Haydneum Festival of Sacred Music – AURA MUSICALE – Strattner, Esterházy, Capricornus

The fourth concert in the Haydneum Festival of Sacred Music features works by three artists. German church musician, composer and hymn writer Georg Christoph Strattner (1645–1704) became a choir boy in Stuttgart at the age of 14, then moved to Weimar where he was first a member, and eventually head of the court orchestra. His cousin and first music teacher, the Czech composer Samuel Capricornus (1628–1665), studied in Sopron and Silesia before taking a music post at the Viennese court. Later he worked as a church musician in Bratislava and finally he held the post of kapellmeister in Stuttgart until his death. Although the third artist on the programme, Pál Esterházy (1635–1713), lived in the Baroque period, his multifaceted talents qualify him being referred to as a Renaissance figure; despite the fact that he was ispán of Moson Comitat, then palatine of Hungary and a distinguished military leader, he also bequeathed important works of poetry and music to posterity. Baroque chamber ensemble Aura Musicale were formed in 1995. Distinguished cellist Balázs Máté is their founder and artistic director.