Easter at St Michael's Church
Easter is the main festival of Christianity because the resurrection of Jesus Christ is at the heart of the Gospel. (Even though the Salvatorians have a special connection to Christmas.) Paul puts it in radical terms: ‘If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain’.1 The resurrection is the foundation of Christian hope. It testifies that God is stronger than suffering, guilt and death.
Exceptional concerts in St Michael's Church
This central mystery of faith is celebrated in a special way at St. Michael's Church www.michaelerkirche.at). In addition to the solemn liturgies, extraordinary concerts characterise the Easter season. High-calibre church music, sophisticated choral works and festive organ programmes under the direction of Manuel Schuen, organist and director of church music at St. Michsel, make the joy of Easter audible and open up a space where faith and art meet.
The programme
Maundy Thursday, 2 April 2026, 6 p.m.
On the Liturgy Works for Maundy Thursday
von Melchior Franck, Anton Bruckner und Maurice Duruflé
Soprano and organ: Zuzanna Mika
Alt: Johanna Zachhuber | Tenor: Juan Sebastián Acosta
Bass and conductor: Manuel Schuen
Good Friday, 3 April 2026, 6:00 p.m.
On the Liturgy Christoph Demantius: Johannes-Passion
Good Friday motets by Gesualdo and others
Bass and conductor: Manuel Schuen
Saturday, 4 April 2026, (Easter Vigil), 8 p.m.
For the liturgy, Latin Exsultet, solemn organ music
Works for soprano, alto and organ
Musical arrangement: Zuzanna Mika, Sophie Magnanini, Manuel Schuen
Easter Sunday, 5 April 2026, 10:00 a.m.
For the liturgy Joseph Haydn: Theresienmesse
Soloists, choir and orchestra of St. Michael's
At the Sieber organ: Zuzanna Mika
Conductor: Manuel Schuen
Easter Monday, 6 April 2026, 6 p.m.
Holy Mass
The Second Vatican Council describes the Paschal Mystery as the source and summit of the Church's life. The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, states that Christ ‘by his death destroyed our death and by his resurrection created new life’ (SC 5). This reality is particularly evident in the celebration of the Easter Vigil: the light of the Easter candle pierces the darkness, the Exsultet proclaims the victory of life, and the Church joyfully proclaims ‘Alleluia,’ which had fallen silent during Lent.
The significance of church music during Easter
Church music is not merely decoration in the liturgy, but is an integral part of its essence. Sacrosanctum Concilium calls liturgical singing ‘a necessary and integral part of the solemn liturgy’ (cf. Second Vatican Council, Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, No. 112).
This takes on a special intensity during the Easter season. The recurring Hallelujah, festive organ music and choral singing give voice to the Easter joy and carry the message of resurrection into our minds and hearts. This combination of words and music reveals what Easter promises: hope, new life and a future beyond death.
During Eastertide, it becomes clear how closely singing and liturgy are linked. Where the congregation sings, Easter hope comes alive. Music helps us not only to understand the mystery of death and resurrection, but also to comprehend it inwardly.
Easter as a source of hope
For the Salvatorian religious order, which is committed to salvation and the proclamation of the Gospel, Easter is therefore more than a liturgical event. It is both a mission and a promise. The resurrection of Christ is the source of the mission and the basis of all hope. In word, deed and song, the Church bears witness: God has the last word, and that word is life.
11 Kor 15,14. (Vgl. Die Bibel, Einheitsübersetzung 2016, 1 Kor 15,14).