The last concert of the Opus 48 2022-23 season brings together a neglected masterpiece and one of the greatest works by one of the most popular contemporary composers.
The Via Crucis of Franz Liszt was one of his last compositions; it has fourteen movements dedicated to the Stations of the Cross. The work is for choir and organ, and also pushes the tonality of the day towards new and unexpected directions. Sadly Liszt was never to hear the work, the first performance coming some 43 years after his death. For anyone who has never heard it, it is a work of great serenity, and enormous emotional power.
This will be coupled with the Berliner Messe of the great Estonian composer, Arvo Pärt. It uses his tintinnabuli technique throughout to draw the listener into a minimalist world, which never fails to move and entrance. As the composer himself wrote: "Tintinnabulation is an area I sometimes wander into when I am searching for answers – in my life, my music, my work. In my dark hours, I have the certain feeling that everything outside this one thing has no meaning. The complex and many-faceted only confuses me, and I must search for unity. What is it, this one thing, and how do I find my way to it? Traces of this perfect thing appear in many guises – and everything that is unimportant falls away. Tintinnabulation is like this ... The three notes of a triad are like bells. And that is why I call it tintinnabulation."
This will be an extraordinary evening of sublime music making. Early booking advised!
Opus 48 – named in honour of Fauré’s Requiem – is a medium-sized choral society in Oxfordshire, performing an impressive range of repertoire to the very highest standard. Opus 48 rehearses and performs with its Musical Director, David Crown, one of the leading choral conductors in the UK.