Thomas Gabriel (born 25 August 1957) is a German church musician, composer and arranger.

Career

Born in Essen, Gabriel studied Catholic church music at the , organ with

Sieglinde Ahrens Sieglinde Maria Ahrens (born 19 February 1936, in Berlin) is a German organist and composer. She is the daughter of (Johannes Clemens) Joseph Ahrens (1904–1997), a German composer and organist. Ahrens studied music and composition under her fat ...

and

Josef Bucher Josef Bucher (born 19 August 1965 in Friesach) is an Austrian politician and former leader of the Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ) as well as former Member of Parliament for the party. Divorced with two children, Bucher is a hotel owner ...

. From 1983 to 1986 he served as

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...

at the in Recklinghausen. He worked freelance from 1987 to 1988 for the

West German Radio Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln (''West German Broadcasting Cologne''; WDR, ) is a German public-broadcasting institution based in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a constituent member of the conso ...

and the in Recklinghausen. From 1989 to 1991 he was district cantor at St. Martin, Idstein, where he founded a youth choir called ''Martinis'' in 1988. From 1992 to 1997 he was regional cantor in Saarbrücken. Since 1998, he has been cantor for the Regional Institute of Sacred Music in the

Diocese of Mainz The Diocese of Mainz, historically known in English as ''Mentz'' as well as by its French name ''Mayence'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. It was founded in 304, promoted in 780 to Metrop ...

with a focus on "" (New sacred song), for the deaneries Offenbach,

Rodgau Rodgau is a town in the Offenbach district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. It lies southeast of Frankfurt am Main in the Frankfurt Rhine Main Region and has the greatest population of any municipality in the Offenbach ...

and

Seligenstadt Seligenstadt is a town in the Offenbach district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. Seligenstadt is one of Germany's oldest towns and was already of great importance in Carolingian times. Geography Location Seligenstadt ...

, at the church ). Gabriel gives many concerts as an organist, harpsichordist and pianist, particularly as a member of the ''Thomas Gabriel Trio'', whose artistic focus is on jazz arrangements of the music of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

As a composer, Gabriel tries to combine traditional church music with elements from jazz and pop. He composed in 2005 ''Missa mundi'' (

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

of the world) for the final

mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

of the

World Youth Day World Youth Day (WYD) is an event for young people organized by the Catholic Church that was initiated by Pope John Paul II in 1985, sometimes nicknamed in later years as the "Catholic Woodstock". Its concept has been influenced by the Light-L ...

in Cologne on 21 August 2005, representing five continents in style and instrumentation: a European ' influenced by the style of Bach, a South American ' with guitars and

pan flute A pan flute (also known as panpipes or syrinx) is a musical instrument based on the principle of the closed tube, consisting of multiple pipes of gradually increasing length (and occasionally girth). Multiple varieties of pan flutes have been ...

s, an Asian ' with

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form ...

, an African ' with drums, and an Australian ' with didgeridoos. It was premièred by a project choir from the Würzburg Cathedral, conducted by Martin Berger, with Gabriel at the keyboard. He participated in the project ' (Mass of the Diocese of Mainz), a collaboration of six regional cantors to create a mass in German for choir, a high voice (children's choir or soprano) and organ. Dan Zerfaß composed ', Nicolo Sokoli ', Thomas Gabriel ', Andreas Boltz ', Ralf Stiewe ', Ruben J. Sturm '.

Selected works

* ''Daniel'', rock oratorio * ' (Mainz Mass), for three-part mixed choir, keyboard (organ, piano) and brass (trumpet, saxophon, trombone), text by Raymund Weber * ', musical * 1999: ' (Martin in Mainhattan – nickname of Frankfurt), musical * 2002: ''Emmaus'',

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...

, text by

Eugen Eckert Eugen Eckert (born 1954) is a German social worker, minister, singer-songwriter and academic teacher. He is known for his lyrics for new spiritual songs ( Neues Geistliches Lied), and his oratorios and musical plays. Career Born in Frankfurt am ...

* ' for solo, four-part mixed choir and instruments, a mass of solidarity with Bolivia * 2003: compositions for the opening service of the at the

Brandenburger Tor The Brandenburg Gate (german: Brandenburger Tor ) is an 18th-century neoclassical monument in Berlin, built on the orders of Prussian king Frederick William II after restoring the Orangist power by suppressing the Dutch popular unrest. One ...

in Berlin * compositions for the closing service of the 95th

Katholikentag ''Katholikentag'' () is a festival-like gathering in German-speaking countries organized by laity of the Catholic Church. ''Katholikentag'' festivals occur approximately every 2–4 years in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. ''Katholikentag'' ...

Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...

* 2004: ''Bonifatius'', oratorio, text by * 2005: ' (Mass of the world), final mass of the

on 21 August 2005 * 2006: ' (Towards the sun), musical on the life of Saint

Edith Stein Edith Stein (religious name Saint Teresia Benedicta a Cruce ; also known as Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross or Saint Edith Stein; 12 October 1891 – 9 August 1942) was a German Jewish philosopher who converted to Christianity and became a ...

, including texts by students of the * 2006: ', oratorio * 2010: ''Junia'', oratorio, text by Eckert * 2017: ''

Bruder Martin is an oratorio composed by Thomas Gabriel to a libretto in German by Eugen Eckert. The work in seven scenes and a prologue is based on the life of Martin Luther. It was written for the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017. The composit ...

'', oratorio, text by Eckert

References

External links

label
www.engelsklang.de

basilika.de {{DEFAULTSORT:Gabriel, Thomas 1957 births German classical organists German male organists German harpsichordists German male composers German composers Living people Musicians from Essen Folkwang University of the Arts alumni 21st-century organists 21st-century German male musicians Male classical organists