Orchestre de chambre de Paris
Thomas Hengelbrock direction
Christian Tetzlaff violin
Maîtrise de Radio France
Majestic repertoire from Bach to Frank Martin under the baton of Thomas Hengelbrock.
Dates
Bach Chorals BWV 159, 265, 105, 185, 56, 325
Martin Polyptyque, six images de la Passion du Christ, for solo violin and two small string orchestras
Mendelssohn Symphony No. 5 op. 107 « Reformation »
About
For Frank Martin, the discovery of the St Matthew Passion twelve years ago was a revelation. In 1973, when Yehudi Menuhin asked him to write a concerto for violin, the composer was afraid that he could not rise to the heights of masterpieces by Bach in this genre. The discovery of Duccio’s polyptych in Sienna, unlocked his imagination and he created a series of images retranscribing different episodes from the Passion in which two string orchestras play in counterpoint to a solo violin. The work, which is performed by Christian Tetzlaff, alternates with Bach chorales which punctuate the stations of the cross. Thomas Hengelbrock frequently reminds us that the violin in the Polyptyque represents Christ. Mendelssohn also cherished Bach, whom Debussy called “the father of us all”. The “Reformation” Symphony was written shortly after his recreation of the St Matthew Passion in 1829. It celebrates the three-hundredth anniversary of the Augsburg Confession and ends with the chorale “Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott”, which was also used by Bach.
Coproduction Théâtre des Champs-Élysées | Orchestre de chambre de Paris