Thomaskantor
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(Cantor at St. Thomas) is the common name for the musical director of the , now an internationally known
boys' choir A boys' choir is a choir primarily made up of choirboys who have yet to begin puberty or are in the early to middle stages of puberty and so retain their more highly pitched childhood voice type. Members of a boys' choir are technically known as '' ...
founded in
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 wel ...
in 1212. The official historic title of the Thomaskantor in Latin, ', describes the two functions of cantor and director. As the cantor, he prepared the choir for service in four
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
churches,
Thomaskirche , native_name_lang = , image = Leipzig Thomaskirche.jpg , imagelink = , imagealt = , caption = , pushpin map = , pushpin label position = , pushpin map alt ...
(St. Thomas), Nikolaikirche (St. Nicholas), Neue Kirche (New Church) and Peterskirche (St. Peter). As director, he organized music for city functions such as town council elections and homages. Functions related to the university took place at the Paulinerkirche.
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 w ...
was the most famous , from 1723 to 1750.


Position

Leipzig has had a
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dating back to 1409, and is a commercial center, hosting a
trade fair A trade fair, also known as trade show, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and c ...
first mentioned in 1165. It has been mostly Lutheran since the
Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
. The position of Thomaskantor at Bach's time has been described as "one of the most respected and influential musical offices of Protestant Germany. The readings and required music of the Lutheran services in Leipzig were regulated in detail. The Church Book (Complete Church / Book / Containing / The Gospels and Epistles / For Every Feast-, Sun-, and Apostle Day Of the Entire Year ...) lists the prescribed readings, repeated every year. The church year began with the First Sunday in Advent and was divided in feast days, fasting periods and the feast-less time after
Trinity Sunday Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christianity, Western Christian liturgical year, liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity. Trinity Sunday celebrates the Christian doctrine of the ...
. For music, there was mainly no concert music such as a cantata during the fasting times of Advent and Lent. Modest music was performed during the second half of the church year, and rich music with more complex instrumentation and more services per day on feast days. Christmas, Easter and Pentecost were celebrated for three days each, and many other feast days were observed. The library of St. Thomas contained works in vocal polyphony from the fifteenth century onward. The Thomaskantor reported to the city council, the rector of the Thomasschule and the church
superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...
. He had the duty to prepare the choir for service in the city's four
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
churches: the main churches
Thomaskirche , native_name_lang = , image = Leipzig Thomaskirche.jpg , imagelink = , imagealt = , caption = , pushpin map = , pushpin label position = , pushpin map alt ...
(St. Thomas) and the Nikolaikirche (St. Nicholas), and also the Neue Kirche (New Church) and the Peterskirche (St. Peter). As cantor, the Thomaskantor had to compose and take care of copying, rehearsals and performances. He also had to teach music and general subjects. He took part in the admission process for new students to the school. The choir was divided in groups: the most advanced singers performed a cantata every Sunday, alternating between St. Thomas and St. Nicholas, a second group sang at the other church, beginners on feast days at the smaller churches. On high holidays, the cantata was performed in both churches, a morning service in one and a vespers service in the other. To earn additional funding, the choir performed also for weddings and funerals. As director of music, the Thomaskantor was Leipzig's "senior musician", responsible for the music on official occasions such as town council elections and homages. Functions related to the university took place at the Paulinerkirche. Today, the leads the music in services at the Thomaskirche, including weekly afternoon services called Motette which often contain a
Bach cantata The cantatas composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, known as Bach cantatas (German: ), are a body of work consisting of over 200 surviving independent works, and at least several dozen that are considered lost. As far as known, Bach's earliest cant ...
. He also conducts the choir in recordings and on tours. Thomaskirche-1885.png, Leipzig Nikolaikirche um 1850.jpg, Matthäikirche Leipzig 1749 Foto H.-P.Haack.JPG, Leipzig Alte Peterskirche Innenraum.JPG, Paulinerkirche Leipzig (1749) Foto H.-P. Haack (berarb.).jpg,


Known holders of the position

The following table shows the names of the known people in the position, and their time of service, in chronological order from the Reformation to now.


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * Stefan Altner: ''Das Thomaskantorat im 19. Jahrhundert. Bewerber und Kandidaten für das Leipziger Thomaskantorat in den Jahren 1842 bis 1918. Quellenstudien zur Entwicklung des Thomaskantorats und des Thomanerchors vom Wegfall der öffentlichen Singumgänge 1837 bis zur ersten Auslandsreise 1920.'' Passage-Verlag, Leipzig 2006, . *
Johann Gottfried Stallbaum Johann Gottfried Stallbaum (September 25, 1793 - January 24, 1861), German classical scholar, was born at Zaasch, near Delitzsch in Saxony. From 1820 until his death Stallbaum was connected with Thomasschule zu Leipzig, from 1835 as rector. In 1 ...
: ''Über den innern Zusammenhang musikalischer Bildung der Jugend mit dem Gesammtzwecke des Gymnasiums. Eine Inauguralrede, nebst biographischen Nachrichten über die Cantoren an der Thomasschule zu Leipzig.'' Fritzsche, Leipzig 1842.


External links


Ordnung / Der Schule / zu S. Thomæ
Leipzig 1723 (PDF, in German)
The Leipzig City Council’s Statutes for St. Thomas School
Leipzig 1723 (PDF) {{Authority control St. Thomas School, Leipzig