THE 21st INTERNATIONAL SACRED MUSIC FESTIVAL / POULENC. MARTIN. EŠENVALDS

State Choir LATVIJA

Conductor Stephen Layton (England)

PROGRAMME:

Francis Poulenc “”Four Motets””, Frank Martin “”Mass””, Ēriks Ešenvalds “”The Sun Dogs””

On the evening of the 25th of August in Riga’s St. Peter’s Church, the State Choir Latvia will host its special reunion with world-famous conductor Stephen Layton (Great Britain). Stephen Layton is one of the world’s greatest performers of choral music as a two-time Gramophone Awards prizewinner, a Diapason d’Or ECHO Klassik prizewinner, and a four-time Grammy nominee. For his concert with the State Choir Latvija, the conductor has chosen works by composers of which his performances have gained critical acclaim – the programme will include Francis Poulenc’s sacred music masterpiece Quatre Motets pour un temps de pénitence, Frank Martin’s magnificent Mass for Double Choir, and Ēriks Ešenvalds’ 2007 triumph The Sun Dogs.

The roots of the Sacred Music Festival can be found in 1998, when the State Choir Latvija first organised a festival with the goal of enriching the cultural life of Riga and renewing the spiritual position of society. The Sacred Music Festival introduced genre diversity to the festival movement in Latvia, drawing attention mainly to the performance of vocal-symphonic works and a cappella pieces.

Tickets to the festival’s concerts are available at Biļešu paradīze box offices throughout Latvia, as well as online: www.bilesuparadize.lv

More about the festival: https://koris.lv/festivals/