JS Bach Foundation

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The J. S. Bach Foundation is a Swiss foundation established in 1999 with headquarters in St. Gallen . She realizes the performance and documentation of the entire vocal works by Johann Sebastian Bach with Rudolf Lutz as artistic director.

project

The most important goal of the foundation is to present the entire vocal works of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) in one complete performance. High quality video recordings are made at the public concerts.

With one performance a month, the project lasts more than 20 years, as it involves more than 200 cantatas , six motets , various mass movements, oratorios , passions and the B minor mass . Currently (2020) the project is expected to be completed in 2027.

The foundation endeavors to bring the importance of the musical work of Johann Sebastian Bach closer to young people in particular. With her activities she wants to promote the cultural life in the Eastern Switzerland region .

History and organization

The founders of the J. S. Bach Foundation are Rudolf Lutz and the entrepreneur Konrad Hummler . The first performance of the cantatas took place on November 24, 2006 ( O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort , BWV 60 ).

The Board of Trustees of the JS Bach Foundation currently consists of Konrad Hummler (Chairman), Cla Reto Famos and Christoph Rohner. The Bach expert Anselm Hartinger supports the work of the foundation as a musicological advisor.

In 2011, the International J. S. Bach Foundation Zurich was established as a second foundation . This pursues the goal of making the artistic work of the J. S. Bach Foundation better known beyond its original area of ​​activity in Eastern Switzerland - throughout Switzerland and internationally. To this end, she organizes performances at music festivals and renowned organizers. She also takes care of tasks in the areas of social media and financing. Gerhard Schwarz heads the three-person board of trustees of the J. S. Bach Foundation Zurich, Anneliese Looser acts as managing director.

To relieve the JS Bach Foundation, its operational activities were transferred to a subsidiary at the beginning of 2016. This Vertriebs-AG was renamed in March 2017 and has been operating as J. S. Bach St. Gallen AG since then . Konrad Hummler is chairman of the three-person board of directors of J. S. Bach St. Gallen AG, and Xoán Elías Castiñeira acts as managing director.

Performances

Only one cantata is performed per evening, but twice. Before the first performance, there will be a musical and theological introduction, which is also known as a "workshop". A reflection on the cantata text will be given between the two performances .

Musical-theological introduction

Before the performance, the artistic director Rudolf Lutz and a theologian introduce the audience to the work. Rudolf Lutz explains the musical characteristics of the cantata, playing passages on the electric piano and singing along with them if necessary. His handwritten introduction sheets, the so-called "Lutzogramme", are given to the public and can be accessed online.

In interplay with Lutz, a pastor sheds light on theological aspects of the cantata. This part was taken over by Karl Graf for more than eleven years and in over 100 cantatas. Graf had been pastor at the Protestant town church of St. Laurenzen in St. Gallen from 1966 to 1993 , where he worked with Lutz, who was organist in St. Laurenzen from 1973 to 2013. The last time Karl Graf took part in an introduction to the work was in April 2018, as part of the world premiere of the Landsgemeindekantata , which Rudolf Lutz had composed in the style of Johann Sebastian Bach and in which Karl Graf was involved as a librettist . Since August 2018, Niklaus Peter-Barth, pastor at Fraumünster in Zurich and dean of the parish chapter of the city of Zurich, has been designing the introductions together with Rudolf Lutz.

"Reflections"

The JS Bach Foundation invites speakers from various fields of science and experience to present a “reflection” tailored to the subject of the cantata as part of the respective performance. Arthur Godel is responsible for selecting the speakers . Previous speakers include:

"Reflections" were created in musical form by the folk musician Noldi Alder , the violinist Amandine Beyer and the composer Fabian Müller .

Locations

The cantatas are mostly performed in the Reformed Church built by Johann Ulrich Grubenmann in Trogen in Appenzell . Other concert venues so far have been the Reformed Church in Speicher , the Reformed Church in Teufen , the Church of St. Mangen in St. Gallen, the Church of St. Peter in Zurich , the "Forum Würth" in Rorschach , the "Fürstenland Hall" in Gossau and on the Chäserrugg . The concerts “Bach between the times”, as well as those of the oratorio works, take place in the Laurenzenkirche St. Gallen .

