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The choir travelled to Germany from July 16-21, visiting and performing in a number of places in Thüringen and Saxony associated with Johann Sebastian Bach. The warmth of the company and the pleasure of singing together in a series of historical venues made this a truly wonderful experience which will remain in the memory of those who took part for a long time to come.

Based in Jena, the choir sang in the following places:

• July 17 – a performance of 30 minutes at midday in the Bachkirche, Arnstadt, where Bach served in his first appointment as church organist from 1703-1707.
• July 17 – an evening concert in the Kaufmannskirche in Erfurt, where Bach’s parents were married in 1668.
• July 18 – an evening concert in the Dorfkirche in Schlöben, near Jena.
• July 19 – choral singing in the 10am communion service in the Nikolaikirche, Leipzig, one of the churches for which Bach was responsible as Director of Church Music (Kantor) in Leipzig from 1723 until his death in 1750. The Nikolaikirche was also the scene from 1989-1991 of the peaceful Monday evening demonstrations against the GDR authorities which led to the fall of the Berlin wall and the ultimate reunification of Germany. One of the features of these demonstrations was the singing of ‘Dona Nobis Pacem’, which we also sang in the church entrance after the conclusion of the service.
• July 19 – choral singing in the 6pm evening service in St. Michael’s Church in Jena, where Martin Luther preached and which contains his original bronze tombstone.
• July 20 – a visit to Bath’s birthplace in Eisenach, where we sang a selection of pieces in the Bachhaus after being given a guided tour of the house by the director of the museum.

We also visited Weimar on our way back to Frankfurt airport on July 21st, another location in Thüringen where Bach had spent time as court musician from 1708-1717, as well as being home to Germany’s most celebrated literary figure, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, from whom the choir takes its name.

The travelling party consisted of 28 singers with 7 accompanying partners, along with guest conductor David Leigh, guest accompanist Reinhold Meiser and guest soloist Eamonn Galldubh who joined us for the concerts in Erfurt and Schlöben, playing Uilleann pipes, flute and tin whistle. Our heartfelt thanks are due to choir member Werner Blau for all the work he did in arranging this very memorable and enjoyable choir trip, and to those who assisted him. We look forward eagerly to the next choir trip 🙂

If you’d like to see some photos and videos from our visit, go to the Gallery page on the choir website at https://goethechoir.ie/gallery.

Ein Teil des Goethe-Chores reist vom 16. bis 21. Juli nach Deutschland auf der Spur Johann Sebastian Bachs. Wir werden in Jena in Thüringen bleiben und an verschiedenen Orten auftreten, die mit dem großen Komponisten verbunden sind. Dazu gehören Konzerte in der Bachkirche in Arnstadt (wo er seine erste Stelle als Kirchenorganist antrat), der Kaufmannskirche in Erfurt (wo seine Eltern heirateten), der Nikolaikirche in Leipzig (eine der Leipziger Kirchen, für deren Musik Bach von 1723 bis zu seinem Tod 1750 als Kantor verantwortlich war) und dem Bachhaus in Eisenach (Bachs Geburtsort). Außerdem werden wir in der Dorfkirche in Schlöben bei Jena singen.

Unser Konzertprogramm:

Freitag, 17. Juli, 12:00 Uhr – Bachkirche Arnstadt – 30-minütiges Mittagskonzert

Freitag, 17. Juli, 19:30 Uhr – Kaufmannskirche Erfurt – Konzert

Samstag, 18. Juli, 19:00 Uhr – Dorfkirche Schlöben – Konzert

Sonntag, 19. Juli, 10:00 Uhr – Nikolaikirche Leipzig – Gesang im Abendmahlsgottesdienst

Montag, 20. Juli, 14:00 Uhr – Bachhaus Eisenach – 15-minütiges ungezwungenes Gartenkonzert

Der Chor steht unter der Leitung des Gastdirigenten David Leigh und wird von Reinhold Meiser aus Ingolstadt an Orgel/Klavier/Keyboard sowie für die Konzerte in Erfurt und Schlöben von Eamonn Galldubh an Uilleann Pipes und Flöte begleitet.

