Stéphane Denève conducts the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and the Netherlands Radio Choir in Fauré’s famous Requiem. But Debussy’s Danses are also on the program with Joost Willemze as harp soloist.

Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem is one of the most popular choral works. Fauré wrote a spiritual classic of an ethereal lightness. Live performances of this deeply human work leave no one unmoved. During a balanced French concert evening, Fauré’s masterpiece is mirrored to impressionistic gems by Debussy and Koechlin.

A concert that focuses on the sacred and profane in French music of the late 19th century. It opens with Debussy’s Epigraphes antiques, in which the composer focuses on the exoticism of Europe’s ancient civilizations, a theme that Escher reinforces in his subtle orchestration of this work. This ancient world is also the theme in the Danse sacrée et Danse profane by the same composer, with a sacred dance as a Greek temple ceremony contrasted with a sensual profane dance. Soloist is Joost Willemze, the young harpist who in 2022 participated in the talent trajectory ‘AVROTROS Klassiek presents!’