RIAS Kammerchor Berlin, Kammerakademie Potsdam

The “Lamentations” of the prophet Jeremiah are among the most impressive passages of the Old Testament. By means of poignant words and metaphors, they express the Israelites’ anguish over the loss of Jerusalem following the conquest by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar in the 6th century B.C. The historical impact of these “Lamentations” is remarkable: In the Jewish tradition, the verses were associated with the repeated destruction of the temple by the Roman general Titus in 70 A.D. Christianity, on the other hand, dedicated the “Lamentations” to the suffering and death of Jesus Christ and assigned them a permanent place in the Liturgy of the Hours during Holy Week. From the 15th century onwards, an almost unimaginable number of composers from various epochs have adapted the powerful texts into polyphonic settings. In its concert at the Musikfest Berlin, the RIAS Chamber Choir under the direction of its principal conductor Justin Doyle will present excerpts from Lamentations settings of the Renaissance period by the English composers Thomas Tallis and William Byrd as well as by the Roman Kapellmeister Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. In contrast, the Kammerakademie Potsdam will perform “Threni”, Igor Stravinsky’s creative exploration of the biblical laments, which he wrote for soloists, choir and orchestra in 1957/58. At a remove from immediate liturgical context, Stravinsky's “Threni” are an exceptional example of affecting sacred music performed in a concert setting.