Friday, 8 June 2018: Leipzig, Germany

Today we drove 2 hours from Bad Tabarz to Leipzig. Our room at the Marriott was ready when we arrived. After arriving, we went for lunch near the hotel at the Riquet Cafe, where we had salads and quarkkuchen.  Then we scouted out where the Nikolaikirche, Market, and Thomaskirche were. We returned to the hotel for a rest, so we would be ready for the concert at the Nikolaikirche at 8 pm.

Nikolaikirche, Leipzig

Park on the way to the Thomaskirche

Thomaskirche, Leipzig, where Johann Sebastian Bach served as Thomaskantor 1723-1750

Thomaskirche, Leipzig 

Statue of Johann Sebastian Bach at the Thomaskirche

Waiting for Spaghetti Bolognese before the concert

We stopped for a quick dinner at a cafe across street from the hotel and then walked to the 8 pm concert at the Nikolaikirche. The Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists, conducted by John Eliot Gardiner, performed four cantatas and two motets. Julia Doyle, my favorite soprano, was singing, along with Peter Harvey, one of my favorite basses.

Nikolaikirche from the second emporium

Nikolaikirche Second Emporium

Nikolaikirche Ceiling

Unfortunately, our seats were terrible, high up in back of the second emporium above the orchestra.  Dan stood up and held his camera up high, and so we have a couple of photos of the harpsichord, and by sheer luck, he caught the director, John Eliot Gardiner, briefly before the performance.

A lucky shot!

While we couldn't see the performance, the acoustics where we sat were great.  I knew it was Julia Doyle, the minute she began to sing! I hadn't realized she was on the program, when I bought the tickets six months ago. I have always wanted to see her perform, and there we were, but we couldn't see her! Peter Harvey, for some reason, sang one of his parts in the pulpit which is elevated, so we did get to see him. The music was full of spirit and so perfectly performed, with Gardiner's usual lightness and energy.

Program: Ring of Cantatas I

• J. S. Bach: Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 61
• J. Gallus: Jerusalem, gaude gaudio magno
• J. S. Bach: Schwingt freudig euch empor, BWV 36
• J. S. Bach: Wachet! betet! betet! wachet!, BWV 70
• H. Schütz: Ach Herr, du Schöpfer aller Ding, SWV 450
• J. S. Bach: Unser Mund sei voll Lachens, BWV 110

Performers: Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists, directed by Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Hana Blažíková (soprano), Julia Doyle (soprano), Reginald Mobley (altus), Peter Harvey (bass). (4 cantatas, 2 motets)

About Bach Fest 2018

The Leipzig BachFest, held in June each year, offers performances of all genres of work by Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as works by  Handel, Mendelssohn, Buxtehude, and other composers who were either contemporary to Bach or influenced by him in later years.  In this one weekend you can hear Bach concertos, cantatas, passions, organ preludes and fugues, in world famous venues such as the Thomaskirche (where Bach was Kantor from 1723-1750), the Nikolaikirche, the Gewandhaus, the Opera House, and the open air Leipzig Market. But the highlight of this year's festival is the Ring of Cantatas.

Cantatas in Bach's time were performed during a church service and focused on the Gospel reading of the day. The typical cantata lasts about 20 minutes on average. They are performed by a choir, soloists, and an orchestra. They often begin with a Chorus, then alternate between arias and recitatives by the soloists and end with a Chorale (a congregational church hymn, many of which were written by Martin Luther).

The Bach Fest 2018 Ring of Cantatas is a cyclical performance of the "30 Best" Bach Cantatas, as selected by the BachFest organizers, John Eliot Gardiner (Monteverdi Choir), Peter Wollny (Bach Archiv), and Michael Maul (BachFest).  They are performed in the Leipzig churches, in order of the liturgical year, by leading Bach directors like John Eliot Gardiner, Ton Koopman, Masaaki Suzuki, and Hans-Christoph Rademann, and soloists like Klaus Mertens (bass), Julia Doyle (soprano), and Andras Schiff (pianist), to name a few of my favorites.

The selection of just 30 cantatas was not easy. In fact, the orginal list of the "30 Best Cantatas" actually numbered more than 52, and finally ended up at 33.  Fifteen cantatas, however, were agreed upon at once by all three of the organizers.

A number of my favorite cantatas had been nominated for the Ring, but only the two in boldface actually made it into the final program:

• Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern (BWV 1, Maria Verkündigung)
• Freue dich, erlöste Schar (BWV 30, Johannistag)
• Dem Gerechten muss das Licht (BWV 195, no Sunday)
• Jesu, der du meine Seele (BWV 78, 14th Sunday after Trinity)
• Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen (BWV 51, 15th Sunday after Trinity)
• Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott (BWV 80, Reformation Day)
• Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (BWV 140, 27th Sunday after Trinity)
• Vergnügte Ruh (BWV 170, 6th Sunday after Trinity)
• Erschallet, ihr Lieder (BWV 172, 1 Pentecost)

My favorite cantata, Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben (BWV 147, Feast of the Visitation), didn't even get nominated! 

For any Bach Cantata aficionados, here is the list of "15" cantatas that were deemed by all three organizers to be among the top 30 cantatas. How many do you know?

1. Süßer Trost, mein Jesus kömmt (BWV 151, 3rd Sunday after Christmas)
2. Ich habe genug (BWV 82, Purification of Mary)
3. Sehet! Wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem (BWV 159, Last Sunday before Lent)
4. Christ lag in Todes Banden (BWV 4, 1st Sunday after Easter)
5. Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen (BWV 12, Jubilate, 3rd Sunday after Easter)
6. Ihr werdet weinen und heulen (BWV 103, Jubilate, 3rd Sunday after Easter)
7. Wir müssen durch viel Trübsal (BWV 146, Jubilate, 3rd Sunday after Easter)
8. Brig dem Hungrigen dein Brot (BWV 39, 1st Sunday after Trinity)
9. Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht (BWV 105, 9th Sunday after Trinity)
10. Nimm von uns, Herr (BWV 101, 10th Sunday after Trinity)
11. Jesu, der du meine Seele (BWV 78, 14th Sunday after Trinity)
12. Wer weiß, wie nahe mein Ende (BWV 27, 16th Sunday after Trinity)
13. Es erhub sich ein Streit (BWV 19, Michaelistag)
14. Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen (BWV 56, 19th Sunday after Trinity)
15. Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (BWV 140, 27th Sunday after Trinity)
16. Arctus tragicus (BWV 106, Funeral Cantata, not for a specific Sunday service)

And of course, there are 16 in the "Top 15", proving it is really hard to decide what is Bach's best, even for the experts!