The two outstanding vocal-instrumental works presented in this concert are linked by their similar dates of composition (1944 and 1962) and the particularly important and, in both cases, highly individual significance of their composers in the history of twentieth-century music. However, the musical language, as well as the ideological and aesthetic context to which both composers refer, are radically different.

Trois petites liturgies de la presence divine is a broadly religious work, derived from Olivier Messiaen’s deep personal faith. Based on the composer’s own texts, it contemplates the notion of God’s presence: in man, in the created world, in God himself. Scored for a very unusual ensemble, it amazes and captivates the listener primarily with its sound (airy, luminous, pastel-hued) and its rich, complex texture. It exudes an aura of mystical peace, meditation and inner calm. 

Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 13 (‘Babi Yar’) was inspired by the mass murder of Jews by the Nazis in the Babi Yar ravine near Kyiv in 1941, described in a poem by Yevgeny Yevtushenko. It also uses other works by the Russian poet, containing references to everyday life in post-war Soviet reality. The composer achieved the dramatic and monumental character of the Symphony, which does not shy away from the grotesque, through the use of both a massive orchestral sound and, above all, vocal forces reminiscent of the tradition of Orthodox church music (bass voice and male choir).

Robert Losiak