Programme:
Anton Bruckner - Te Deum; Psalm 150
Georg Friedrich Händel - Overture from Music for the Royal Fireworks;
The Coronation Hymns: No. 1 "Zadok the Priest", No. 2 "Let Thy Hand Be Strengthened", No. 4 "My Heart is Inditing";
"Hallelujah" from the oratorio "The Messiah";
One of the most prominent prestigious and representative ensembles in Lithuania, the Kaunas State Choir is celebrating its 55th birthday!
Founded in 1969 by professor, laureate of the National Prize for Culture and Art Petras Bingelis, the choir has performed more than 4,500 concerts in its 55 years of creative activity, and has amassed a vast repertoire ranging from simple folk songs to sophisticated vocal-instrumental opuses. Two hundred and seventy works belonging to the treasure trove of world classical music alone, while the repertoire of smaller works already includes more than 700 pieces. The choir pays special attention to the works of Lithuanian composers, and performs several premieres each year. The discography of the choir includes over 60 recordings of works by Lithuanian and foreign composers. Thanks to its exceptional sound quality and high level of craftsmanship, the choir has quickly gained international recognition: it has performed in such renowned venues as the Pleyel in Paris, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, and the Accademia di Sant'Cecilia in Rome; and has appeared with more than 30 of the world's most famous symphony orchestras, including those of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, the Leipzig Gewandhaus, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Since 2021, the Kaunas State Choir, under the leadership of Artistic Director and Principal Conductor, Professor, laureate of the National Prize for Culture and Arts Robert Šervenikas, has prepared an exceptional gift for its fans on the occasion of its 55th birthday. The concert will accompany the solemn anthems of George Frideric Handel with two outstanding works by Anton Bruckner. This year marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of this Austrian Romantic genius. The Te Deum, composed by the mature composer while he was still alive, has become a hugely popular and frequently performed work. After one of the concerts, at which Gustav Mahler himself conducted the performers, he crossed out the reference on the score to 'for choir, orchestra, organ and soloists' and wrote in his own hand, 'for the voices of angels, for those seeking God, for hearts that yearn and souls that are cleansed by fire'. The composer himself called the Te Deum "the pride of his life". The other work of the evening, Bruckner's Psalm 150, was composed for the opening of the International Music and Theatre Exhibition in Vienna in 1892, but the composer did not manage to finish the work in time. Nevertheless, this psalm calling to praise God has become one of the most outstanding works of its time, and is still relevant today.