Saturday March 21 @ 7 pm
St. Paul’s Church (Paavalinkirkko), Helsinki, Finland
Tickets 30 € / 25 € at the door
or secure your seat through our webshop !
dir. Andrew Lawrence-King
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Catalonian warmth, infectious rhythms, and the joy of music – this concert is brimming with song that moves the soul.
Chamber Choir Utopia is directed by baroque harp virtuoso Andrew Lawrence-King, accompanied by a brilliant instrumental ensemble: Eira Karlson (fiddle and slide trumpet), Juho Myllylä (recorders), and Ricardo Padilla (percussion).
This evening’s music is based on the Llibre vermell de Montserrat, one of the most significant musical manuscripts of the Middle Ages. This “Red Book of Montserrat” was compiled around 1399 in a Benedictine monastery at Montserrat, near Barcelona.
The songs in the manuscript were created for use by pilgrims: they were intended to bring joy and rhythm – yet still preserve the monastery’s spiritual atmosphere. The result is a unique whole in which devotion and folk energy travel side by side.
In this concert, we will hear Andrew Lawrence-King’s new edition, in which he returns to the original manuscript. In this way, the works’ rhythmic diversity and stylistic contrasts come to the fore, elements that have partly faded in 20th-century transcriptions – a bit like the colours of a masterpiece rediscovered when old varnish is removed.
Our programme reflects the pilgrims’ journey on Montserrat mountain and brings to life the various places along the way: the great monastery church, secluded shrines, and the open square. Together we ascend from the valley floor, listen to the monks’ voices at the altar from the centre of the church and the choristers singing from the galleries, and we ourselves sing and dance when permitted – inviting our fellow travellers to join in the refrains and the whirls of the dance.
Welcome! Immerse yourself in the vibrant songs of Montserrat and the joy of Catalonia!