Program
Johnann Sebastian Bach: Kantate “Bisher habt ihr nichts
gebeten in meinem Namen” BWV 87.
Artists
Leitung: Thomaskantor Gotthod Schwarz; Thomasorganist
Ullrich Bohme; Klaudia Zeiner (Alt), Floria Sievers (Tenor), Dirk Schmidt
(Bass); Thomaschor Leipzig; Gewandhausorchester Leipzig.
St. Thomas Church probably got its start at this location in 1212, per the Church's brochure.
Today's program and the full list of artists. Not pictured is the hymn "Vater unser im Himmelreich" sung by the congregation and the choir.
Anyone with any knowledge of Johann Sebastian Bach would
know that he worked as the Cantor at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig from 1723 to
1750 (he died that year). He was also
the cantor at St. Nicholas Church, less than a 10-minute walk away, but St. Thomas
is much better known; there is even a Bach statue outside.
Every Friday at 6 pm and Saturday at 3 pm St. Thomas
Church puts out a concert. For today it
was a motet. So we expected a small
group of singers for this concert. The
program turned out to be much more expansive. Their website showed one Cantata, but in actuality
the program contained many more pieces, starting with an organ piece “Vater
unser im Himmelreich” choral and variations by Mendelssohn. I have included photos of the program in this
blog entry, what is missing is the same hymn with alternate verses sung by the
congregation (that would include me) and the choir. The melody of this hymn is from 1396, the
words by Martin Luther. (There is a Wikipedia
entry on the title.)
We were seated in the second row to the right of this picture. There is some debate whether Bach is interred here.
The musicians before the program began. Perhaps in keeping with this being a service, there was no applause, they just stood up and walked off when the program was done.
Our seats in the choir section gave us a good view of
Bach’s tomb, but we had to strain to see the musicians at the other end of the
hall. The church was filled to capacity
as many people visit Leipzig for its music, especially Bach’s. The price was 2 euros, at the door, no advanced tickets. The quality of
the music (perhaps more my appreciation of it) was uneven: I really enjoyed the
first piece, but couldn’t quite appreciate the last one (the “advertised”
cantata.) In Bach time the musicians
were all full-time employees whose job was to provide music for church service;
I suspect that is not the case today.
The orchestra members are from the Gewandhaus Orchestra, and they carry
a heavy concert program at their regular venue.
(Some of them are on tour in China at the moment.)
The concert felt more like a service. There was a sermon given by the Rev. Britta
Taddiken, and she also offered a prayer and gave the blessing. Perhaps this was how a service was structured
in Bach’s time?
The program lasted about 1:15 hours. We were thinking of going to St. Nicholas
Church for an Organ Concert and decided to skip as it would mean a rushed
afternoon.
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