RE:ZONANS — FINAL CONCERT

Resonance begins where one movement causes the next. It can be a trembling of matter, but also an inner reflex: a sensation, a thought, an emotion—any experience that, once set in motion, leads us to something deeper. Resonance is also a metaphor for connection, coexistence, spiritual harmony, a beautiful example of which is the musical sacrum.

Anton Bruckner's Deum is one of the composer's most personal works. The deeply religious creator, who understood his talent as a gift of God, called it “the pride of his life.” In this five-part hymn of praise, based on the Latin text Te Deum laudamus, the choir and orchestra act as equal forces. From the powerful opening in C major to the final confession of “Thee, Lord, I have trusted”, music becomes an adoration, a prayerful plea, and finally an expression of boundless faith in the power of God's justice.

While Bruckner's sacrum is expressed in monumental pomp, in Kilar simplicity, focus and frugality become the medium of expression. His Te Deum, composed for soloists, mixed choir and orchestra, is not only a hymn of praise, but also a personal thanksgiving — a piece dedicated to the memory of Barbara's wife. The composer, for whom writing music was a form of prayer, combines the Latin text of the hymn with transparent texture, repeatability of structures and motifs, and increasing climaxes. Contemporary music is created, but at the same time rooted in the old order; full of humility and at the same time inner strength and light.

The program will be complemented by songs for a cappella choir — music that grows out of centuries-old liturgical practice and community singing, showing at the same time the continuity of the spiritual tradition: from the Renaissance polyphony of the anonymous Adoramus and the song Already Twilight by Wenceslas of Szamotuł, through Bruckner's motets, in which the chant and the old polyphony They are intertwined with romantic emotionality, to the contemporary Lobet den Herrn vom Himmel her by Peter Planyavsky.

Photo by Nikolaus Netzer