Fotothek df roe-neg 0002806 004 Besucher der Messe in der Thomaskirche zu Ehren Bachs

The Bachfest Leipzig (Leipzig Bach Festival) is a

music festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or ho ...

which takes place annually, in the month of June, in the city of

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

, where J. S. Bach worked as the

Thomaskantor (Cantor at St. Thomas) is the common name for the musical director of the , now an internationally known boys' choir founded in Leipzig in 1212. The official historic title of the Thomaskantor in Latin, ', describes the two functions of cantor ...

from 1723 until his death in 1750. The current artistic director is Professor Michael Maul. The city first hosted a festival in 1904, for the Neue Bachgesellschaft, and then formally, since 1908. The festival was sometimes referred to as the ' (Bach Weeks) or ' (Bach Days). Since 1999, the festival is organized by the

Bach Archive The Bach-Archiv Leipzig or Bach-Archiv is an institution for the documentation and research of the life and work of Johann Sebastian Bach. The Bach-Archiv also researches the Bach family, especially their music. Based in Leipzig, the city whe ...

on behalf of the city of Leipzig, each year under a different theme. Each year there are approximately 100 individual events during the Bach Festival, beginning with an opening concert conducted by the serving Thomaskantor. The final concert is traditionally a performance of Bach's ''

Mass in B minor The Mass in B minor (), BWV 232, is an extended setting of the Mass ordinary by Johann Sebastian Bach. The composition was completed in 1749, the year before the composer's death, and was to a large extent based on earlier work, such as a Sanc ...

'' in the St. Thomas Church.

Themes

* 2004: "Bach and the

romantic era Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

" * 2005: "Bach and the Future" * 2006: "From Bach to

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

" * 2007: "From Monteverdi to Bach" * 2008: "Bach and his

sons A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current ...

" * 2009: "Bach – Mendelssohn – Reger" * 2010: "Bach – Schumann – Brahms" * 2011: "... " (... to Italian taste) * 2012: "»... " (... a new song – 800 years of music at St. Thomas) * 2013: (The life of Christ) * 2014: (The true way) * 2015: (So glorious you stand, dear city!) * 2016: (Secrets of Harmony) * 2017: (A Beautiful New Song – Music and Reformation) * 2018: (Cycles) * 2019: (Bach, "Court Composer")

References

External links

* {{Authority control Classical music festivals in Germany Music in Leipzig Bach festivals Music festivals established in 1904