David Lang: poor hymnal

'I saw a poor man'

A work that calls for mercy and compassion in the form of a collection of simple songs. The opening text says it all: 'I saw a poor man, he was asking for food, weeping, staring at me.' David Lang (*1957) lives in New York and says he passes the many homeless people in that city every day. He calls himself a Jew who paradoxically makes religious music with a Christian undertone.

Touching simplicity

Lang gained fame as one of the founders of Bang on a Can, a New York festival for alternative modern sounds, following the example of minimalists such as Glass, Reich and Pärt. As far as Lang is concerned, we can add medieval composers such as Perotinus and Hildegard.

Lang received the Pulitzer Prize in 2007 for his deeply moving little match girl passion , a hybrid of the St. Matthew Passion and Andersen's fairy tale. The program is appropriately simple and closely related to Satie's Messe des pauvres and Poulenc's four little prayers.

An unforgettable musical experience

The Concertgebouw’s famous Main Hall is one of the best concert halls in the world, well-known for its exceptional acoustics and special atmosphere. In the Main Hall, you will feel history. Here, Gustav Mahler conducted his own compositions, as did Richard Strauss and Igor Stravinsky. Sergei Rachmaninoff played his own piano concertos in the Main Hall. This is also where musicians such as Leonard Bernstein, Vladimir Horowitz and Yehudi Menuhin gave legendary performances. Right up to now, the Main Hall offers a stage to the world’s best orchestras and musicians. Buy your tickets now and experience the magic of the Main Hall for yourself!