Year after year, several hundred choral singers assemble from all over the country and beyond to perform, after several months of preparation and an intensive chorus weekend, some of the most significant works in the musical literature under the baton of Gábor Hollerung. The Choral Fantasy featured in the first part of the concert is one of the most unusual pieces in Beethoven's oeuvre, as well as a difficult work to categorise in terms of genre. After starting off as a set of variations for solo piano, it expands into a piano concerto before concluding as a oratorio supplemented by a choir. The work is clearly a precursor to the idea and theme of the Ode to Joy, with both the text and the melody anticipating the emotional world and ideals of the Ninth Symphony.
William Walton's work is one of the most potent creations in the oratorio literature, one that is rarely played owing to its difficulty and the enormous number of performers required on stage. Written for two choruses, a full orchestra and two additional separate wind ensembles, the work evokes the famous biblical story of Belshazzar, the last ruler of Babylonia and the embodiment of human arrogance and pride, who is punished for mocking the God of Israel at his feast and dies that very night. The work is a series of musical and emotional climaxes; in its style, it is an heir to the oratorios of Handel on the one hand and, on the other hand, displays the monumentality of Berlioz, as well as the influence of 20th-century stylistic trends, such as jazz.

Presented by: Interkultur Hungária Közhasznú Nonprofit Kft.