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Attendind a performance of Messiah is always a thrilling experience, but it is especially so when Handel’s work – which has become a national classic in England – is performed by a dedicated ensemble like the legendary German flagship of the international early-music scene: the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, now with over 44 years of history behind it. The storied chamber orchestra will perform with one of the world’s finest mixed choirs, the RIAS Kammerchor, which also hails from Berlin and was founded in the years immediately following the Second World War.

Recirquel’s new production, Paradisum explores the myth of rebirth following the silence of a destroyed world, where the means of communication is the body, and the only common language is movement. The creatures of this idyllic existence unfold from the ever-changing, swirling natural forces of the ‘fabric of life’ that pulsates around them, so they can reach the anima mundi, the world soul, through scenes of purification, birth, awakening and ritual.

It could be that even we ourselves often don’t fully comprehend how many ways the digital age has changed our relationship with music. Nevertheless, there remain themes that simply demand an analogue, more traditional approach. Active since the ’10s, singer-songwriter Gergő Szakács has transitioned over the years from monumental pop sounds to more intimate, live instrumental productions, and this journey will reach its next important milestone at Müpa Budapest.