Purcell Choir & Orfeo Orchestra Presented by Liszt Academy

Anyone buying a ticket for this Purcell Choir and Orfeo Orchestra concert is destined to see an event of great noteworthiness: alongside the new-age world premieres we have almost come to expect from these two ensembles – directed by György Vashegyi – there are, this time, plenty of Hungarian associations. Gregor Joseph Werner was Kapellmeister at the Eszterházy court, and on his death he was succeeded by Joseph Haydn. A surviving manuscript score by György Thonner of the oratorio Der gute Hirt, which was first performed in Hungary, is preserved in the music collection of the National Széchényi Library. Born in Magdeburg, Georg Österreich studied under Kapellmeister Johann Schelle in the famous Thomasschule zu Leipzig, and he then became director of music for the prince in Gottorf castle. Modernity and extravagance are evident in his works; his church music has operatic and theatrical elements, and his sparkling musical ideas were forerunners of the style typical of the second half of the 18th century. The modern score and performance materials of both works are based on contemporary manuscripts and are the fruits of the labours of the ensemble’s continuo player, Augustin Szokos.