Bach's cantata festival: emotional flights in Leipzig's Nikolaikirche!

Bach's cantata festival: emotional flights in Leipzig's Nikolaikirche!

Leipzig, Deutschland - yesterday, on June 13, 2025, the Constellation Choir and Orchestra under the direction of Sir John Eliot Gardiner provided a musical pleasure in the Nikolaikirche, Leipzig. The concert was part of the renowned stream festival and was all about Johann Sebastian Bach's impressive cantatas. Three works were listed, which were specially composed for the Sunday anniversaries, which made the program a festival for all lovers of old music. The Opernmagazin reports that the concert was particularly impossible with the emotional depth and the technical brilliance of the performances.

The first cantata, "you will cry and howl", BWV 103 from 1725, opened the evening with a fugal choir that masterfully made joy and grief in dialogue. The tenoraria "Recover you, sad senses" addressed the pursuit of happiness. So Gardiner woked the two emotions and showed a fine feeling for the complex emotional world of these cantata, which also captivated the audience.

Bach times experience

In the second cantata "Cry, complaints, worries, zages", BWV 12, from 1714, a meditative symphony, in which the oboens play emerged as particularly concise. The well-known choral "Cry, complaints, worries, sages" is later used in the final piece of Bach's H minor trade fair, BWV 232. The choir also shone through great sensation and exemplary control. Contributors such as countertenor Alexander Chance and bass baritone Florian Störtz converted their arias, with tenor Thomas Hobbs in the emotional aria "be faithful, all pain" came into their own.

The third cantata "We have to get through a lot of tribulation", BWV 146, probably comes from 1726 and takes over sentences of the D minor-Cembalo concert, BWV 1052. Here the Sinfonia, together with a four-part choir, became an intensive meditation, which due to the souls by soprano Marie Luise Werneburg and Duett from Hobbs and Störtz was rounded off. The conclusion was a flawlessly performed final choir that put the audience into a lavish enthusiasm.

the master and his music

Sir John Eliot Gardiner is not only an outstanding conductor, but also a key figure in the revival of old music. The website of the Bachfestes emphasizes that it is considered an innovative and dynamic musician who has significantly shaped the historically informed performance practice. Since the founding of Springhead Constellation in September 2024, he has been running the Constellation Orchestra and the Constellation Choir and has already celebrated a successful first tour in December 2024.

The conductor is not only known for his much -noticed appearances, but also for its impressive recordings. Whether with the Monteverdi Choir or the English Baroque Soloists, Gardiner has always managed to interpret very different styles of the Bach cantatas. Like Deutschlandfunk reports , Gardiner emphasizes that there are many ways to interpret music, and his own performances have steadily developed over the years.

The Bachfest Leipzig offers a unique overview of the church year with incredible 33 cantatas in just 48 hours. Gardiner's “Kantate-Ring” recognizes the important role of the cantatas and shows the incredible variety in Bach. At the end of the evening, it should be noted that such masterpieces and their performances come about through a good knack and a lot of dedication - and Gardiner once again impressively demonstrated this.