Symphony concert 11

So long as clocks were not widespread, the sound of bells defined the rhythm of life for communities. Pealing bells announce not only the rhythm of the hours – even seasons have different bell tones. Bells ring in the event of fire and alarm; wedding bells bear witness to life; death knells proclaim the last hour. In 1913 Sergei Rachmaninoff composed his epic choral symphony, which encompasses the entire cycle of life, based on a sonorous poem by Edgar Allan Poe. A high-calibre trio of soloists and the powerful Czech Chamber Choir Brno will perform the opulent work, conducted by honorary conductor Dmitri Kitayenko. Sergei Taneyev, Tchaikovsky’s only student of composition, strikes a different tone in his cantata about church father John of Damascus: John was described as »streaming with gold« due to his talent for oratory, and lived to be over 100 years old. Taneyev also turns his attention to the self-doubts that can beset a believer; with his opus 1 he created a fascinating work somewhere between orthodox rigour and polyphonic optimism. The residents of the legendary city of Kitezh also seek refuge in faith from the attacking Tatars. Bells augur a rescue for the residents.