Admont Abbey

A world premiere for the 950th anniversary

The choirs of the Stiftsgymnasium Admont and the Admont church choir will be singing in the premiere performance(Bild: Stiftsgymnasium Admont)

The 950th anniversary of Admont Abbey has already been celebrated in style, but now comes the musical highlight. Composer Franz Zebinger wrote the oratorio "Marienleben", which will have its premiere in the collegiate church on Sunday, June 23 at 7 pm.

Composer Franz Zebinger, who was born in St. Peter am Ottersbach in southern Styria in 1946, has been interested in the musical interpretation of medieval texts for many years. In 2016, he created the oratorio "Paradise Journey" to texts by the minned poet Hugo von Montfort, which was premiered the following year in Bruck an der Mur, and in 2018 the setting of the verse novella "Von der katzen" by Herrand von Wildon, which was premiered as the oratorio "Die Katze" in Wildon in 2019.

Composer Franz Zebinger(Bild: Zebinger/Stift Admont)

For the 950th anniversary of the Benedictine monastery in Admont, he has now set "Marienleben" to music, using text passages from the work of the same name by the Carthusian monk Brother Philipp from the beginning of the 14th century. The world-famous Admont Abbey Library owns one of the surviving manuscripts.

The composition is a commissioned work and is primarily dedicated to those sections in which the loving relationship between the mother Mary and her son Jesus is depicted - from the birth in Bethlehem, to the twelve-year-old Jesus in the temple, the wedding at Cana, the mother's pain under the cross, the joy at the resurrection of her son and finally Mary's assumption into heaven amid the rejoicing and singing of the angels.

A mammoth work for soloists and choirs
Top-class soloists such as Barbara Fink, Klaudia Tandl, Daniel Johannsen, Ewald Nagl and Gerd Kenda will perform, as will the choirs of the Admont Abbey Grammar School, the Admont Church Choir, the Alea Ensemble, Studio Percussion, Ensemble Admont 950 and Miriam Zebinger as well as Thomas Zala on the organ. The overall direction is in the hands of Albert Wonaschütz. Incidentally, the songs will be sung in the original Middle High German, with actor Nikolaus Lechthaler acting as translator. Tickets for this event are available from the museum store, the Stiftsgymnasium or at the box office.