Concert magic: Hans-Ola Ericsson plays Bach in the castle church!

Concert magic: Hans-Ola Ericsson plays Bach in the castle church!

On Saturday, July 12, 2025, there will be a very special event in the Altenburg Castle Church: The Swedish organist Hans-Ola Ericsson will demonstrate his skills there. The concert entitled “Music of the Precocious Genius Sebastian Bach” begins at 5 p.m., during which Ericsson will perform the Neumeister Chorales, which the young Johann Sebastian Bach wrote as a teenager. [abg-net] reports that admission to the concert is between 10 and 17 euros, with tickets available at the museum box office and the Altenburger Land tourist information office.

Hans-Ola Ericsson is no stranger to the music world. He is a sought-after organ virtuoso who is not only established in classical music, but is also actively involved in contemporary organ music. He received his training at some of the most renowned music colleges in Stockholm, Freiburg, the USA and Venice. He also had the privilege of taking private lessons from greats such as Luigi Nono and Olivier Messiaen. He is currently a professor at several music colleges in Piteå, Copenhagen, Bremen, Amsterdam and Montreal. At his concerts, Ericsson is repeatedly inspired by his visual artistic work.

The Neumeister Collection: A treasure of chorale music

An exciting element of the concert is the performance of the chorale preludes from the Neumeister collection, which includes a total of 82 pieces. This collection was assembled in the 19th century by Johann Gottfried Neumeister (1757–1840) and rediscovered at Yale University in 1984. These include 31 previously unknown early chorale movements by Bach, which were later included in the BWV catalog (BWV 1090–1120) [wikipedia.org].

The manuscript contains numerous secrets. It is assumed that most of the 77 earliest works come from a single source, possibly a Bach family album. A small part of the collection also contains five works by Georg Andreas Sorge, Neumeister's music teacher. Many of the pieces remained unpublished until the manuscript was re-evaluated in the 1980s and have since become very popular with organists [wikipedia.org].

A look back at rediscovery

The Neumeister collection was rediscovered at the beginning of 1984 by prominent musicologists such as Christoph Wolff and Hans-Joachim Schulze and was subsequently enthusiastically performed. Wilhelm Krumbach mastered the Neumeister chorales in his first private performance as early as 1985. This rediscovery quadrupled the number of Johann Michael Bach's works in the 21st century and has reignited interest in Bach's early writings [wikipedia.org].

For music lovers and Bach enthusiasts, the concert with Hans-Ola Ericsson and the Neumeister Collection is a wonderful opportunity to immerse yourself in the profound world of early choral music. A highlight that shouldn't be missed!