Elizabeth and Catherine of Austria

September 9, Friday, 7 pm, Palace of the Grand Dukes, Katedros a. 4

Brevis Choir and Consort (Lithuania, Germany, Italy, Poland)

Directors Gintautas Venislovas and Darius Stabinskas

With their new program “Two Habsburg Ladies”, Brevis Choir and Consort seek to revive the portraits of two important women from the Habsburg dynasty, the sisters Elizabeth and Catherine, who were both queens of Poland and grand duchesses of Lithuania. These regents, former wives of Sigismund II Augustus, are still overshadowed by the figure of Barbara Radziwiłł in Lithuanian history. By taking an interest in these women’s lives – preserved in their letters and other historical accounts – the performers utilised the unique material they discovered to paint musical portraits of the two sisters. This concert will feature mid-16th century music from their homelands, Innsbruck and Krakow, and of course Vilnius; most of the music is being performed for the first time in hundreds of years.