Valentin Kunert. Cathedral Choir St. Pölten

Passion music in a different way: To open Holy Week, the St. Pölten Cathedral Choir broadens its musical and spiritual perspective and encourages reflection not only on the Passion events but also on natural disasters.

Vocal The devastating earthquake in Lisbon in 1755 found its immediate musical echo in Georg Philipp Telemann's oratorio Die Donnerode, which raises very current questions against the backdrop of climate change. Furthermore, the St. Pölten Cathedral Choir, together with the Sindelfingen Chamber Choir, members of the Bruckner Orchestra Linz, and handpicked vocal soloists, explores Johann Sebastian Bach's cantata Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis, showcasing how the Thomaskantor fascinatingly conveyed the interplay of pain, lament, hope, and comfort. Joseph Haydn's Symphony in D minor La Lamentatione joins as an instrumental work, incorporating liturgical melodies from a late medieval Passion play.

Under the direction of Valentin Kunert, the St. Pölten Cathedral Choir has developed a diverse repertoire that spans from a cappella literature of the 16th century to Baroque works and contemporary choral literature. In collaboration with other chamber choirs and orchestras such as the L’Orfeo Baroque Orchestra and the Brno Philharmonic, major choral-symphonic works are performed, including Joseph Haydn's The Creation, Johann Sebastian Bach's St. John Passion, and Arthur Honegger's Le Roi David.