Pannon Philharmonic

Conductor

Soloist

Ágnes Kovács

soprano

Zoltán Gavodi

alt (kontratenor)

Dávid Szigetvári

tenor

Szabolcs Hámori

bass

Pannon Philharmonic Festival Choir (choirmasters: András Vass and László Dobos)

About the Programme

On the occasion of All Saints' Day, symphony orchestras give themed concerts all around the world. This time, the Pannon Philharmonic –involving the Festival Choir and four excellent soloists– is preparing a baroque music programme. Henry Purcell’s funeral music was born in 1695, for the funeral of II. Mary, the Queen of England. In the seven-part piece, framed by two funeral march, the composer set to music the sentences spoken at the Anglican funeral ceremony. Johann Sebastian Bach’s Cantata 106 (1708), also known as Actus Tragicus is one of the earliest compositions that the composer created in this genre. The cantata written for the funeral of the mayor of Mühlhausen is based on texts of the Old and New Testament, and of old Lutheran hymns. The Mourning Ode (1727) for the funeral of Princess Christiane Eberhardine, composed for four soloists, choir and orchestra and the "O Jesu Christ, Meins Lebens Licht" motet (1740), which was previously considered as a cantata, are much later works.