Press Release

The Beethovenian Soul

Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Conductor
Gianna Corbisiero, soprano
Julie Boulianne, mezzo-soprano
Tenor to be announced
Jonathan Carle, baritone
The Choir of the Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): Missa Solemnis

OM audiences have always appreciated works for choir and orchestra. Montreal concert-goers will undoubtedly welcome Beethoven’s magisterial Missa Solemnis, its intensity and its deep spiritual content. This concert creates a continuity with Verdi’s Requiem (performed in 2001), Haydn’s Seasons (2003), and Brahms’s German Requiem (2004).

The Missa Solemnis is the devotional counterpart to Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, and is one of the greatest accomplishments of the composer’s maturity. Before composing the Missa Solemnis, Beethoven plunged himself into the work of his favourite composer, Handel. This accounts for a short segment of the latter’s Messiah in one of the passages of the work. Among the most deeply moving sections of the Missa Solemnis is the sublime violin solo part in the Benedictus movement.

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church, Sunday, May 29, 4 pm

On tour
Saint Laurent, Tuesday, May 24, 8 pm
Verdun, Wednesday, May 25, 7:30 pm
Pierrefonds, Friday, May 27, 8 pm
Rivière-des-Prairies, Thursday, June 2, 8 pm
Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Friday, June 3, 8 pm

[7175] News posted Monday, June 7, 2004.