The royal family celebrated 300 years of the palace chapel

Fredensborg Palace Chapel is 300 years old, and on Wednesday evening four members of the Danish royal family gathered in the pews. King Frederik and Queen Mary, Queen Margrethe and Princess Benedikte attended the anniversary concert.

The chapel was inaugurated on King Frederik IV's birthday on 11 October 1726, and the anniversary has been marked with a series of events through the summer and autumn. The royal couple were received by the chair of the parish council, Karen Hoby Skanning, and Gorm Tortzen of the conservation society, and Queen Mary was presented with flowers by a singer from the palace chapel girls' choir. Queen Margrethe and Princess Benedikte followed the concert from the royal box.

Bach, Hasse and a brand new work

The concert brought together the Fredensborg Palace Chapel Girls' Choir, conducted by Cille Buch, and an ensemble from Concerto Copenhagen. The choir has 40 singers between the ages of 14 and 24.

The programme drew on music from the time the chapel was built, by Johann Adolph Hasse and Johann Sebastian Bach. In addition, a newly composed work written for the occasion by the composer Louise Alenius was performed, based on a text from the inauguration in 1726.

From grilles to the open chapel

Hasse's "Laudate pueri" carries a history that made the evening especially fitting. In the 18th century the work was performed by orphaned girls in Venice, who had to sing behind grilles because young women were not allowed to perform in public. This time the girls stood openly in the chapel, in front of the royal family.

The text Louise Alenius took as her starting point comes from a court work from 1726 in which summer sings farewell to the royal couple. The composer has said that the anxiety in the original was about the King leaving the palace, while in her version it is more about finding one's way in life.

The concert on 7 October was sold out, and a further concert was held the following day.