A section of the Goethe Choir will be visiting Germany from 16-21 July, travelling on the trail of Johann Sebastian Bach. We will be based in Jena in Thüringen and performing in a number of places associated with the great composer. This includes singing in the Bachkirche in Arnstadt (where he had his first job as church organist), the Kaufmannskirche in Erfurt (where his parents were married), the Nikolaikirche in Leipzig (which was one of the Leipzig churches for which Bach had responsibility for supervising the music as Kantor from 1723 until his death in 1750) and the Bachhaus in Eisenach (where Bach was born), as well as performing in the Dorfkirche in Schlöben near Jena.

Our performance schedule is:

Friday 17^th July 12 noon – Bachkirche Arnstadt – 30-minute lunchtime concert

Friday 17^th July 7.30 pm – Kaufmannskirche Erfurt – concert

Saturday 18^th July 7 pm – Dorfkirche Schlöben – concert

Sunday 19^th July 10 am – Nikolaikirche Leipzig – singing at communion service

Monday 20^th July 2 pm – Bachhaus Eisenach – 15-minute informal garden singing  

The choir will be under the direction of guest conductor David Leigh, and will be joined by Reinhold Meiser from Ingolstadt on organ / piano / keyboard and for the concerts in Erfurt and Schlöben by Eamonn Galldubh on Uilleann Pipes & Flute.

Some members of the choir travelled to Lüneburg, Germany in November 2024 to join the Städtische Cantorei Lüneburg in a performance of this work (see https://goethechoir.ie/karl-jenkins-stabat-mater-in-luneburg/), and we are delighted to be able to welcome a number of members of the Lüneburg choir back to Dublin to join us in singing the work in Ireland. We will be joined by soloists Samira al-Amrie (who also sang the solo part in Lüneburg) and Aiko Bormann, organist Tom Little and the Goethe Ensemble, all under the direction of John Dexter. We will also be singing Benjamin Britten’s ‘A Hymn to the Virgin’ and ‘ A Hymn of St. Columba’, to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of the composer.

Tickets costing €25 (plus booking fee) are available from Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/stabat-mater-tickets-1980822299821 but there is an early-bird offer of €20 per ticket (plus booking fee), which is available until February 13th.

The Goethe Choir is excited to announce a semi-staged performance of Henry Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas—one of the most significant works in the Baroque opera repertoire —at the Civic Theatre, Tallaght on Tuesday 20 May at 7.30pm. Adapted from Virgil’s Aeneid it tells the tragic love story of Dido, the Queen of Carthage, and Aeneas, a Trojan hero.

The cast is led by Irish mezzo-soprano Sharon Carty—with her ‘velvety expressive voice’ (The Journal of Music) and the ‘richly varied’ and ‘powerful’ (Bachtrack) Irish baritone Benjamin Russell in the two title roles, supported by rising young soprano Hannah Gries and popular Irish soprano Katy Kelly. The performance also features dancer, actor and theatre-maker Stephanie Dufresne, internationally acclaimed classical guitarist Perry Schack and the Lumiere Quartet—led by Irish Baroque Orchestra leader Claire Duff. All will be under the baton of the choir’s musical director John Dexter.

Henry Purcell (1659–1695)—‘the English Orpheus’—was organist of Westminster Abbey and the royal composer to three English kings: Charles II, James II and William III. Though most prolific as a songwriter—composing more than 100 secular songs and about 40 duets—he also developed an interest in writing music for the theatre.

Based on a libretto by the Irish-born playright and adapter Nahum Tate, the work focuses on the ill-fated love affair between Aeneas, once a Prince, now leader of a refugee fleet of survivors from the fall of Troy and Dido, founding ruler (and future goddess) of the city of Carthage. The opera is structured in a prologue and three acts.

Tickets costing €35 (plus €2 booking fee) may be booked online at https://www.civictheatre.ie/whats-on/goethe-choir/

The Goethe Choir’s next concert will be a performance of John Stainer’s popular oratorio ‘Crucifixion’. This will take place at 3pm on Saturday 22nd March in St. Ann’s Church, Dawson Street, Dublin 2. The choir will be conducted by John Dexter and will be joined by soloists Conor Prendiville (Tenor) and Gyula Nagy (Bass), ably supported by Charles Marshall (Organ).

Written and first performed in 1887, the oratorio tells the story of Christ’s Passion and Resurrection and contains some much-loved sections, including the hymn ‘All for Jesus’ and the unaccompanied anthem ‘God so loved the world’. This is a rare opportunity to hear a performance of a popular work not often given in Dublin.

Tickets costing €20 (plus booking fee) can be purchased online via Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/goethe-choir-presents-the-crucifixion-by-john-stainer-tickets-1209945392239.