Sun, 20 June | Thun
„A Midsummer Night's Dream“ – Thun Parish Church
From Madrid's Streets into Shakespeare's Enchanted World
Luigi Boccherini carries the audience into the nocturnal streets of Madrid. Church bells, marching soldiers, folk dances and the pulsating life of the Spanish capital merge in his Musica notturna into a musical painting as colourful as it is atmospheric.
With his Holberg Suite, Edvard Grieg builds a bridge between Baroque and Romanticism. Inspired by the dance forms of past centuries, he combines festive vitality, Nordic melancholy and unmistakable melodic beauty into one of the most popular works of the string orchestra repertoire.
In Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, the magic of the forest by night blurs the boundaries between dream and reality. Mendelssohn's music captures this special world with lightness, fantasy and delicate humour. Together with the Zurich Boys' Choir, the Empyrean Orchestra brings Shakespeare's enchanting comedy to life in Thun Parish Church.
Concert Programme – Schlosskonzerte Thun 2027
Luigi Boccherini (1743–1805)
La musica notturna delle strade di Madrid
(Night Music of the Streets of Madrid)
Op. 30 No. 6, G. 324 (1780)
For string orchestra
Edvard Grieg (1843–1907)
From Holberg's Time – Suite in Old Style, Op. 40 (1884)
- Praeludium – Allegro vivace
- Sarabande – Andante espressivo
- Gavotte – Allegretto
- Air – Andante religioso
- Rigaudon – Allegro con brio
Interval
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809–1847)
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Music to William Shakespeare's comedy
Overture Op. 21 (1826)
Incidental Music Op. 61 (1843)
Performers
- Empyrean Orchestra
- Zurich Boys' Choir
- Kevin Griffiths (conductor)