Beethoven L’Eternelle
Luigi Cherubini’s Requiem in C minor (1816) was admired by Beethoven and others for its remarkable form, clarity, and devotion to good practices of text-setting. The requiem was composed for the 23rd anniversary of the beheading of Louis XVI. The work is notable for its parity of forces: unlike most requiem settings, soloists are not employed here.
The concert opens with Haydn’s “Farewell” symphony, one of his most treasured works, famous for the drama of relieving members of the orchestra of their parts one by one, until only two players remain. Although originally composed as a petition for the Prince of Esterhazy to allow Haydn’s marooned musicians to return to their families, the effect of the work is not far distant from the requiem setting, calling to mind the Christopher Hitchens notion that death is observing “the party goes on but you’ve been told to leave.”
The Georgetown Epiphany Festival Chamber Orchestra
The Georgetown Epiphany Festival Chorus
Andrew Jonathan Welch, conductor
Beth Ann Zinkievich, assistant conductor