Did you know ...

... that "Geh aus, mein Herz, und suche Freud,"
written by Paul Gerhardt after the Thirty Years War,
was translated as
"Go Forth, My Heart, and Seek Delight"?

despised and rejected
singing the praises of


16 March 2012

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Good article

 

Great Dismal Swamp maroons  

A new experience: I found the article in the sandbox of PumpkinSky when he was blocked, rescued it with the help of 17 others for Main page history and nominated it for GA.

My contribution to the article: "These groups are very inspirational. As details unfold, we are increasingly able to show how people have the ability, as individuals and communities, to take control of their lives, even under oppressive conditions."

If you want the author to be free to write more articles like that, you can simply sign here, for background see his talk and archives and more here --Gerda Arendt (talk) 08:04, 16 March 2012 (UTC)

11 July 2012

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Did you know ...

 

 

Christmas 2012

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Did you know ...

 

7 July 2011
a year later I dedicated my first GA to BarkingMoon (talk · contribs)
who made the cantata a lead DYK and left
for lack of br'erly devotion.

13 January 2013

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Did you know ...

 

7 July 2011
a year later I dedicated my first GA to BarkingMoon (talk · contribs)
who made the cantata a lead DYK and left
for lack of br'erly devotion.

2 February 2013

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Did you know ...

 

7 July 2011 - a year later I dedicated my first GA to BarkingMoon (talk · contribs)
who made the cantata a lead DYK and left
for lack of br'erly devotion

13 February 2013

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Letting Go of the Past
It is frightening to let go
of the past. It is like letting go of something
that is precious. That includes the feeling for
everything that has been, and also, for what was
once a solid identity built on deprivation.
Letting go of the past
must be done gradually and with
special care;
one old belief at a time
and only one fear. ...
Thank you, Poeticbent

29 March 2013

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Did you know ...

 

31 March 2013

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Music for Easter

19 May 2013

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22 May 2013

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Did you know ...

 

29 May 2013

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Mass in B minor structure

Did you know ... that Johann Sebastian Bach reworked music from more than three decades earlier for the central piece Crucifixus in the symmetrical structure of his Mass in B minor?

(23 May 2013) work in progress

9 June 2013

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Did you know ... that Bach has a trumpet tell God's glory in cantata Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes, BWV 76 , first performed in the Thomaskirche (pictured), but oboe d'amore and viola da gamba express "brotherly devotion"?

I dedicated my first GA to BarkingMoon (talk · contribs) who made the cantata for the second Sunday after Trinity a lead DYK on 7 July 2011 and left - for lack of "br'erly devotion".

12 June 2013

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Operatic Did you know ...

 

  • ... that Richard Strauss, born 11 June 1864, was not permitted to study Wagner's music as a boy and bought a score of Tristan und Isolde (opening picured) at age 16?
  • ... that Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, termed by the composer "eine Handlung" (an action) and reputedly unperformable, premiered at the Munich Opera on 10 June 1865?

3 July 2013

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A Birthday

 

21 August 2013

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Did you know ...

 

... that the musicians of the chamber orchestra Kammerorchester Basel accompanied Andreas Scholl (pictured) in Bach cantatas and also sang the closing chorale of Gott soll allein mein Herze haben, BWV 169?

"Du süße Lieb, schenk uns deine Gunst"
(O sweet love, grant us your favour, let us exprience love's ardour, that we love each other from our hearts and stay in peace in one sense. Kyrieleis) (1524)

28 August 2013

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Birmingham music

28 August 2013 - Kurhaus Wiesbaden - Rheingau Musik Festival

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet
Edward Elgar: Cello Concerto
Antonín Dvořák: Symphony No. 8

Sol Gabetta
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Andris Nelsons

Did you know

  • ... that when rehearsing Dvořák's Eighth Symphony, conductor Rafael Kubelík said: "Gentlemen, in Bohemia the trumpets never call to battle – they always call to the dance!"?
  • ... that Ben Gunn, imprisoned 32 years for killing a friend when he was 14, earned a Master of Arts degree in peace and reconciliation?

 

(History 2 September 2013)

"Let us not forget that even one book, one pen, one teacher can change the world", Malala Yousafzai at the opening of the Library of Birmingham on 3 September 2013

29 September 2013

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Did you know ...

3 October 2013

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Did you know ...

 

16 October 2013

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31 October 2013

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6 November 2013

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Did you know ...

