Good friday concert. BACH and VASKS
Guna Šnē (cello)
Ilze Reine (organ)
Programme: J. S. Bach, P. Vasks, M. Einfelde
The Good Friday concert at the Riga Cathedral exposes the beauty of sacred music revealed in a dialogue of the cello and the organ. The core of the programme builds on the movements from Johan Sebastian Bach’s Cello Suite No 5 and interacts with sacred compositions by Latvian composers and Bach’s organ works.
Bach’s Cello Suite No 5 is considered a significant cornerstone for the repertoire of this instrument, standing out for its emotional depth and rich polyphony. The composer has instructed to play the suite “scordatura”, making the cello sound darker and more resonant.
Maija Einfelde’s dramatic “Crucifixus” for organ uncovers personal grief over the theme of crucifixion all the while leading the audience towards spiritual exultation. Pēteris Vasks’s “Viatore” is dedicated to Arvo Pärt and this opus on a traveller’s aspirations for light reveals almost all the potential and extent of the organ sound.
