Old Bach monument in Leipzig

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Old Bach monument from the south

The Leipzig old Bach monument is in the green space on Dittrichring, near the St. Thomas Church , and is the world's oldest monument to Johann Sebastian Bach . Donated by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy , it was inaugurated in 1843 . The designs come from Eduard Bendemann , Ernst Rietschel and Julius Hübner . The monument was made by the Leipzig sculptor Hermann Knaur . After its construction, it has been restored several times, most recently in 2005.

shape

On two octagonal stone slabs stands an octagonal sandstone plinth, which supports a cantoned pillar, which is surrounded by four narrower columns that are twisted in a spiral in the middle. A common square capital rests on these five pillars, on which the actual monument stands like a house with a square floor plan. It is made up of four Romanesque arches, each with a triangular gable open at the bottom. The gables converge as a roof and carry a stone finial that crowns and closes the monument. The monument is surrounded by an octagonal iron fence.

Finial

Second finial in the Leipzig Bach Archive

The finial has been replaced and changed in shape at least twice since the monument was erected. The presumably second finial has been in the Leipzig Bach Archive since the early 1980s. As can be seen on a wood engraving, the first finial was significantly larger than the current one.

relief

Two sides of the relief

The relief consists of a four-sided sandstone with half-relief representations, each under a Romanesque arch. Each side is covered by a small, copper ridge roof and each has a different motif:

1. (North) Bach's bust,
2. (West) angel who teaches boys to sing,
3. (South) Two angels under a cross, one with a crown of thorns in his hands, the other with a palm branch and a chalice,
4. (East) An angel playing the organ with a bellows treadle.

Pillar section

The column section consists of a total of 16 columns, with eight in the center and a smooth column on each of the four sides. There is a twisted column at each of the four corners. These all have Corinthian capitals, three round parts and one octagonal part.

base

The base is octagonal and has three steps. The top part of the base is made of metal and is decorated at the four corners.

history

The initiative for the erection of a monument to Bach in Leipzig came from the composer and Gewandhaus Kapellmeister in Leipzig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy in 1840 . The monument was designed by the Dresden painter Eduard Bendemann , further developed with the help of his colleagues Ernst Rietschel and Julius Hübner , executed by the sculptor Hermann Knaur in Elbe sandstone and erected in 1843 at its current location, which was then directly behind the Thomas School .

On August 6, 1840, Mendelssohn gave an organ solo concert in Leipzig's Thomaskirche , in which he played six works by Johann Sebastian Bach and which he began and ended with his own improvisations. This concert was followed by the performance of the St. Matthew Passion on April 4, 1841 and on the day the monument was unveiled in 1843 a concert with representative vocal and instrumental works by Bach. The memorial was mainly financed from the net proceeds of the three concerts; Mendelssohn added the remaining amount from his private fortune.

The monument was ceremonially unveiled on April 23, 1843. After a concert in Leipzig's Gewandhaus , in which exclusively works by Johann Sebastian Bach sounded, sung by the St. Thomas Boys Choir , partly boosted by amateur choir singers and accompanied by one of the members of the Gewandhaus Orchestra formed Bläserchor, at the monument two hymns and Bach's motet Sing to the Lord a new song , BWV 225. In addition, the government and city council Friedrich Heinrich Wilhelm Demuth gave a speech.

photos

  • Woodcut after a watercolor by Eduard Bendemann, 1850

  • Photo by Hermann Walter , around 1880

  • today's view from the north

  • today's view from the south

  • Engraving by Albert Henry Payne from "Leipzig um 1860"

literature

  • The unveiling of the monument to Johann Sebastian Bach . In: Illustrirte Zeitung . No. 2 . J. J. Weber, Leipzig July 8, 1843, p. 24-25 ( Wikisource ).
  • Peter Wollny: “A memorial stone for the fine old guy!” FMB and the old Bach monument in Leipzig. Series: Edition Bach-Archiv 2. Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig 2004 ISBN 3-374-02252-9

Web links

Commons : Altes Bachdenkmal  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

swell

  1. ↑ Labeling in the Bach archive file: Description Kreuzblume Bach Archive.jpg
  2. ↑ Wood engraving, printed in Magasin pittoresque, Paris 1858, based on the watercolor by Eduard Bendemann 1850 File: Altes Bachdenkmal (Leipzig) - Holzstich.jpg
  3. ↑ On July 21, 1840, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy presented his request to erect a monument in honor of Johann Sebastian Bach to the City Council of Leipzig. See: Leipzig City Archives, Acta. The memorial stones for Sebastian Bach, chap. 26 A No. 3
  4. ^ Bert Hagels: Concerts in Leipzig 1779/80 - 1847/48. A statistic . Ries & Erler, Berlin 2009, Statistics, p. 1060 f.
  5. ↑ Peter Wollny: “A memorial stone for the great old guy!” FMB and the old Bach monument in Leipzig. Series: Edition Bach Archive 2. Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig 2004, p. 42 f.
  6. ^ MDR: History of the Monument ( Memento from September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), May 12, 2004

Coordinates: 51 ° 20 ′ 19.7 ″  N , 12 ° 22 ′ 17.2 ″  E