FULL MEMENTO MORI – Von Trauer und Trost in der Musik Vienna 2025 Rafael Fingerlos

Information on the Performance

• Work Title: Memento mori - Von Trauer und Trost in der Musik  
• Composer: various  
• Libretto: various  
• Venue & Opera Company: Wien, Austria  
• Recorded: November 2025
• Type: Concert Live
• Singers: Rafael Fingerlos
• Conductor:   
• Orchestra: Wienerlied-Ensemble Divinerinnen, Sascha El Mouissi, PIANO  
• Stage Director:   
• Costume Designer:   

Information about the Recording

• Published by: 3sat  
• Date Published: 2025  
• Format: Broadcast
• Quality Video: 4 Audio:4
• Subtitles: nosubs  

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE

In collaboration with baritone Rafael Fingerlos, Martin Pichl’s film explores how music transforms our perspective on mortality: between farewell, remembrance, and a quiet hope. Great song meets personal conversations. They reveal how sounds carry rituals, replace language, and foster community.

“Death must be a Viennese,” goes a song by the Viennese composer Georg Kreisler. The end of a person’s life is particularly celebrated and solemnly sung about here. Nowhere does death seem to feel more at home than in the old imperial city. The morbidity of transience is omnipresent in Vienna, especially late at night when the narrow streets grow quiet and somewhere a soft church bell reminds us of the constant passage of time.

The image shows the entrance gate of St. Marx Cemetery in Vienna. The gate is made of red brick and features a curved arch. There are decorative elements, including a cross at the top center of the gate. Metal grille doors are visible on either side of the entrance, concealing the view of the cemetery. A plaque hangs above the gate, presumably containing information about the cemetery. Several flags are also attached to the gate, fluttering gently in the breeze. In the background, another brick building with large windows can be seen. It is surrounded by trees beginning to shed their autumn leaves. The overall impression is one of tranquility and contemplation, fitting the film’s theme of death and memory in music. The subdued lighting further emphasizes the melancholic mood.
The film’s journey leads to particularly evocative locations in Vienna. At St. Marx Cemetery, the focus shifts to remembrance: candles, names, silence. The “Zacherl Factory” once produced mothballs, invented by an insurance entrepreneur named Johann Zacherl to combat moth damage. The listed building provided the setting for unusual music recordings for the film – intimate, breathing, and devoid of pathos.

Vienna’s Central Cemetery broadens the perspective to encompass the city’s collective memory and its famous composers. In Schubert’s death apartment, biography and song intertwine. Brief tableaux of the city capture transitions: changes in light, footsteps, the flickering of a candle.

The image depicts a musical performance in an open, light-filled room with a rough brick wall. In the center of the image stands a man in black clothing, seemingly speaking or singing. Five female musicians sit around him. From left to right, the following instruments are visible: – A woman plays the violin. – Another woman holds a second violin. – A third musician plays an accordion. – A woman with a guitar sits beside her. – The last musician plays a cello. They are seated on chairs, with microphones positioned around them. The room’s floor is made of wood, and the walls and lighting give the entire space a rather industrial feel. There are no specific identifying marks on the musicians or any information about their appearance that would describe any particular characteristics.
Musically, the film spans from Schubert, Mozart, and Beethoven to Mahler and Strauss. Rafael Fingerlos (baritone) and Sascha El Mouissi (piano) perform works such as Schubert’s “An die Musik,” Mozart’s “Abendempfindung,” Beethoven’s “In questa tomba oscura,” and Strauss’s “Allerseelen” and “Morgen!”

A string quintet comprised of members of the Vienna Philharmonic and the Viennese song ensemble Divinerinnen expands the sonic palette; Mahler’s “Ich bin der Welt abhandengekommen” is presented in a new chamber music arrangement.

Funeral director Sonja Dietl elaborates: The way we deal with death is changing, but music remains. The camera allows for spaces and pauses, the editing works musically – with breath and sightlines. This creates a space in which the audience can reflect on their own experiences – between grief, gratitude, and hope.

Quoted from 3sat

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