News

Tuesday, July 2, 7 pm 

LEOPOLDAS DIGRYS (organ), RIMVYDAS MITKUS (organ)
Vilnius City Municipality Choir JAUNA MUZIKA
Conductor VACLOVAS AUGUSTINAS

They say a good start is half the work done. So it is that the Sacred Music Hours cycle will be started off by the patriarch of the organ, Leopoldas Digrys. He is joined by a laureate of fifteen international choir festivals, Jauna Muzika, and the talented organist of the younger generation, warmly awaited at the grandest European shrines, Rimvydas Mitkus.
The performers will paint an impressive musical canvas, worthy of a special place in the gallery of your own personal experiences!

Program features C. Franck, V. Augustinas, K. Danel, A. Jan Szapa, C. P. Vives.

Tuesday, July 9, 7 pm 

SŁAWOMIR KAMIŃSKI (organ, Poland)

Kamiński is a professor at the Paderewski Academy of Music, and an invited lecturer at higher schools of music in Lübeck and Vilnius. He is also a regular concert performer both as a soloist and a member of chamber ensembles.
Even though the performer is often identified as a true master of polyphony, he himself admits that he is not a stranger to romantic outbursts or the latest works by contemporary composers.
But, who shall he prioritise at this concert?

Program features F. Mendelssohn, G. Muffat, J. Pachelbel, A. Vivaldi, F. Moroni

Tuesday, July 16, 7 pm 

LUCA RATTI (organ, Italy)

“Call me an Italian who has fallen in love with Lithuania, and Lithuanians. Your audiences are fantastic – it’s so good to play when you feel that your music is going straight to the hearts of those who are gathered. I still cannot forget this sensation to this day”, – this is how organist Luca Ratti recalls his impressions after his first concert three years ago at St Casimir’s Church.

This year, the Italian virtuosi is coming back to Vilnius with a new program, where he’ll reveal the breath-taking grandeur of the organ!

Program features F. Mendelssohn, C. Saint-Saens, A. Guilmant and others

Tuesday, July 23, 7 pm 

An organ duo
KAROLINA JUODELYTĖ and DANIEL SEEGER (Germany)

Even though the organ, like the piano, is usually called an individualists’ instrument, nonetheless, this time Karolina Juodelytė will be taking her place at the keyboard with Daniel Seeger.
Laureates of numerous international competitions, the regular soloist performers admit that playing the organ with four hands is not so common – both fun, and difficult at the same time: “You could compare playing the organ together to figure ice-skating. You must not only have unconditional trust in your partner, but also make sure not to slip up yourself, handing over a passage both in terms of hands and feet. Even though we are a duet, we need to play as if we were one person”, say the young performers, and smile.

Program features G. Merkel, E. Grieg, J. Reveyron

Tuesday, July 30, 7 pm 

TOMASZ TOMASZEWKI (violin, Germany)
RENATA MARCINKUTĖ LESIEUR (organ)

Both are virtuosos of their chosen instruments, their concert tour routes spread out across the whole world, and each one is noted for commanding the highest degree of musical attention. To hear them play together is a rare opportunity. It has been made possible thanks to the Sacred Music Hours cycle, bringing together violinist Tomasz Tomaszewski and organist Renata Marcinkutė Lesieur.
Tomaszewski is one of the most famous Polish violinists of his generation, the first concertmaster at the Berlin Deutsche Oper Symphony Orchestra, and a professor at the Berlin University of the Arts. Neither musical life in Lithuania nor major international organ music festivals would be imaginable without Renata Marcinkutė Lesieur.

Two masters, two different instruments, and a wonderfully beautiful program for a summer evening.

Program features J. S. Bach, T. Vitali, A. Guilmant and others.

Tuesday, August 6, 7 pm 

Organist duet:
MARC ADAMCZEWSKI and PHILIPPE BARDON (France)

Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Strauss’ waltzes and polkas… for the organ?! You heard us right, that’s what you can expect when the duet of Marc Adamczewski and Philippe Bardon invite us to a concert.

The performers who have been playing together for over ten years seek to change the organ’s image, and they’re very good at it! The musicians are constantly expanding their repertoire for four hands and are revealing the new colours of the organ, not limiting themselves to works originally written for this instrument.

So it’s time to forget all those stereotypes, and get ready to hear a new sound!

Program features F. Schubert, J. S. Bach and others.

