In 2017 – the year of Luther – Hans-Christoph Rademann and the Gaechinger Cantorey take on Johann Sebastian Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion, the key work of the Protestant church. The exceptional concert impressively documented the new sound and superb manner of playing on historical instruments, which Hans-Christoph Rademann was able to hone in masterfully with the Gaechinger Cantorey over the course of just one year. In its choreographed version of the St. Matthew Passion, the programme offers new dimensions to Bach‘s musical drama. And, for the one hundred schoolchildren who delved into Bach‘s monumental work and learned to dance as an artistic form of self-expression, it was an opportunity to experience the power of his music first hand. The interplay of professional musicians and young amateurs turned into a creative bridge for all involved.
Christmas Oratorio
Bach’s timeless, irresistible Christmas Oratorio returns to Leipzig – and to St. Thomas’s Church, where several of its six gorgeous cantatas were heard for the very first time in 1734-35! Adding to the historical import of this unmissable event are the Gewandhausorchester, one of the world’s oldest and most venerated orchestras founded in 1781, and the Thomanerchor (St. Thomas Choir of Leipzig), a legendary ensemble formed over eight hundred years ago in 1212 and directed by Bach himself between 1723 and 1750. The eighteenth person to hold the post of Thomaskantor since Bach, Andreas Reize leads the impeccable orchestra and choir – joined by soloists Christina Landshamer, Benedikt Kristjánsson, and Konstantin Krimmel – in a festive and delightful performance of one of those cherished works from which the holiday spirit flows unfettered and ebullient.