Sunday, October 1
Cathedral 8.00 p.m.
75th anniversary of the Ivan Goran Kovačić Choir

Academic choir Ivan Goran Kovačić

 

Croatian Baroque Ensemble

Laura Vadjon, concert master

Tanja Tortić, Saša Reba,Ivana Žvan, Vinka Fabris, Katarina Kutnar, Martin Krpan, Jana Palac, Ema Smiljanić, violins

Hiwote Tadesse, Asja Frank, violas

Dora Kuzmin Maković, Janko Franković, cellos

Pavle Kladarin, double bass

Pavao Mašić i Franjo Bilić, harpsichord and organ

Stjepan Nodilo, Jelena Ilčić, oboes

Žarko Perišić, bassoon

Krešimir Fabijanić, Zvonimir Lazar, trumpets

Marin Cvitanović, Hrvoje Sironić, Andrija Tolić, trombones

Borna Šercar, timpani

 

Anabela Barić, soprano

Josipa Bilić, soprano

Franko Klisović, countertenor

Mislav Lucić, tenor

Marin Čargo, bass

Benjamin Šuran, bass

 

Ivan Ščepanović, conductor

 

Georg Friedrich Händel

Israel in Egypt, HWV 54

Part I

The Lamentation of the Israelites for the Death of Joseph

1. Symphony
2. Chorus: The sons of Israel do mourn
3. Chorus: How is the mighty fall’n
4. Chorus: He put on righteousness
5. Quartet (SATB): When the ear heard him
6. Chorus: How is the mighty fall’n
7. Chorus: He deliver’d the poor that cried
8. Chorus: Their bodies are buried in peace
9.  Quartet (SATB): They shall receive a glorious kingdom
10. Chorus: The merciful goodness of the Lord

 

Part II

Exodus

11. Recitative (T): Now there arose a new king
12. Chorus and solo (A): And the children of Israel sigh’d
13. Recitative (T): Then sent he Moses
14. Chorus: They loathed to drink of the river
15. Air (A): Their land brought fort frogs
16. Chorus: He spake the word
17. Chorus: He gave them hailstones for rain
18. Chorus: He sent a thick darkness
19. Chorus: He smote all the firstborn of Egypt
20. Chorus: But as for his people
21. Chorus: He rebuked the Red Sea; He led them through the deep; But the waters
22. Chorus: And Israel saw that great work; And belived the Lord

 

Part III

Moses’ Song

23. Chorus: Moses and the children of Israel; I will sing unto the Lord
24. Duet (SS): The Lord is my strength
25. Chorus: He is my Lord
26. Duet (BB): The Lord is a man of war
27. Chorus: The depths have cover’d them
28. Chorus: Thy right hand, O Lord
29. Air (T): The enemy said, I will pursue
30. Chorus: And with the blast of thy nostrils
31. Solo (S): Thou didst blow with the wind
32. Chorus: The people shall hear
33. Air (A) : Thou shalt bring them in
34. Chorus: The Lord shall reign for ever and ever
35. Recitative (T): For the horse of Pharaon went in
36. Chorus: The Lord shall reign for ever and ever
37. Recitative (T): And Miriam the prophetess
38. Chorus and solo (S): Sing ye to the Lord

Academic choir „Ivan Goran Kovačić” was founded in 1948. The choir was directed by highly regarded Croatian musicians Mladen Jagušt, Duško Prašelj, Lovro Županović, Adalbert Marković, Dinko Fio, Vladimir Kranjčević, Saša Britvić and Luka Vukšić. Since 2022. the choir’s artistic director is Ivan Šćepanović. The director’s assistants is Stjepan Vuger. The choir’s performances have been conducted by Croatia’s and world’s most eminent musicians, such as Lovro von Matačić, Milan Horvat, Zubin Mehta, Sir Yehudi Menuhin, Krzysztof Penderecki, Lorin Maazel, Ennio Morricone, Noam Sheriff, Gerd Albrecht, Kazushi Ono, Alun Francis, Hans Graf, Kurt Masur, Dmitrij Kitajenko, Valerij Gergijev, and Sir Neville Marriner. The members of the choir, also referred to as “Goranovci”, have performed with many opera singers, the most prominent among them being Vladimir Ruždjak, Ruža Pospiš-Baldani, Ruggiero Raimondi, Jose Carreras, Andrea Bocelli, Inva Mula, and many others. Numerous guest performances of the choir have taken place all over the world: in Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Korea, Macedonia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, USA, and Vatican. Also, the choir has taken part in various international festivals – Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Settembre musica in Turin, Flaneries musicales in Reims, Berlin Choralspace winter festival, the Wiener Festwochen (Vienna Festival), 21st music Festival de la Chaise-Dieu, Ljubljana Festival, Varaždin Baroque Evenings, Dubrovnik Summer Festival, and Pula Summer Festival. The choir has collaborated with some of the finest orchestras including the Vienna Philharmonic, the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, the Florence Symphony Orchestra, the Monte Carlo Opera Orchestra, the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Symphony Orchestra, the Bari Symphony Orchestra, the National Youth Orchestra of Germany, the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra. The choir regularly works with the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, Croatian Radiotelevision Symphony Orchestra, and Croatian Baroque Ensemble. High musical achievements of Academic choir ˝Ivan Goran Kovačić˝ have been recognised and awarded with numerous prizes and acknowledgements, and a special emphasis should be given to the University of Zagreb Rector’s Award, the City of Zagreb Award, and the ¨Vladimir Nazor˝ Award.

