The church music of the future, wrote a young Ferenc Liszt, will ‘unite – on a colossal scale – the Theatre and the Church, dramatic and sacred, superb and simple, fiery and free, stormy and calm, translucent and emotional.’ After a 1938 performance of the Christus oratorio in the Budapest Opera House, a critic wrote: ‘Liszt’s soul knew no bounds – his passion for Christ was boundless. Which is why this oratorio turned out so honest, so entranced. It is all but the music of the celestial realm, with all the spiritual beauty of the St Francis of nineteenth-century music on display.’ Featuring Hungarian, Austrian, Slovak and Swiss soloists, the Liszt Fest’s production of this monumental work will be performed twice, first in Vienna’s Musikverein, and then a few days later in Müpa Budapest, with Gergely Kesselyák standing on the rostrum on both occasions.

Hungarian National Choir

Founded in 1985 as the Hungarian State Choir, the group has become Hungary’s leading vocal ensemble, whose primary mission is to perform compositions with orchestral accompaniment and oratorios, though it is naturally also at home in the world of a cappella works. In 1990, the first choirmaster, Miklós Pászti, was followed by Mátyás Antal, who filled the position until 2016. The current choirmaster is Csaba Somos. When it comes to creating its repertoire, contemporary works are of particular importance for the National Choir. They have been involved in the world or Hungarian premiere of many a work, including Zoltán Jeney’s Funeral Rite and György Kurtág’s Songs of Despair and Sorrow.

The concert is presented as part of the Liszt Fest programme, organised by Müpa Budapest.

The concert is made possible with the support of the Ministry for Social Relations and Culture.

The programme is supported by the Hungarian Tourism Agency.