Alto

Mezzo-Soprano

Beethoven: Missa solemnis

St. Michael's Church

Standing as a monument to sacred choral works, Beethoven's Missa Solemnis is a mass setting of immense weight and scale. Lofty grandeur and heavenward serenity dance with angular leaping figures, violent dynamic contrasts weave through the delicately orchestrated massed forces, and a searching quality reflective of his own faith, that of looking beyond our understanding at a numinous God, is never far from the surface. 

EPSG:4326

BBC NOW - Missa Solemnis

Brangwyn Hall

Regarded by Beethoven as his greatest work, his Missa Solemnis is surely a ‘bucket list’ piece to experience and marvel at for all music lovers.

Missa Solemnis

Llandaff Cathedral

Performances of Beethoven's Ninth at the Laeiszhalle around the turn of the year have long since become a popular tradition. With the work, which was premiered around 200 years ago, the composer made music history with the fourth movement, as he introduced the use of vocal soloists and choir into an unusually comprehensive symphony, which was to change the genre forever. Schiller's "Ode to Joy", set to music in it, conveys a vision of universal brotherhood and unity of all people that extends beyond national and cultural boundaries. Beethoven set the words to emotionally powerful music that Berlioz praised as "unsurpassably great", Mendelssohn Bartholdy praised as "the highest that a human being can achieve", Wagner paid homage to as "the human gospel of the art of the future" and elicited the moving verdict from Tchaikovsky: "Beethoven's Ninth is not only the greatest, but also the most human of all symphonies."

A Hamburg tradition at the turn of the year

Laeiszhalle Hamburg

With the brief Schicksalslied, Johannes Brahms composed one of the highlights of Romantic choral music, evoking the tragic atmosphere of a poem where Hölderlin sings of destiny in a few words. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart unintentionally created his own requiem mass: he wrote the Requiem upon the request of an anonymous commissioner but passed away before its completion. Based on Mozart's notes, his pupil Frans Xavier Süssmayr prepared the iconic masterpiece for eternity, featuring unmistakable echoes of Bach's contrapuntal virtuosity and the influence of Händel. Honorary conductor Philippe Herreweghe is globally recognized for this period. Alongside the Collegium Vocale Gent, the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra prepares for an undoubtedly memorable tour across various Flemish cities.

Mozart's ‘Requiem’ with Philippe Herreweghe

Queen Elisabeth Hall

Concertgebouw Brugge

Music Center De Bijloke

Herreweghe dirigeert Dvořáks Requiem

Koningin Elisabethzaal, Antwerp

Muziekcentrum De Bijloke

Johann Sebastian Bach's St Matthew Passion BWV 244 performed by the Münchener Bach-Chor and Münchener Bach-Orchester under Howard Arman on Good Friday.

Bach: St Matthew Passion

Gasteig HP8

You may remember Antonio Salieri as the man accused of killing Mozart in the film Amadeus. But that is in fact unthinkable, as historical research has proved. In reality, Mozart and Salieri held each other in mutual respect.

Falstaff

BOZAR

A dramatic and redemptive requiem Mass by Giuseppe Verdi from 1874, performed with the Kaunas State Choir and soloists under conductor Christian Kluxen. Duration approx. 1 hour and 30 minutes without intermission. Concert introduction in the Carl Nielsen Hall at 6 p.m.

Alto, Mezzo-Soprano

Sophie Harmsen

Events

Upcoming events

12 - 13 Nov, 2026

Herreweghe dirigeert Dvořáks Requiem · Antwerp Symphony Orchestra

Mar 26, 2027

Bach: St Matthew Passion · Gasteig HP8

Apr 22, 2027

Falstaff · La Monnaie / De Munt

13 - 14 May, 2027

Verdi's Requiem · Odense Symphony Orchestra

14 - 16 May, 2027

An Evening of Beethoven with Philippe Herreweghe · Antwerp Symphony Orchestra

Past events

Jul 25, 2025

Beethoven: Missa solemnis · Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival

Apr 11, 2025

BBC NOW - Missa Solemnis · Brangwyn Hall

Future and recently performed repertoire

Singer in Schicksalslied by Brahms

Antwerp Symphony Orchestra

Singer in Missa solemnis by Beethoven

Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival

Alto in Requiem by Dvořák

Antwerp Symphony Orchestra

Singer in Requiem in D minor by Mozart

Antwerp Symphony Orchestra

Mistress Slender in Falstaff by Salieri

La Monnaie / De Munt

Mezzo-soprano in St. Matthew Passion by Bach

Gasteig HP8

Alto in Requiem by Verdi

Odense Symphony Orchestra

About

Sophie Harmsen hasn't added a bio