"MUNICH
PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA", "REGENSBURGER DOMSPATZEN",
"ATHESTIS CHORUS"
Following
a concert given in his honor, which was held thursday evening
in the Vatican, Benedict XVI thanked the conductor of the Munich
Philharmonic Orchestra and members of the choir of Ratisbone
Cathedral and of the Athestis Chorus.
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BENEDICT
XVI and GEORG RATZINGER with the REGENSBURGER DOMSPATZEN
in Sistine Chapel
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The Holy Father
said "he felt proud that for thirty years the choir
of Ratisbone Cathedral "was led with passion by my brother
Georg," adding that "now, under Roland Buchner, it
is still in excellent hands".
With reference to
the music he had heard and to its composers - from Palestrina
to Richard Wagner, from Mozart to Verdi and Hans Pfitzner -
the Holy Father said:
"You have
brought us an experience of something of the vastness of musical
creativity which has, indeed, always been nourished by the Christian
roots of Europe.
Even if Wagner,
Pfitzner and Verdi transport us to new dimensions for experiencing
reality, the shared foundation of a European spirit formed by
Christianity still remains present and effective.
In this concert
have we been able, once again, to feel how sublime music purifies,
uplifts and, in the final analysis, makes us feel the greatness
and beauty of God."
Benedict XVI concluded
by expressing the hope that "the harmony of music and
song, which knows no religious or social barriers, may be a
constant invitation for believers and all people of good will
to seek together the universal language of love, which makes
men capable of building a world of justice and solidarity, of
hope and peace".
20th october 2005
