Michael Schade, Artistic Director of the International Baroque Festival Melk Abbey, presents the hidden meanings of Baroque compositions in all their diversity under the title "Secret Messages" at Whitsun 2024. The festival opens on May 17 with Johann Sebastian Bach's opus magnum, the Mass in B minor, in Melk Abbey Church.
From Friday, May 17, up to and including Whit Monday, May 20, 2024, the audience of the International Baroque Festival at Melk Abbey will once again follow in the footsteps of the masters of Baroque music. There are secret messages to discover, especially in the compositions of Johann Sebastian Bach: Starting with his profound Mass in B minor, which opens the festival, through to the "Musical Offering" cycle, which not only touches the ears during the Baroque Days, but also the eyes as a staged total work of art. The concert programs were put together especially for the festival with the ensembles and musicians - a special feature that makes the Baroque Days even more worth a visit.
Ensemble Barucco © Theresa Pewal
Hidden signs and mysterious sound messages
"Baroque music exerts a fascination that endures to this day. This may be due to the profundity of the Baroque masters' compositions, which often bring astonishing things to the surface when studied intensively. The 'Secret Messages' program is intended to convey the cryptic connection between sound and meaning to the audience and amaze them," explains artistic director Michael Schade. The festival impresses with a varied and diverse presentation of transformation and mutability: national and international artists present outstanding works by Baroque masters in twelve concerts under the motto "Secret Messages". Performers include the Concentus Musikus Vienna Residence Orchestra, the Wilten Boys' Choir, the Barucco Vocal Ensemble and Orchestra, Marianne Beate Kielland and her Baroque ensemble Oslo Circles, the BachWerkVokal ensemble, gambist Fahmi Alqhai and soprano Nuria Rial as well as the Ensemble Diderot.
May 17 to 20, 2024
Gordon Safari © M.Brauer
Johann Heinrich Schmelzer Competition for the Promotion of Young Talent
The International Johann Heinrich Schmelzer Competition for the Promotion of Young Musicians, which is being held for the 11th time at Melk Abbey, has become an indispensable part of the Baroque Days. Ensembles as well as instrumental and vocal soloists take part in a multi-stage competition. The winners can look forward to engagements at renowned early music festivals, making the competition a springboard for their future careers.
www.wachaukulturmelk.at
