Duration
56 Min
Gianluigi Gelmetti conducts Beethoven’s Christus am Ölberge
Concert
Stiftskirche St. Amandus
Production Date: 25/09/1987
56 Min
Beethoven’s only oratorio, Christus am Ölberge, has long been a rarity among the composer's works, and the libretto – by Franz Xaver Huber – has been subject to considerable criticism, not least from the composer himself. But, as this handsome performance conducted by Gianluigi Gelmetti and filmed in the 500-year-old gothic Amanduskirche in southern Germany shows, it is a work that should be much better known. Composed in a burst of inspiration in late 1802 and early 1803, it presents a movingly human account of Jesus in the Garden of Gesthsemane ahead of his cruxifixion. It is a work that shows a lesser-known side of Beethoven – and which shows him at his most humane.
- Soloists:
- Matthias Hölle (Bass), Manfred Jung (Tenor), Alison Hargan (Soprano)
- Ensembles:
- Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart, SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart
- Conductor:
- Gianluigi Gelmetti
