Günter Jena (born 1933) is a German choral conductor and musicologist. He was the director of church music at St. Michaelis in Hamburg from 1973 to 1997. He founded the festival Bach-Tage Hamburg, and provided music for ballet performances of choreographer

John Neumeier John Neumeier (born February 24, 1939) is an American ballet dancer, choreographer, and director. He was the director and principal choreographer of Hamburg Ballet from 1973 to 2024 and the artistic director of the ballet at the Hamburg State ...

at the

Hamburg State Opera The Hamburg State Opera (in German: ) is a German opera company based in Hamburg. Its theatre is near the square of Gänsemarkt. Since 2015, the current ''Intendant'' of the company is Georges Delnon, and the current ''Generalmusikdirektor'' ...

, including Bach's ''

St Matthew Passion The ''St Matthew Passion'' (), BWV 244, is a '' Passion'', a sacred oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander. It sets the 26th and 27th chapters of th ...

''.

Career

Born in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, Jena attended the

Thomasschule St. Thomas School, Leipzig (; ) is a co-educational and public boarding school in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1212 and is one of the oldest schools in the world. St. Thomas is known for its art, language and m ...

there, and then studied musicology. He studied psychology and philosophy in Berlin, and conducting and

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

at the

Musikhochschule München The University of Music and Theatre Munich (), also known as the Munich Conservatory, is a performing arts conservatory in Munich, Germany. The main building it currently occupies is the former ''Führerbau'' of the NSDAP, located at Arcisstr ...

with Karl Richter, becoming his assistant. Jena worked as the church musician at in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

. In 1969 he founded the festival . From 1973 he was the church musician at

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

's Hauptkirche St. Michaelis, where he regularly conducted performances of works by

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

, music from the classical period and the

romantic period Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

. He founded the festival Bach-Tage Hamburg, and was appointed Kirchenmusikdirektor (director of church music) for the region. Jena prepared choir and orchestra for performances by the choreographer

at the

Hamburgische Staatsoper The Hamburg State Opera (in German: ) is a German opera company based in Hamburg. Its theatre is near the square of Gänsemarkt. Since 2015, the current ''Intendant'' of the company is Georges Delnon, and the current ''Generalmusikdirektor'' ...

, including Bach's ''

'' in 1981 and Mozart's

Requiem A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is ...

. Jena conducted the performances for the premieres, and also a revival of the ''St Matthew Passion'' in 2013, now in his church. The 200th performance of the production was given on

Good Friday Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during ...

2017. Jena prepared and conducted the

NDR Chor The NDR Chor (North German Radio Choir) is the choir of the German broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), based in Hamburg. It was founded in 1946, with Max Thurn as the first director of then 55 singers. The group has participated in premiere ...

for a recording of the complete

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

works by

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...

from 1981. It includes works such as ''Fünf Gesänge'', Op. 104. Jena retired in 1997. He published books about the musicological and theological background of Bach's ''

Christmas Oratorio The ''Christmas Oratorio'' (German: ''Weihnachtsoratorium''), , is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It is in six parts, each part a cantata intended for performance in a churc ...

'', ''

The Art of Fugue ''The Art of Fugue'', or ''The Art of the Fugue'' (), BWV 1080, is an incomplete musical work of unspecified instrumentation by Johann Sebastian Bach. Written in the last decade of his life, ''The Art of Fugue'' is the culmination of Bach's e ...

'' and ''St Matthew Passion''. He is a member of the

Freie Akademie der Künste Hamburg The Freie Akademie der Künste in Hamburg e.V. is a not-for-profit association of artists, founded in 1950 by the organ-builder and writer Hans Henny Jahnn. It now includes architecture, visual arts, performing arts, literature, media Media ...

Awards

Jena was awarded the Würzburg Cultural Prize in 1970. The appointed him an

honorary professor Honorary titles (professor, president, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as ...

in 1986 and awarded him the music prize Johannes Brahms Medal in 1987.

Publications

Publications by Jena are held by the German National Library:
"Das gehet meiner Seele nah". Die Matthäuspassion von Johann Sebastian Bach
Piper Verlag 1993, Herder Verlag, Freiburg 1999
"Brich an, o schönes Morgenlicht". Das Weihnachtsoratorium von Johann Sebastian Bach
1997
Ich lebe mein Leben in wachsenden Ringen
2000

Selected recordings

Recordings by Jena are held by the German National Library: *''Johannes Brahms, Chorwerke''.

. *''Johann Sebastian Bach, Weihnachtsoratorium''. Choir and orchestra of St. Michaelis,

Lynne Dawson Lynne Dawson (born 3 June 1953) is an English soprano. She came to great prominence through her performance as a soloist in ''Libera me'' from Requiem (Verdi), Verdi's Requiem with the BBC Singers at Princess Diana's Funeral of Diana, Princess o ...

, Marjana Lipovšek,

Peter Schreier Peter Schreier (29 July 1935 – 25 December 2019) was a German tenor in opera, concert and lied, and a conductor. He was regarded as one of the leading lyric tenors of the 20th century. Schreier was a member of the Dresdner Kreuzchor conduct ...

, Andreas Schmidt. 1997

References

External links

* *
Günter Jena
(in German) weihnachtsoratorium-oper.de * *

kellydeanhansen.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Jena, Gunter German male conductors (music) German choral conductors 1933 births Living people Musicians from Leipzig University of Music and Theatre Munich alumni University of Music and Theatre Leipzig alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni 21st-century German conductors (music) 21st-century German male musicians Kirchenmusikdirektor