BACH / BEREZOVSKY – Ukrainian Discoveries from the Archive of the Berlin Sing-Akademie
Recently rediscovered in the archives of the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin and meticulously reconstructed, his works will be performed by the Kyiv-based ensemble Alter Ratio alongside music by his European contemporaries – Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and Baldassare Galuppi.
This concert marks the 280th anniversary of Berezovsky’s birth and the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Beyond its historical and cultural significance, the event symbolizes the return of Ukraine’s musical heritage to the global stage.
More than two decades ago, the long-lost sheet music collection of the Berlin Sing-Akademie, believed to have disappeared after World War II, was sensationally rediscovered in Kyiv. The archive contained manuscripts by Baroque and Classical composers, including members of the Bach family. In the early 2000s, as a gesture of cultural cooperation, Ukraine returned the collection to Germany, a landmark event in the collaboration between the musical and academic communities of both nations.
A remarkable revelation within this archive was the discovery of previously unknown works by Maksym Berezovsky. For centuries, his name was appropriated by the Russian imperial cultural canon, making the rediscovery and performance of his music a crucial step in reclaiming Ukraine’s artistic heritage on the world stage.
Concert Programme:
Baldassare Galuppi: Sinfonia, La Diavolessa – lautten compagney BERLIN
Maksym Berezovsky: Slava i Nyne: Yedynorodny Syne (motet for a cappella choir, premiere) – Alter Ratio
Maksym Berezovsky: Symphony in C Major – lautten compagney BERLIN
Maksym Berezovsky: Cherubic Hymn (motet for a cappella choir, premiere) – Alter Ratio
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: Organ Sonata in A Minor, Adagio, Wq. 70/4 – lautten compagney BERLIN
Maksym Berezovsky: Mylost i Sud Vospoyu Tebi, Hospod’ (Mercy and Judgment Shall I Sing to You, O Lord) (choral concerto for a cappella choir) – kammertón
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: Sinfonia for Strings in C Major, Wq. 182 – lautten compagney BERLIN
Maksym Berezovsky: Vnemlite, Ludiye (double-choir choral concerto, premiere) – Alter Ratio
Performers:
Alter Ratio Vocal Ensemble (Kyiv, Ukraine)
lautten compagney BERLIN Orchestra (Berlin, Germany)
kammertón Vocal Ensemble (Berlin, Germany)
Concert Moderators:
Olha Prykhodko – Artistic Director and Conductor of Alter Ratio, Director of kammertón, Editor and Compiler of Maksym Berezovsky’s Choral Works from the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin Archive
Christian Phillips – Program Director of the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin
The concert is supported by the Ukrainian Institute in partnership with the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin and the Berliner Dom. Media support is provided by Vitsche Berlin.