Amidst the festive splendour of All Saints’ Day, a monumental finale brings the 21st IDO Festival to a close with a top-class binational choral summit.
At the heart of this finale, the renowned Städtische Musikverein zu Düsseldorf and the French Chœur Régional Hauts-de-France come together to form a cross-border ensemble of over 100 voices. Under the baton of Dennis Hansel-Dinar, Gabriel Fauré’s immortal, profoundly comforting Requiem – in the version for choir and organ – unfolds with moving dignity.
The evening’s orchestral power is carried by the spectacular Seifert organ – the largest instrument in the Archdiocese of Cologne, which is unleashed with tremendous force by organist Odilo Klasen. Preceded by a majestic chorale by César Franck and followed by Johannes Brahms’s deeply moving *Four Serious Songs*, the festival reaches its glorious climax with this sublime work of French Romanticism. (Source: IDO Festival)
