Violin, Verena-Maria Fitz,Clara Scholtes; Viola, Johanna Maurer; Cello, Allan Bergius; Zinc (which I think means cornet – presumably a high Bach trumpet), Gebhard David; Conductor and organ; Stefan Steinemann; Augsburg Cathedral Boys’ Choir
I was to be off from Berlin at 1028 am, allegedly, on a train to Munich, though in fact it didn’t arrive until 1130, getting there about 4pm. After a rest and some food, I went along to the Cuvilliés Theatre for this concert, which, even on the morning of the concert, had no indication of what the performers would be playing on the Munich Festival website. I got into the Cuvillies Theatre – pictures below, a beautiful 18th century theatre, where Idomeneo was first performed – and bought a programme I discovered, slightly oddly, that this ‘Baroque’ concert was nothing of the sort – it was a joint birthday party for Palestrina – 500 this year – and Arvo Part, bless him, 90 and still with us (i think so anyway). The photo below shows the complete programme.. Fine by me, but not exactly honest with the punters
The programme included two favourite Part works of mine – Spiegel im Spiegel, and Fratres. Curiously in another part of the Cuvillies complex there was an Abba tribute band due to perform: the audience for that looked as elderly as the Palestrina/Part one….
It was all very well performed and enjoyable – the string players used both period and modern instruments. All the Part pieces were outstandingly performed and very absorbing – he and Tavener are the great masters of ‘holy minimalism’. It has to be said , though, that the ambience of the theatre isn’t really right for this sort of music – why couldn’t one of Munich’s many beautiful churches be used? The other thing I noted is that the boys and young men of the Augsburg Cathedral Choir are good, but not as cuttingly powerful as the major English Cathedral choirs – maybe I’m just being boastfully patriotic but I do think our major cathedral choirs are incomparable in church music like Palestrina’s.
John's musical journey 