Habsburg in Tönen

<Fest #3>

A musical fest for one of the most powerful families in old Europe

The Habsburgs, the most powerful house in old Europe, gave themselves many euphonious names – the Archducal House, the House of Austria – but their goal was always the same, to unite as many countries and peoples under their rule as possible. Graz’s “city crown” – the urban realisation of their claim to power – is the perfect setting for a music festival celebrating the Habsburgs. Come witness a musical testimony of the piety of the 16th century, of the baroque emperors who were themselves composers, the gregarious family life of Empress Maria Theresa and of the martial end of the 18th century.

Music by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and Johann Joseph Fux, the “Styrian Palestrina”, will be performed in Graz’s cathedral, while lamentations for the Emperor by Viennese musicians Schmelzer and Froberger can be heard in the mausoleum. The old university’s auditorium is the setting for a short opera by Caldara about Maria Theresa and her sisters playing cards. The evening will end with the revelation of the true story behind Joseph Haydn’s “Emperor’s Hymn”.

Cathedral: Missa
Palestrina: Kyrie and Gloria from “Missa brevis”
Vaet: Musica Dei donum
de Cleve: Staatsmotette for Archduke Karl
Fux: Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei from “Messa di San Carlo”, K 7

Mausoleum: Lamento
Schmelzer: Lamento sopra la morte di Ferdinando III a tre
Froberger: Lamento sopra la dolorosa perdita della Real Maestà di Ferdinando IV
Biber: Ciacona from “Mensa Sonora”, Pars III
Fux: Sonata in c minor, K 368
Vivaldi: Sinfonia in b minor “al Santo Sepolcro”, RV 169

Aula der Alten Universität: Il Giuoco
Caldara: Il Giuoco del Quadriglio
composed for Maria Theresia and her sisters (Vienna 1734)

In the field camp: Divertimento
When Joseph II. started the war against the Turks ...
Mozart: Piano trio in G major, K 564
Ich möchte wohl der Kaiser sein, K 539
Beim Auszug in das Feld, K 552 (song)

When Franz II. fought the French ...
Haydn: Gott erhalte Franz, den Kaiser
Haydn: Romance with variations from the symphony no. 85 “La Reine de France” (arranged for piano trio)