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Interview with Eduard Antal about the 4th edition of the "Cantus Ecclesiae" Festival
A new edition of the "Cantus Ecclesiae" Festival begins on Saturday, 1 June, offering concerts by great organists on some of the most important organs in Bucharest until 23 June. The project manager, Eduard Antal, gives details.
What does this new series of events have in store for us?
This series of events retains much of the structure of the previous editions, namely those categories already well known, "Great Soloists" at the Cathedral "St Joseph" in Bucharest on Sunday, the chamber music microstages "Organ and Friends" at the Italian Church and the French Church on Tuesday and Wednesday. A new feature is the "Family" category, i.e. concerts by organists' families at the National University of Music in Bucharest on Thursday, where we will be able to listen to the Schlandt family, the organists of the Black Church in Brasov, the Racoveanu family, professors of the National University of Music in Bucharest, as well as an extended family of organists, where we propose a gala of winners of the "Ada Ulubeanu" National Competition - organ section. Another novelty is the "Special" section, where on Saturday we present three concerts, a solo recital at the Romanian Athenaeum on June 15th, another recital at the Evangelical Church of Augustan Confession or "Lutheran" Church, as it is best known, and two other concerts at the Anglican Church, a concert performed by the "Vox Medicalis" choir and another solo recital performed by a guest of theirs from Great Britain.
It has never been easy for us to decide on the guests we invite to the festival; on one hand, because we are inundated with numerous desires and requests to participate in our festival; at the same time, we also reward those who are loyal and have an intrinsic connection with our festival, and therefore we invite them year after year. Here, I am thinking of Mr. Steffen Schlandt, the organist of the Black Church, and Mr. Racoveanu from Bucharest, who have been with the festival since it was just a simple idea and have helped us greatly in its implementation. The feedback we receive from all the artists, whether they are from the country or abroad, whether they are participating for the first time or returning to our events, is the same positive reaction of enthusiasm: they enjoy the instruments they find in Bucharest, they appreciate the audience's enthusiasm, and the warmth with which they are received at our concerts.
Speaking of the audience's enthusiasm, I would like to know what the reactions of the listeners who come are: is there a special audience for this festival, or is it the general classical music audience in Bucharest?
I believe it is the general audience, the people who love music. Of course, after so many participations, after so many organ concerts, they gradually become specialists in the field. Thus, we no longer have pauses for cadences, no more applause between movements, they know the composers specific to this instrument better and better, and they are much more specialized in organ music. Perhaps this is partly because we have had many events through which we presented them with insights into this organ world, whether we are talking about conferences, the guided tour of the organs that we organized in the previous edition, or through the simple discussions that the audience has with our guests after the concerts or (why not?) the explanations presented to them at the beginning of the concerts, whether about the artist or what they will listen to.
What are the must-see events of this edition?
As an organizer, I tell you with utmost sincerity, all the events are must-see. However, the concerts at the "Saint Joseph" Cathedral in Bucharest hold a greater weight, where we bring in organists from abroad. This year, we will have the privilege of listening to the principal organist of the Vatican. Any celebration with Pope Francis in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican is accompanied by the organist who will open the festival, Mr. Josep Coll. Additionally, at the cathedral, we will have a cine-concert with the principal organist of the "Saint Eustache" Church in Paris. During this concert, we will watch a silent film, and the organist will improvise the entire soundtrack. Another very important and unmissable concert is on June 15th at the Romanian Athenaeum. With the help of the Polish Institute, we managed to bring a very important organist from Poland, who will give a solo recital on the Athenaeum stage with works written especially for the organ, as well as many arrangements. For example, we will hear parts of Beethoven's Symphonies and sections from Holst's "The Planets," so it will be an eclectic program. Most of our concerts have free admission, with the exception of the concert at the Athenaeum, where tickets can be purchased both from the philharmonic's box office and online.
Translated by Ramona Ana-Maria Ionescu,
University of Bucharest, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, MTTLC, year I
Corrected by Silvia Petrescu