Bach Choir Gütersloh
| Bach Choir Gütersloh | |
|---|---|
| Seat: | Gütersloh / Germany |
| Genus: | mixed choir |
| Founder: | 1946 |
| Head : | Sigmund Bothmann |
| Voices : | SATB |
| Website : | www.bachchor-gt.de |
The Gütersloh Bach Choir is the choir of the Martin Luther Church in Gütersloh . Like other Bach choirs , the works of Johann Sebastian Bach play an outstanding role in the selection of works. The choir is led by Sigmund Bothmann .
history
Founded under Eduard Büchsel (1946–1957)
The choir was founded on September 27, 1946 as the Evangelical Bach Choir by Eduard Büchsel . After a short time the choir already had 100 members.
Gaining national recognition under Hermann Kreutz (1957–1990)
In 1957 Büchsel handed over the management to the cantor Hermann Kreutz in order to devote himself above all to the artistic organ playing. After taking up the position in Gütersloh, where the church choir and a children's choir existed in addition to the Bach choir, Kreutz expanded the choir work in the parish by founding a choral singing school (later: Gütersloh singing school) and a youth choir .
As a result, he developed the Bach Choir into one of the best-known Westphalian choirs with a national reputation. In 1961 the choir was renamed "Bachchor Gütersloh". From 1964, the radio companies became aware of the fact that WDR as well as NDR and SFB subsequently made recordings, especially of seldom performed a cappella works by various composers. In 1959 a first single record was recorded with the Bach Choir , in 1968 he recorded the first long-playing record with Bach choirs, which was soon to be followed by more.
In addition to the classical choral works by Schütz, Bach, Brahms and other well-known composers, the focus of the choir's work was the development of new, demanding choral works by Hugo Distler , Ernst Pepping , Johannes Driessler , Willy Burkhard , Frank Martin , Francis Poulenc, as well as world premieres of works by the Gütersloh composer Carl Theodor Hütterott . Among other things, the first record of Ernst Pepping's Christmas story was released in cooperation with WDR. In the 1980s Claudio Monteverdi performed the vespers of Mary together with the German Baroque Soloists in historical performance practice with historical instruments. Kreutz performed concert tours with the Bach Choir to Belgium, France, Poland and Berlin.
Since the Wall was built , Hermann Kreutz regularly led the Bach Choir for over 30 years on Whitsun tours to Berlin. With exclusion of the public, on the verge of legality and under adventurous conditions - initially individually or in small groups "privately" - the border was crossed in order to musically help shape church services there and by (illegally) taking chorus notes and other materials with them, the church music work in to support the East Berlin communities. In West Berlin concerts were given in the Memorial Church and other churches.
In 1967 Hermann Kreutz was invited with the Gütersloh Bach Choir to participate in the European choir festival Europa cantat in Namur , Belgium. There, together with the composer César Geoffray, his mass was rehearsed and performed. From 1970 on, Hermann Kreutz regularly performed open singings with the Bach Choir and the WDR , which were broadcast live on the WDR.
Transitional phase (1990–1992)
In 1990, due to illness, Kreutz handed over his ensembles to the music teachers and Bach choir members Wolfgang Jungekrüger and Carl Theodor Hütterott.
New successes under Sigmund Bothmann (since 1992)
In 1992 Sigmund Bothmann took over the direction of the choir. At the beginning of his tenure as a cantor, he founded the Bach Orchestra, which together with the Bach Choir gave the first concert - the complete Bach Christmas Oratorio . To support the choir ideally and financially, a support association was founded in 1993. Two series of events have been established to give the choir new recurring dates: an annual New Year's Eve concert and regular cantata services.
Bothmann introduced the old performance practice with historical instruments to the choir in 2004 with a performance of Bach's St. Matthew Passion . Large Baroque works such as the B minor Mass or the St. John Passion by JS Bach or Messiah (2011) by GF Handel are regularly performed in this constellation .
The Gütersloh Bach Choir successfully took part in the Westphalian Music Festival in 1994, the European Choir Festival in 1996 and 2005 and the Rhenish Music Festival in 1999.
The choir also traveled abroad several times under Bothmann, in 1999 and 2015 to Maasmechelen for the International Choir Competition, in 2000 to Singapore to perform Bach's B minor Mass with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, and in 2012 again to the Gütersloh's twin town , Châteauroux , where Anton Bruckner 's Mass in E minor was performed.
In 2005, Bothmann was awarded the title of Church Music Director (KMD) to honor the outstanding achievements.
Awards
The Gütersloh Bach Choir has repeatedly achieved high placements in choir competitions . The following list shows only a part.
- 1997 - 5th state choir competition NRW ( Wuppertal ): 1st prize
- 1998 - 5th German Choir Competition ( Regensburg ): 3rd prize
- 1999 - 5th International Koorwedstrijd van Vlaanderen ( Maasmechelen / Belgium): 4th place
- 2015 - 13th International Koorwedstrijd van Vlaanderen ( Maasmechelen / Belgium): 5th place
In 1998 the city of Gütersloh awarded the choir the city's culture prize.
Recordings / CD productions
Regular CD recordings are part of the program with the Gütersloh Bach Choir. The following list shows only a part.
- 2005 - Rossini : Petite Messe Solennelle
- 2005 - Distler : The Christmas Story
- 2006 - Mozart : Requiem in D minor KV 626 a. a.
In addition, there are 40 radio recordings from German broadcasters.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Festschrift for the 150th anniversary of the Martin Luther Church Gütersloh (2011)
- ↑ a b c without author: Brochure for the anniversary concert 25 years " New Voices " of the Bertelsmann Foundation on December 1, 2012
- ↑ http://2015nl.ikv-maasmechelen.be/?page_id=595
Coordinates: 51 ° 54 ′ 21 ″ N , 8 ° 22 ′ 45 ″ E