Miserere hominibus

Cordula Bürgi, conductor

PHACE
Doris Nicoletti, flute
Walter Seebacher, clarinet
Francesco Palmieri, guitar & theorbo
Tina žerdin, harp
Olivier Marin, viola d’amore
Roland Schueler, cello
Alexandra Dienz, double bass

Cantando Admont
Friederike Kühl, soprano
Hannah Dienes-Williams, soprano
Elina Viluma-Helling. mezzosoprano
Cornelia Sonnleithner, alto
Terry Wey, countertenor
David de Winter, tenor
Hugo Paulsson-Stove, tenor
Thomas Köll, tenor
Artem Paches, baritone
Michael Hickman, baritone
Uli Staber, bass

Cristobal de Morales’ Lamentations on the Lamentations of Jeremiah, composed for the liturgy of Holy Week, combine rigorous contrapuntal artistry with an extraordinary depth of expression. Characteristic is Morales’ ability to translate the deeply emotional text of lament into a musical language that is simultaneously characterized by clear order and intense inner tension. The alternation between dense polyphony and transparent, almost meditative passages allows pain, abandonment, and sorrow to emerge with great poignancy. The music possesses an extraordinary beauty and, at the same time, a remarkable, graceful austerity. In contrast, Klaus Huber’s Miserere hominibus (2005/2006) for seven voices and seven instrumentalists stands as one of the most impressive works of liturgical music of the 20th century. In it, a multifaceted sonic language unfolds, reaching equally for this world and the next. Intense, shattering tutti passages contrast with conciliatory, tranquil moments of captivating beauty and tenderness. It is music that radically brings the cry for mercy into the present. The interplay of the two works makes clear how musical lament shifts over the centuries: from ritualistic order to an existentially and politically charged appeal.

Programm

Cristobal de Morales
Lamentationen (ca. 1530) for 6 voices

Klaus Huber (1924-2017):
Miserere hominibus for 7 voices and 7 instrumentalists (2005/06)