25th International Sacred Music Festival | KRISTA AUDERE
Venue:
State Choir LATVIJA
Diriģente Krista Audere
Gertruda Jerjomenko, harpsichord
Kārlis Catlaks, clarinet
Ēriks Kiršfelds, cello
Guntis Kolerts, double-bass
Program:
Music by J.S. Bach, Johannes Brahms, F. Mendelssohn , Agris Engelmanis and Olivier Messiaen
On August 27th at St. Peter’s Church in Riga and August 28th at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Liepāja, the State Choir LATVIJA and Netherlands-based Latvian conductor Krista Audere, winner of the 2021 Eric Ericson Award for choral conducting, will perform sacred motets by the master of choral polyphony Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, and Felix Mendelssohn, interspersed with the works of Agris Engelmanis and Olivier Messiaen for solo instruments.
Bach’s motets were generally written in memory of the deceased, but their loftiness and sublime comfort encourage us to think of death as a heavenly delivery from suffering. We will hear J.S. Bach’s longest motet, Jesu meine Freude, which is imbued with a longing to meet Jesus, as well as Komm, Jesu, komm, the gentleness of which sends us a message of spiritual shelter. Meanwhile, the motet for double choir Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied recharges the audience with its lively joy and witty interplay between the two choirs — it’s no wonder this motet was loved by Mozart.
Brahms’ motet Warum ist das Licht gegeben with its relentless rhythms and warmth of feeling asks fateful questions on life and suffering, while Mendelssohn’s motet Herr, nun lässest du deinen Diener in Frieden fahren raises people’s spirits towards eternity.
Riga Cathedral Choir School alumna Krista Audere is the conductor of the VU-Kamerkoor and Kamerkoor Venus, and is regularly engaged as a guest conductor of the Netherlands Chamber Choir, the Netherlands Radio Choir and Cappella Amsterdam. In the 2022/23 season, she has engagements with leading European choirs such as RIAS Chamber Choir, the Swedish Radio Choir, the MDR Leipzig Radio Choir, the Bavarian Radio Choir, the Helsinki Chamber Choir, the Danish National Vocal Ensemble, the Choeur de Radio France and the BBC Singers.
