Ein deutsches Barockrequiem

Something original is happening here. The texts may be familiar, the composers are not. Lionel Meunier, artistic director of Vox Luminis, delved into the texts of Johannes Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem and searched for composers who had already set them to music in the Baroque period. Classic Bible texts with a fresh, adventurous sound by almost forgotten Baroque composers such as Thomas Selle, Andreas Scharmann and Tobias Michael. ‘Vox Luminis in its purest form, pure vocal goldsmithery’, wrote the Spanish music site Scherzo. Vox Luminis has been at the top of the European baroque scene for years. Meunier and his crack team consistently deliver razor-sharp performances. In this ensemble, Vox Luminis consists of ten singers and six musicians: two violins, three violas and one organ. Ein deutsches Barockrequiem: an old and new requiem, music animated by the emotions of the Lutheran Baroque. ‘The way the programme has been put together deserves the highest praise. Vox Luminis strikes again. A special recommendation is inevitable.’ - MusicWeb International ‘Uniformly moving and instructive, the more so because the performances are exceptional.’ – The Sunday Times 7 p.m. / Lecture Early Music by Jan Van den Bossche The world before Bach In the famous poem The silence of the world before Bach, Swedish poet Lars Gustafsson reflects on the emptiness that preceded Bach’s monumental creative power. But the world before Bach was not silent at all, in Germany or elsewhere. There was music, lots of beautiful music. Bach didn’t appear out of thin air; he wasn’t an alien who descended on the world and enriched us with his music. He was firmly rooted in an ancient and international tradition, with influences from Amsterdam to Venice. This lecture explores the rich and multi-coloured musical landscape into which Bach was born.