With works by J.S. Bach, W.A. Mozart, G.F. Handel. Conductor: Honna Tetsuji
Note: The concert has an age restriction for participants above 8 years.
Johann Sebastian Bach | Concerto in D minor
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Krönungsmesse
Friedrich Händel | Passacaglia in G-minor
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Tantum ergo K 197
Conductor: Honna Tetsuji
During the festive period, the time of Advent, the Goethe-Institut Hanoi welcomes you for this year’s Christmas Concert under the direction of conductor Honna Tetsuji and in collaboration with musicians of the VNSO, singers of the VNOB and the Catholic Youth Choir. This Christmas Concert is a cultural event – an event as it could take place in every German town in December and around Christmas time.
For centuries, Christmas has been celebrated in Germany and Europe as a family feast. Celebrating Christmas is a warm and happy atmosphere. Joy and the light of a candle remind of the evening star and create the festive mood of the occasion.
The Christmas concert in Hanoi is a brought to you as a cultural event. It reflects the meaning and tradition which Christmas has for German culture, not only for those who believe. Songs and singing for example bear a great significance for the concert. This goes back to the Middle Ages and the powerful role a church choir has had in singing praise. The compositions which we hear are ultimately based on the groundbreaking work of Johann Sebastian Bach. All of the music program makes use of the church as a space where the sounds can travel and develop. This creates a powerful and elevating atmosphere and makes the concert an extraordinary music event.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's
Tantum ergo is an opus of praise. It will introduce the concert night. The hymn contains the last two stanzas of Saint Thomas Aquinas’ hymn
Pange Lingua. Tantum ergo has been set to music by many other composers.
This is followed by two very special pieces of the Baroque period. The
Passacaglia was originally a dance form as well as a musical variation in the typical Baroque Dreimetrum. George Friedrich Handel's
Passacaglia in G-minor is a rare and extraordinary interpretation. It is probably a very early work by Handel and one of his most important and well-known compositions. The second Baroque piece, the
Concerto in D-minor by Johann Sebastian Bach is a very special choice for the atmospheric evening. Musicians after Bach, like Mahler, were incredibly precise with their music: they described every little innuendo of their symphonies. Bach, however, left immense space of freedom for interpretation of his composition. That gives each concert, each new setting of his pieces a certain uniqueness and particularity.
A highlight of the concert event is the
Krönungsmesse (Coronation Mass) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The cheerful serenity that is representative for many of the composer's works can be perceived already in the very first notes. It may come from its original purpose. Probably the mass was composed for Easter’s divine service in 1779 in the Salzburg Cathedral. Since then it has become the preferred music for royal and imperial coronations as well as masses.
The contemplative and ceremonious evening is going to be undertaken by the solos by Dao Mai Anh and Le Hoang Lan and by the chant by To Loan, soprano, Phuong Thảo, alto, Đình Chúc as the tenor and Vũ Manh Dũng, bariton.
The Goethe-Institut Hanoi cordially invites you for this pre-Christmas musical event and welcomes you to get into the right mood for the best time of the year.
All donations will be spent The pastoral council of Cua Bac parish to help the poor in the parish especially in the Red riverside.
We are looking forward to donations!
Photo: Honna Tetsuji
Honna Tetsuji studied under Kazuo Yamada and Michiyoshi Inoue at the Royal Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra and London Sifonietta. Permanent conductor of Osaka Symphony Orchestra (1995-2001), Guest permanent conductor of Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra (1997-2000). Honna was appointed with VNSO as Music Advisor and conductor (2001-2009); he conducted numerous orchestra (including La Scala Phil, Filharmonia London, Hungary State Symphony, Arturo Toscanini Orchestra) and made many concerts with the VNSO.
Photo: Dao Mai Anh
Dao Mai Anh began taking violin lessons with her father Dao Dinh Hai at the age of seven. Upon her graduation from the VNAM in 1993, Mai Anh became a member of the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra (VNSO) and advanced her orchestral skills with the Osaka Symphony Orchestra and the Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra under a grant by the Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan. She has been concertmaster of the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra since 2004.
Photo: Le Hoang Lan
Le Hoang Lan was born and raised in a musical family. She graduated Bachelor in Violin and later Master of Arts specializing in Performing Arts at the VNSO. Since 2003, she has been the concertmistress of the VNSO. She is frequently a soloist for the orchestra. She is also a member of Hoa Sen Vietnam String and was rewarded the title “Artist of Merit” by the State of Vietnam.
Photo: Nguyen Dinh Chuc
Nguyen Dinh Chuc graduated from the University of Music Honors at the VNAM in 2016. He received gold medal at the contest for young talented students nationwide in 2012. He is currently a soloist at the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet, a Visiting lecturer at Hanoi College of Art and is also studying Master of Music Performance at the Vietnam National Academy of Music.
Photo: Vu Manh Dung
Vu Manh Dung graduated with B.A. degree of Music Education from National University of Art Education and specialized in Vocal Performance at the VNAM under the guidance of Doctor, Meritorious Artist Tran Ngoc Lan. In December, 2009, he graduated excellently with M.A. degree, specializing in Opera performance under the direction of Profesor and People’s Artist Trung Kien. Now, he is the Baritone soloist of The Vietnam National Opera and Ballet, and a lecturer of Vocal Department at the VNAM. He was the soloist in many operas and oratorios.
Photo: Thao Nguyen
Thao Nguyen has a Bachelor of Music in the National Academy of Music in Vietnam, she is currently working at the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet.
Photo: Dao To Loan
Dao To Loan graduated Master Class in 2016 at the VNAM. She received scholarships to study language and singing at the Goethe Institut in Bonn and Frankfurt and also a scholarship for a music project between Vietnam and Norway in 2014 and one in Austria in 2017. To Loan won the first big contest in Vietnam named Sao Mai (2011), first prize and voted from audience at John Lidal Opera Workshop (2014) as well as the first Opera in Southeast Asia in 2019. She performed a lot in Vietnam and other countries in the world and has been successful in the genre Opera, Semi classic and ballad.
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