VERDI'S REQUIEM

The earth is going to shake beneath us when we turn up the volume on Verdi's dramatic Requiem in the concert hall! Giuseppe Verdi is probably the most famous (opera) composer ever to come out of Italy. He created brilliant melodies, had an innate feeling for the human voice and was an unsurpassed storyteller in music. It is said that "Verdi wrote wonderfully for choir – and in return he wrote fabulously for orchestra"! And against that background his spectacular Requiem Mass from 1874 has been described as "Verdi's best opera". It was written in memory of a deceased author whom Verdi greatly esteemed, and his music has an aim that is as dramatic as it is religious. Prepare yourself for music that contains raw and brutal themes, heavenly atmosphere, heart-rending human fates, homage to God, dread of purgatory and the flames of Hell, suppressed trembling, screaming fear and heartfelt prayers for comfort and salvation – for the deceased as well as for the living. It is – not unlike death itself – dramatic, but also liberating as hell. For almost 60 years Kaunas Statskor has been one of Europe's most prestigious vocal ensembles. The choir has performed all over the world with great choral works such as Beethoven's 9th, Carmina burana, Handel's Messiah and works by Mahler, Penderecki and Shostakovich. In Odense we most recently had Kaunas Statskor as guests in 2013 for a performance of precisely Verdi's Requiem. Programme: Verdi: Requiem

• Dirigent: Christian Kluxen
• Kor: Kaunas Statskor
• Margrethe Fredheimsopran
• Sophie Haagenalt
• Bror Magnus Tødenestenor

LISTEN TO MUSIC BY THE CONCERT'S COMPOSERS