Saturday, August 10, 7 pm

Soloists: LINA DAMBRAUSKAITĖ (soprano)

JOANA STANELYTĖ (mezzo soprano)
TADAS GIRININKAS (bass)
MATHIAS GILLEBO (tenor, Norway)
STEIN SKJERVOLD (bass, Norway)
Organist: JEEYOUNG PARK (Norway)
HOKKSUND CHURCH CHOIR (Norway)
LITHUANIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA (Art Director Sergej Krylov)
Ąžuoliukas Boys’ and Youths Choir Chamber Group (Art Director Vytautas Miškinis)
Conductor ABRAM BEZUIJEN (Norway)

Don’t be surprised if in the not too distant future, when seeking harmony of the body and soul, instead of the usual recipe you’ll be sent to a classical music concert, where the music of Johann Sebastian Bach will be heard. Its special impact is no secret to many performers. If you haven’t tried it before, you absolutely must! One of the grandest works by this Baroque genius, St Matthew Passion, will be played at the Sacred Music Hours. This work was played 26 times whilst Bach was alive – once a year during the liturgy of the Holy Week. It is a vocal instrumental drama based on the plot of the Gospel, reconstructing scenes of the suffering and death of Jesus Christ through the prism of human feelings. It is a story about self-sacrifice, i.e., values that are often forgotten in today’s world…

Program features J. S. Bach’s St Matthew Passion

Tuesday, August 13, 7 pm

VAIDAS BARTUŠAS (countertenor)
CHRIS RUEBENS (guitar)
Organists: RENATA MARCINKUTĖ LESIEUR, LEOPOLDAS DIGRYS

Their love story is worthy of the big screen. Their love for Lithuania is immeasurable and unfailing. These people are the finest example of the Lithuanian world view, a civil spirit and mutual human warmth. They are the philanthropists Aleksandra and Juozas Kazickas.
The Sacred Music Hours tradition nurtured for many years is being continued by the Kazickas Family Charity and Support Foundation. It has ensured that St Casimir’s Church has become a mecca that the world’s best performers try to visit. The concert cycle went beyond Lithuania’s borders a long time ago, becoming an international organ music festival. Let’s celebrate it, honouring the memory of Aleksandra and Juozas amid such grand sounds!

Program features C. Franck, C. Ruebens,  T. Albinoni and others

Sunday, August 18, 7 pm 

IRENA BUDRYTĖ-KUMMER (organ, Germany)

Irena Budrytė-Kummer is a lecturer at the Dresden Higher School of Church Music, the organist at Dresden’s Church of the Mother of God (Frauenkirche) and a member of the jury at the M. K. Čiurlionis International Organists’ Competition.
According to the performer, in order to reveal the beauty of the organ’s sound, you need to choose the right program – after all, each epoch is displayed in different colours. Budrytė-Kummer is sure to delight us with a refined repertoire and original interpretations this time as well.

Program features

Tuesday, August 20, 7 pm 

CRISTIANO RIZZOTTO (organ, Brazil)

“Rizzotto has mastered the instrument from the very first notes, proving that he is talented, experienced, a virtuoso and an original interpretor. His musical sensitivity and care allows him to naturally convey the character of each work, without any unnecessary outbursts”. (El Diario)

Both the press and the public is generous with their warm acclaim about Cristiano Rizzotto, the Brazilian-born composer, choir conductor and organist who is now living in the United States.

In fact, the performer set out on his musical journey as a pianist, becoming acquainted with the organ as a volunteer at St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Lagoa, while today he cannot imagine his life without this instrument, or the many activities related to it.
Besides playing the organ and conducting at the Good Sheperd Catholic Church, he also organises international concert cycles and is a regular concert performer. Composers such as Carson Cooman, Aivars Kalējs, Antoine Giovannini, Robert Farrell and others have dedicated their works to the musician.

Program features A. Kalējs, J. S.  Bach, C. Rizzotto, R. Farrell and others.

Tuesday, August 27, 7 pm

ROBERTO BACCHINI (organ, Italy)
ELISA GHEZZO (flute, Italy)

A flourish of Italy shall liven up the Sacred Music Hours cycle, brought to you by the enchanting duo of organist Roberto Bacchini and flute player Elisa Ghezzo. The performers have prepared a program that is demanding of the musicians themselves, yet extraordinarily pleasant to the ear – it features opuses ranging from romanticism to contemporary works.

According to the duet, the flute and organ is a perfect union of musical instruments (the organ is said to originate from the Pan flute), upholding in themselves the boundless potential for sacred concentration, bright experience, love, beauty and expressions of faith. Enjoy the way they sound together!

Program features B. Marcello, G. Pedemonti, J. Rodrigo and others

Tuesday, September 3, 7 pm 

Closing concert of the cycle

NEW IDEAS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA (NIKO)
Art Director and Conductor GEDIMINAS GELGOTAS

The final accords of the Sacred Music Hours will be entrusted this year to the New Ideas Chamber Orchestra (NIKO). The group of seven musicians, led by composer and conductor Gediminas Gelgotas, perform progressive classical music in a style totally characteristic to them alone, which has captured both the international professional community and audiences alike. According to the concert curator Jud Newborn, “NIKO creates an astounding experience. The effect is mesmerising, the result is attractive to audiences of various ages”. There’s no doubt about it, you too shall feel the NIKO effect!

Program features M. Lauridsen, A. Pärt, P. Vasks, G. Gelgotas, K. Gundermann