Choir and orchestra

The choir and orchestra of the JS Bach Foundation are under the direction of Rudolf Lutz. The ensemble performs the cantatas with the required variable scoring and is based on historical performance practice .

From 2006 to January 2011 the vocal and instrumental ensemble performed under the name Schola Seconda Pratica . His understanding of Bach's cantatas comes mainly from the core of the figured bass , which is reflected in this naming: Seconda Pratica means the second practice and means the “subsequent” writing style. This technical term describes the bass-centered music that made its way from Italy around 1600. The term Schola indicated that in view of the long duration of the complete performance of the vocal work by the J. S. Bach Foundation, a historically oriented orchestral training is planned.

Vocal soloists

The singers Miriam Feuersinger , Ulrike Hofbauer , María Cristina Kiehr , Sibylla Rubens , Johannette Zomer , Marie Luise Werneburg and Nuria Rial are among the frequent participants . Also Peter Harvey , Raphael Hoehn , Daniel Johannsen , Peter Kooy , Stephan MacLeod , Klaus Mertens , Georg Poplutz and Dominik Wörner have already occurred several times during the project.

Publications

«Bachipedia»

The worldwide distribution of Johann Sebastian Bach's vocal works is of central importance for the JS Bach Foundation. For this reason, a separate streaming platform has existed since August 2015 , through which all audio and video recordings are made accessible. Since January 2019 this has been happening on the Bachipedia website , where all content is accessible free of charge.

Social media

The JS Bach Foundation has been present on YouTube and Facebook since 2009 . On her YouTube channel she presents selected recordings and excerpts from the recordings, for example individual movements of the cantatas as well as examples of workshops and reflections. The channel reached 36,800 subscribers and had a total of more than 11.6 million views (as of August 2020). The foundation's Facebook page has more than 295,000 subscribers.

In 2011, the JS Bach Foundation achieved third place at the first Swiss Social Media Award . In 2014, the JS Bach Foundation's Facebook page was supported by more than 10,000 fans in a competition organized by the Swiss software company Beecom, and among the 77 nominees it turned out to be the second most popular Facebook page in Switzerland.

DVD

A collection of all DVDs with the workshop and concert recordings of a “Bach Year” is also published annually.

CD

Since November 2011 three CDs with three cantatas each have been published. By October 2017 there were 20 CDs in this series. As of 2019, the number of new releases has been increased to four cantata CDs.

reflections

The reflections on the cantata texts were published as separate editions in print and electronically until 2019.

reception

Press

Concert reviews appear regularly in the St. Galler Tagblatt . The first review of the recording of the St. Matthew Passion also appeared there.

Occasionally, the Aargauer Zeitung , Basler Zeitung , Basellandschaftliche Zeitung , Der Landbote , Handelszeitung , Weltwoche and the Neue Zürcher Zeitung also report on the project and its activities. Contributions were also made by the Leipziger Volkszeitung , the Fränkische Landeszeitung , the Schwäbische Zeitung and the Südkurier , as well as Music & Theater and the NBG newsletter .

For example the CD Bach Cantatas No. 8 was reviewed by Andreas Waczat in the specialist journal Concerto - Das Magazin für Alte Musik .

Radio

Programs with recordings (CD, DVD) and reports on the project work have so far (as of February 2015) been broadcast by the broadcasters

