Fragile Freedoms, featuring Haydn's "Nelson Mass"

“Fragile Freedoms” features three works that will move, uplift, and inspire.

Franz Joseph Haydn composed Missa in Angustiis (Nelson Mass) in 1798, a time of great fear in Austria. Napoleon Bonaparte had crossed the Alps and was threatening Vienna itself. Composed shortly after premièring The Creation, Haydn created a stark and powerful sound world. What he didn’t know was that British forces led by Admiral Horatio Nelson had dealt Bonaparte’s army a stunning defeat in the Battle of the Nile. Napoleon’s defeat changed the way that the Mass was heard: The menacing opening that leads into the drama that follows becomes a depiction of danger and agitation overcome by triumphant victory.

Also on the program are two brilliant contemporary works: David Lang’s deeply moving the national anthems, which exudes hope as the words of various national anthems unfold in a mesmerizing fashion; and Reena Esmail’s extraordinary When the Violin, which bridges Western and Indian musical traditions by weaving a Hindustani raag into a rich polyphonic choral texture.