Concert in the Minorite church

Unforgettable venues

The Sing Along Concert in Vienna offers its participants special impressions of music, art and architecture

Sing Along Concert Vienna

From May 4-8, 2016 the European Capital of Music will once again resound. The Sing Along Concert taking place on May 8 will make the hearts of about 1.140 singers beat faster. Reasons are not only the top-class cast with the Berlin Radio Choir, Simon Halsey and the Academic Philharmonics Vienna but also the venues for rehearsals and performances.

The rehearsals for the Sing Along Concert will take place in two groups on May 6 and 7. The split into two rehearsal groups offers all participants ideal conditions for a rehearsal in a historical setting. Singers will rehearse in the Minorite church (Minoritenkirche) in the heart of Vienna, one of Vienna‘s oldest and artistically outstanding churches.

A historical location for a rehearsal: the Minorite church

The first Minorites came to Vienna during the lifetime of their fraternity's founder, Saint Francis. The Duke of Babenberg Leopold VI founded in 1224 the monastery of the Minorite fraternity and the Minorite church of the Holy Cross at this place.

Its architect, the Minorite Fra Giacomo from Paris, is also credited with the whole impressive portal. The facade is 54 meters high and in compliance with the three inner naves split in tripartite. The interior of this Gothic church houses a mosaic copy of the "Last Supper" by Leonardo da Vinci. Since 1809 millions of tiny tesserae were put together by the Roman artist Giacomo Raffaelli into an artwork of 9,18 meters width, 4,47 meters height and about 20 tons of weight.

Originally the "Viennese Supper" was a commissioned work of Napoleon. But after his death, before the completion of the work, Emperor Kaiser Franz I. bought the mosaic and ordered it to be brought to Vienna's Minorite church, which is looked upon as Vienna's "Italian church". According to Karl Weiss, a former member of the directorate, the opus of an Italian artist belongs into an Italian church.

Minorite church Mosaic copy of the „Last Supper“ Great Hall of the Wiener Konzerthaus

Singing amidst classical elegance

The Sing Along Concert represents the conclusion of the renowned International Franz Schubert Choir Competition which celebrates its 30th anniversary from May 4-8, 2016 and is being organized by INTERKULTUR.

On the occasion of this anniversary and in honor of the event's patron the participating singers will rehearse Schubert's mass in E flat major for Soli, choir and orchestra and perform this piece of music on May 8 under the direction of Simon Halsey at 6 p.m. at the Great Hall of the Wiener Konzerthaus.

The Great Hall is located in the heart of the Konzerthaus, which offers more than 600 rooms. It has a capacity for more than 1.800 visitors and is the perfect place for all kinds of different music styles. Each year renowned soloists and orchestras perform a program ranging from Jazz to classical music. The Great Hall was reconstructed comprehensively in 1999 but whilst technical equipment and comfort have been modernized the classical elegance with its Art Nouveau decorations has been maintained.  

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