On Sunday afternoon, 11 May, the Mixed Choir Cantabile Breda, under the direction of Gabrielka Clout, will perform a concert in the Laurentiuskerk. The title of the concert, Bohemian Glass & Delft Blue, symbolises the bridge being built between the Czech Republic and the Netherlands. Two countries, two artisanal traditions, but one shared love for music!
After the four-day concert tour to Prague, where this concert was performed at three different locations, the ‘home audience’ can come and enjoy it. The works being performed, in addition to Mozart, are by Czech and Dutch composers.
A special link between our countries is Mozart. As a young prodigy, he lived in the Netherlands for eight months. Later, he found a second home in Prague and composed several masterpieces there. Thus, he forms a musical bridge between our two countries.
The instrumental support for this concert will be provided by pianist Maurick Reuser and clarinettist Harry-Imre Dijkstra. The soprano soloist is Kathelijn van Dongen.
The beloved Czech composers of the 18th and 19th centuries, such as Antonín Dvořák, Bedřich Smetana, and Leoš Janáček, embraced local folk songs and dances while developing their own unique compositional style. Today, their creations remain embedded in the country's musical tradition.
To shape the Dutch musical tradition, works by Sweelinck (16th century) have been chosen, in which the choir sings an inventive canon. Meanwhile, Alphons Diepenbrock and Hendrik Andriessen represent the rich sound world of the 19th century, and Alfred Momotenko embodies modern classical music.
