Michael Reichel (ari)
"Not all musicians believe in God, but they all believe in Johann Sebastian Bach." These words by Mauricio Kagel make it clear how important Bach's music still is today, 275 years after his death. No one who is serious about music can ignore Bach.
Why this is the case can certainly not be explained exhaustively here (in fact, not even rudimentarily). However, it is worthwhile engaging with this fascinating and magnificent musical language, if only for purely hedonistic reasons. It is simply a lot of fun to dig into such a beautiful and interesting thing - the deeper the better! I would like to share some of this fun with you and take you on an exciting exploration of the music of the great Thomaskantor.
On the way to the music, I am not so much interested in Bach's life (biographical and personal aspects, anecdotes and beautiful stories) as I am in taking a look into Bach's composing room. I will try to shed light on some of Bach's compositional marvels using sound examples. To this end, I will provide you with various listening aids for analyzing musical perception. It goes without saying that this cannot provide a complete overview of Bach's music - pars pro toto. What is important to me is the attempt to explore how Bach dealt with music. A look into the composer's kitchen is intended to illustrate the fascination of his music once again in a special way. Let us take you on a journey to and into the music of J. S. Bach. From this path, you can perhaps observe and explore the giant in a new and different way.
Works from Bach's church music will serve as audio examples (this is of course related to my work as a cantor). If anyone would like to prepare themselves and get in the mood, here are the most important audio examples of my lecture: Bach's very last work, the organ chorale "Vor deinen Thron tret ich hiermit", the "Fuge C-Dur" from BWV 547 and the "Et expecto" from the Mass in B minor.
Hans-Jürgen Freitag has been cantor at St. Jakobuskirche in Ilmenau since March 2000. He was artistic director and initiator of the Messiaen Festival, in which the complete organ works of Messian were performed, and of the 2011 organ festival to mark 100 years of the Walcker organ. In 2013, he was awarded the Medal of Honor of the City of Ilmenau.
Admission: 5 euros
