Festival Themadag In Memoriam Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten, a composer, pacifist, humanist and a unique voice in 20th-century music, died fifty years ago. In an age of darkness and brutality, the Englishman invariably preferred clarity and finesse, and a musical language that always retained its humanity. What also made Britten unusual were his tremendous efforts to compose for and play with amateurs and children. Fittingly, Festival 20·21 has started up an intensive collaboration for this event with the Leuven music conservatoire (SLAC).
Concert 1: Seven Tears
Benjamin Britten loved Dowland’s music very much, and it was the direct inspiration for his own Lachrymae in 1951. Annelies Van Parys also has taken inspiration from Dowland for the Hathor Consort. Let Dowland and Van Parys move you as they shed some surprising new light on each other’s sonic worlds.
Concert 2: Rejoice!
Writing for music lovers was always one of Britten’s great passions. Throughout his life, he sought to reconcile his own style with the abilities of amateur musicians. Today the choirs of the SLAC will join forces to perform music by Britten and Pärt.
Concert 3: Flow My Tears
Lachrymae (Tears) is a rarely played but beautifully intimate master-piece by Benjamin Britten, full of colour and mystery. Britten took inspiration from music by John Dowland. The performers are students of the SLAC and the professionals from Boho Strings Antwerp.
Concert 4: Illuminations
As much as the three works on this program are all ‘genuine Britten’, they vary tremendously in form and expression. David Ramael and his Boho Strings Antwerp have for years harboured a deep love of the music of the Englishman’s music. This is not only because Britten wrote so astonishingly well for strings, but also, and possibly more so, because his message of humanity and compassion is so inspiring.