The Croatian Baroque Ensemble (HRBA) is the most significant Croatian ensemble specialized in historically informed performance of music from the Baroque period and related epochs, using original instruments and their replicas. The ensemble was founded in 1999 and brings together young musicians who are passionate about the authentic sound and stylistically conscious interpretation that aligns with the spirit and aesthetics of the time in which the music was composed. The ensemble is directed by the renowned violinist Laura Vadjon. With 20 years of concert series held at the Croatian Music Institute in Zagreb, they are also regular guests at numerous domestic and international festivals, including the Varaždin Baroque Evenings, Dubrovnik Summer Festival, Split Summer Festival, Korčula Baroque Festival, Zagreb Baroque Festival, Music Evenings in St. Donat’s, Histria Festival, Osor Musical Evenings, Concerts in Euphrasian Basilica, Rovinj Musical Summer, Lubenice Evenings, Summer Events in Krk, Passion Heritage, Organum Histriae, Baroque Music in the Baroque Church in Osijek, Mostar Festival, Paško Ljeto, Brodsko Ljeto, Festival of Croatian Music in Vienna, Festival of Spiritual Music of Central European Countries in Rome, Belgrade Early Music Festival, Brežice Festival, Tesori musicali Toscani Festival in Pisa, Misiones de Chiquitos Festival in Bolivia, Esteban Salas Festival in Havana, Cuba, Tartini Festival in Piran, Festival in old Krakow, and other festivals in Austria, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Finland, Sweden, France, Belgium, Slovakia, Estonia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Argentina, Spain, and Portugal. Over the past twenty years, HRBA has collaborated with some of the world’s finest artists and specialists in performing Baroque music. The list of guest-friends of the ensemble, which is continually expanding, includes names such as Catherine Mackintosh, Hervé Niquet, Enrico Onofri, Laurence Cummings, Andreas Helm, Rachel Brown, Alessandro Tampieri, Jaap ter Linden, Richard Egarr, Jacques Ogg, Werner Ehrhardt, Marcello Gatti, Stefano Montanari, Aapo Hakkinen, Philip Pickett, David Staff, Theresa Caudle, Russel Gilmour, Peter van Hauwelingen, Mimi Mitchel, Christopher Lawrey, Hugo Hymas, Mitchell Sandler, Shalev Ad-El, Adrian Butterfield, Peter Lönnerberg, Ryo Terakado, David Bates, Peter van Heyghen, Gail Hennesy, Andrew Lawrence King, Benjamin Bayl. The ensemble also collaborates with the vocal ensemble Antiphonus, as well as with the choirs Cantores Santi Marci and I.G. Kovačić. In HRBA’s programs, Croatian composers or those active in this region are also represented (F. Sponga-Usper, G. Usper, T. Cecchini, V. Jelić, I. Lukačić, G. Puliti, L. Sorkočević, M. Stratico, I. M. Jarnović). HRBA is credited for the first permanent recordings of their works using period instruments from purified scores, without editorial interventions. The Croatian Baroque Ensemble was awarded the Milka Trnina Diploma by the Croatian Society of Musical Artists in 2001, the Orlando Award by the Dubrovnik Summer Festival in 2014, the Ivan Lukačić Award by the Varaždin Baroque Evenings in 2016, and the City of Zagreb Award in 2020. Due to their particularly interesting, virtuosic, lively, and engaging interpretations, both music critics and audiences place them at the forefront of Croatian musical performance.