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Press Releases
Death of Classical Presents Its Annual Performances of David Lang’s The Little Match Girl Passion in the Crypt Under the Church of the Intercession, P
Death of Classical’s annual holiday tradition returns with Lang’s Pulitzer Prize-winning work, offering an intimate and cathartic reimagining of the standard holiday concert experience
“Unlike anything else you will see—or hear—during the holiday season... Grief and radiance coexist—sad yet strangely fulfilling, spare yet overflowing.”
– BroadwayWorld
“Altogether transcendent... the stark beauty of the work’s whispering chants shined through with ravishing clarity”
– Interludes
Death of Classical presents its annual performances of David Lang’s The Little Match Girl Passion, performed by vocal ensemble Ekmeles, December 15–17, 2026, in the Crypt beneath the Church of the Intercession. Curated by Andrew Ousley, the program has become an annual holiday tradition for Death of Classical and is the only program the organization repeats every season. Performances take place at 7:00 and 8:30 PM each evening, with each preceded by an hourlong reception including food and drinks in the nave of the church.
An alternative to the customary holiday concert, The Little Match Girl Passion brings audiences together for a reflection on compassion, suffering, and hope in the intimate setting of the Crypt, with just 49 audience members at each performance.
Winner of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Music, Lang’s work is based on Hans Christian Andersen’s story of a young girl who tries unsuccessfully to sell matches on a freezing winter night. Drawing on the structure and texts of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, Lang places the girl’s story within the Passion tradition, inviting listeners to consider both her suffering and the indifference of those around her. The work is scored for four singers, each of whom also plays percussion.
As Lang writes in his program note, “The girl’s bitter present is locked together with the sweetness of her past memories; her poverty is always suffused with her hopefulness.”
Ekmeles, recipient of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation’s 2023 Ensemble Prize, returns with soprano Amber Evans, mezzo-soprano Elisa Sutherland, tenor Tomás Cruz, and bass Steven Hrycelak, with conductor Jeffrey Gavett. The program also includes the Agnus Dei from William Byrd’s Mass for Four Voices.
Listing Info
David Lang’s The Little Match Girl Passion
Performed by vocal ensemble Ekmeles
Date: December 15–17, 2026
Venue: Crypt beneath the Church of the Intercession
Tickets: $105
Performance #1:
Pre-Show Reception: 6:00PM-7:00PM
Concert: 7:00PM-8:00PM
Performance #2:
Pre-Show Reception: 7:30PM-8:30PM
Concert: 8:30PM-9:30PM
Click here for More Information and Tickets
Program
David Lang – The Little Match Girl Passion
Come, Daughter
It was Terribly Cold
Dearest Heart
In an Old Apron
Penance and Remorse
Lights Were Shining
Patience, Patience!
Ah! Perhaps
Have Mercy, My God
She Lighted Another Match
From the Sixth House
She Again Rubbed a Match
When It is Time for Me to Go
In the Dawn of Morning
We Sit and Cry
William Byrd
Mass for Four Voices - Agnus Dei
Relevant Links
?? Ticket Link
?? About The Little Match Girl Passion
?? David Lang Website
About Ekmeles
Ekmeles is a vocal ensemble dedicated to the performance of new and rarely-heard works, and gems of the historical avant garde. They have a special focus on microtonal works, and have been praised for their “extraordinary sense of pitch” by the New York Times. They are the recipients of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation’s 2023 Ensemble Prize, the first American group to receive the honor.
About Death of Classical
Death of Classical presents classical music and opera in crypts, catacombs, cemeteries, and other unusual spaces, pairing extraordinary performances with food, drink, and a sense of discovery. Founded by Artistic Director Andrew Ousley, the organization reimagines programming, production, and presentation to create deeply personal experiences that change how audiences encounter classical music.
Celebrating its 10th Anniversary Season in 2026–27, Death of Classical has presented artists including the New York Philharmonic, Lawrence Brownlee, Laurie Anderson, Caroline Shaw, Jennifer Koh, Rufus Wainwright, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Simone Dinnerstein, Gil Shaham, and Conrad Tao. Its partnerships range from the Metropolitan Opera and Carnegie Hall to the United Nations.
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