watch TV

The Tagesschau of Swiss television reported on April 6, 2012 from the rehearsals for the St. Gallen performance of the St. Matthew Passion .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Admission partner bachstiftung.ch
  2. ↑ Project bachipedia.org, accessed on January 16, 2020.
  3. ↑ Purpose of the foundation bachstiftung.ch
  4. ↑ Cantata O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort , BWV 60 on bachipedia.org. Compare there the chronological listing of the listed works.
  5. ↑ Activity report 2018 (PDF), p. 44.
  6. ↑ Dr. Anselm Hartinger - musicological advisor bachstiftung.ch
  7. ↑ International JS Bach Foundation Zurich bachstiftung.ch
  8. ↑ JS Bach St. Gallen AG bachstiftung.ch
  9. ↑ Example: Cantata BWV 146 on bachipedia.org. The «Lutzogram» for the introduction to the work can be found below the three videos for the performance, the introduction to the work and the reflection.
  10. ^ Farewell: "Whoever has never doubted has never believed". tagblatt.ch, April 20, 2018.
  11. ↑ a b A great Bach year is imminent - Pastor Karl Graf resigns. bachstiftung.ch, December 22, 2017.
  12. ↑ The last cantata with the participation of Karl Graf at the introduction to the work: Landsgemeindekantate «All life flows out of you» , composer: Rudolf Lutz, libretto: Karl Graf, performance on April 27, 2018.
  13. ^ The first cantata with the participation of Niklaus Peter-Barth at the introduction to the work: BWV 5 , performance on August 16, 2018.
  14. ↑ Theologians in the introduction to bachipedia.org
  15. ↑ Speakers at bachstiftung.ch
  16. ↑ Dr. Arthur Godel - Responsible Reflections. bachstiftung.ch
  17. ↑ a b See "Speakers" in the selection menu on bachipedia.org . The selection of a name leads to the respective work and the reflection as video recording and text.
  18. ↑ Eberhard Jüngel was represented due to illness by the pastor Tilman Knödler, who gave Jüngel's reflection on the cantata BWV 108 It is good that I am going to the performance on May 20, 2011.
  19. ↑ A shortened and slightly edited version of Kerstin Odendahl's reflection was published in the NZZ on April 2, 2011 under the title God trust as a force for change .
  20. ^ Choir & Orchestra of the JS Bach Foundation bachstiftung.ch
  21. ↑ Activity report 2018 (PDF), p. 40.
  22. ↑ Bachipedia
  23. ↑ Channel info on the YouTube channel
  24. ↑ JS Bach Foundation on Facebook
  25. ↑ Award Corporate Communications 2011 worldsites-schweiz.ch, 23. September 2011.
  26. ↑ Martin Preisser: St. Gallen Bach conquers Facebook tagblatt.ch, March 14, 2014.
  27. ↑ Martin Preisser: This brook gets under your skin. In: Thurgauer Zeitung of February 27, 2014, accessed on January 16, 2016.
  28. ^ Elisabeth Schwind: Mount Everest of choral music. In: Südkurier from April 12, 2014, accessed on January 16, 2016.
  29. ↑ In the high mountains. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung of April 11, 2014, accessed on January 16, 2016.
  30. ↑ Media release of January 27, 2017 on the foundation website, accessed on February 25, 2017.
  31. ↑ Aargauer Zeitung , December 30, 2006.
  32. ↑ Basler Zeitung , z. B. October 30, 2013 and April 2, 2015.
  33. ↑ Basellandschaftliche Zeitung , z. B. January 4, 2011.
  34. ↑ Der Landbote , March 22, 2007.
  35. ↑ Handelszeitung , No. 30/31, 2010.
  36. ↑ World Week , May 8, 2008
  37. ^ Neue Zürcher Zeitung , December 29, 2008; January 19, 2009; January 21, 2010; July 2, 2010; January 6, 2012; May 21, 2012, August 16, 2014, March 14, 2016 ( report on the performance of Bach's B minor Mass in Zurich).
  38. ↑ Schwäbische Zeitung , August 22, 2014.
  39. ↑ Südkurier , April 12, 2014.
  40. ↑ Musik & Theater , May 2012, pp. 36–38
  41. ↑ NBG newsletter, 2011 and 2015.
  42. ↑ Issue No. 253, January / February 2014, p. 42.
  43. ↑ Rudolf Lutz . Radio Télévision Suisse website , accessed on February 14, 2015.
  44. ^ Successful Bach concerts from Trogen. Broadcast on April 14, 2014, on the website of Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen , accessed on January 16, 2016.
  45. ↑ St. Matthew Passion in St. Gallen. Excerpt from the Tagesschau broadcast on April 6, 2012 (2:15 min.).