. 123 I. Kyrie II. Gloria III. Credo IV. Sanctus V. Agnus Dei Please note there is no intermission during the performance. Programme and artists subject to change without notice
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81'
In June 1819, it was announced that Beethoven’s friend and patron Archduke Rudolph of Austria would become Archbishop of the Moravian city of Olmütz (Olomouc). The installation ceremony was to take place in Cologne Cathedral in March of the following year. Although Beethoven received no official commission to compose music for the occasion, his close friendship with Rudolph inspired him to do so anyway. He first made a thorough study of existing church music, from Gregorian Chants and the works of Palestrina, to the Passions of Bach and the Masses of Haydn. The summer of 1819 found him deeply immersed in the creation of the new Mass. When his friend Anton Schindler visited him at his house in Mödling, he found the composer — by then completely deaf — in a disheveled and grumpy state, growling out his themes as he worked them through. Such behaviour testified to the many kinds of turmoil that were besetting him. His finances were shaky, and his health, poor. His difficult relationship with his nephew Karl, whom he had taken as his ward, was causing him a great deal of distress. His creative activities were a further cause of woe. Symphony No. 9 was stalled in mid creation, and he had reluctantly set it aside for the time being. The new Mass itself was taking shape but slowly. His desire to produce a “true” piece of church music, thereby, in his own words, “awakening religious feelings and making them lasting in both singers and listeners,” quickly caused it to grow, in both size and complexity, far beyond his original plans. This led him to have serious doubts about his ability to finish it in time for Rudolph’s installation as Archbishop. That summer, he finished the two opening movements in their
Rune Bergmann biography on page 7 Calgary Philharmonic Chorus biography on page 8
