KING PHILIPPE AND QUEEN MATHILDE OF BELGIUM
TO ATTEND WORLD PREMIERE OF
ARVO PÄRT’S FÜR JAN VAN EYCK
AS GHENT’S ‘YEAR OF VAN EYCK’ PROGRAMME RESUMES
- 50-minute concert to be performed by Collegium Vocale Gent under Philippe Herreweghe on 22 September at St. Bavo’s Cathedral, home of Van Eyck’s Ghent Altarpiece
- Concert to be broadcast live on Belgian national radio KLARA available to audience worldwide and filmed for future relay
The Belgian City of Ghent today confirms the presence of King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium at a special ‘Re-opening’ concert on 22 September at St. Bavo’s Cathedral, home of the world-renowned Ghent Altarpiece by Jan van Eyck.
The 50-minute concert marks the resumption of Ghent’s 2020 Year of Van Eyck celebrations and features the world premiere of 85-year-old Estonian composer Arvo Pärt’s Für Jan van Eyck. Inspired by Van Eyck’s masterpiece, also known as Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, Pärt’s new work is written for mixed choir and organ, based on the composer’s Agnus Dei from Berliner Messe (1990).
Commissioned by the City of Ghent for the Flanders Festival, Für Jan van Eyck will be performed by Belgium’s most celebrated musical ensemble, Collegium Vocale Gent under founding director Philippe Herreweghe, in a programme that includes additional choral works by Monteverdi, Bruckner and Messiaen. The concert will be the Collegium’s first opportunity to perform in front of its home audience since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in March.
The concert will be broadcast live on Belgian national radio Klara (https://klara.be) to a worldwide audience and filmed for future relay.
Erwin Van de Wiel, Managing Director of Visit Ghent, said:
‘The presence of the King and Queen affirms this concert not only as Belgium’s most important cultural event this autumn but also a moment of national healing. We hope Arvo Pärt’s music of spirituality, performed by our greatest musicians, will bring solace to our residents and visitors alike.’
The City of Ghent launched its 2020 Year of Van Eyck programme with the record-breaking exhibition ‘Van Eyck. An Optical Revolution’ at Museum of Fine Arts (MSK) Ghent. Between 1 February and 12 March, more than 130,000 visitors from 90 countries were able to visit the exhibition over the 41 days when the exhibition was open to the public – making it the most visited exhibition ever in the history of the museum. The unprecedented popularity of the exhibition corresponded to a 300% year-on-year growth of visitorship to St. Bavo’s Cathedral, home of Van Eyck’s Ghent Altarpiece.
2020 Year of Van Eyck Programme: https://visit.gent.be/en/omg-van-eyck-was-here
Concert details:
Date 22 September 2020
Time 6:30PM Central European Summer Time
Location St. Bavo’s Cathedral Ghent
Programme
Arvo Pärt, Annum per annum and Für Jan van Eyck (world premiere)
Claudio Monteverdi, From Missa a quattro voci da cappella: Kyrie, Sanctus-Benedictus and Agnus Dei
Anton Bruckner, Locus iste and Os justi
Olivier Messiaen, Dieu parmi nous
Performers
Collegium Vocale Gent
Maude Gratton, organ
Philippe Herreweghe, conductor