 

24 December 2013

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Music for Christmas, - did you know ...

   

Christmas eve in St. Martin, Idstein

Chor St. Martin, strings of the Orchester St. Martin, conductor: Franz Fink

Christmas day in St. Bonifatius, Wiesbaden

Soloists, Chor von St. Bonifatius, members of the Hessisches Staatsorchester, conductor: Gabriel Dessauer

31 December 2013

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Did you know ...

 

9 January 2014

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Clay
moon in pumpkin sky
the inheritance of loss
move like this sing blue

28 January 2014

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4 February 2014

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Did you know ...

20 February 2014

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26 February 2014

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1 April 2014

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14 April 2014

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16 April 2014

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Passion 2014

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Did you know ...

Easter 2014

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Did you know ... that the Easter egg tree (pictured) in Saalfeld, Thuringia, was decorated with 10,000 Easter eggs in 2012? (19 April 2012)

 

Saturday in St. Martin, Idstein

Sunday in St. Bonifatius, Wiesbaden

Did you know ... that Bach created an "operatic scene" in his cantata Halt im Gedächtnis Jesum Christ, BWV 67, with Jesus serenely repeating "Peace be with you" against the raging of the enemies?

17 May 2014

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Pentecost 2014

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28 June 2014

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Did you know ... that Richard Strauss reportedly composed "Traum durch die Dämmerung" ("Dream in the Twilight"), on a love poem by Otto Julius Bierbaum, in 20 minutes?
(#511)

6 July 2014

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On this day: 6 July

 

Did you know ... that Bach has a trumpet tell God's glory in cantata Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes, BWV 76 , first performed in the Thomaskirche, but oboe d'amore and viola da gamba express "brotherly devotion"?

2011: BarkingMoon (talk · contribs) made the cantata lead DYK and left - for lack of "brotherly devotion". He expanded the Invisible Rail.

13 July 2014

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13 August 2014

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Magnificat:
A Boy was Born
Of a Lili, a lovely Lili,
of a Lili is all my song

2 September 2014

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11 September 2014

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3 October 2014

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Did you know ... that in John Rutter's Latin Magnificat of 1990, the text of the second movement is a poem to Mary, "Of a Rose, a lovely Rose"?

29 October 2014

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Did you know ... that in the motet Locus iste, composed for the dedication of the votive chapel of Linz Cathedral, Anton Bruckner requests a pause "by carefully measuring out five beats"?

31 October 2014

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Did you know ...

Sing pause peace 2014

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Did you know ...

16 November 2014

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Selig sind die Toten in St. Martin, Idstein [4]

Mourning, war and peace

Did you know ... that Arvo Pärt began his choral composition Da pacem Domine (Give peace, Lord) two days after the 2004 Madrid train bombings?

Durch ein persönliches schlichtes Klag-Lied erweiterte Dieterich Buxtehude Mit Fried und Freud zu einer Trauermusik für seinen Vater.

Thanksgiving 2014

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Did you know ... that botanist Thomas W. Whitaker was honored for his work with squashes and pumpkins by having a squash variety named after him?

Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir

Gratias agimus tibi

4 December 2014

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Happy birthday! - Did you know ...

Christmas 2014

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(shamelessly advertising "on earth peace")

Christmas eve in St. Martin, Idstein

Chor St. Martin, strings, conductor: Franz Fink

Christmas day in St. Bonifatius, Wiesbaden

Soloists, Chor von St. Bonifatius, Hessisches Staatsorchester
conductor: Gabriel Dessauer

Did you know ...

Schon gewusst? A Boy was Born ist Benjamin Brittens erstes großes Chorwerk.

2015

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Best wishes for a happy and peaceful 2015!

Did you know ...

1 February 2015

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Did you know ...

7 February 2015

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Did you know ...

  • ... that Bach composed his cantata Jesus nahm zu sich die Zwölfe, BWV 22, as an audition piece for the post of Thomaskantor in Leipzig, displaying a "sheer range of forms and musical expression"?
  • ... that the position of Thomaskantor in Bach's time has been described as "one of the most respected and influential musical offices of Protestant Germany"?

8 February 2015

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Did you know ...

11 Mar

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1 April 2015

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invisible
 
singing the praises of

Passion 2015

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Did you know ...

Adoramus te, Christe (Gregor Aichinger):
Christus factus est (Anton Bruckner, aus WAB 9)
Dein Kreuz, o Herr, wollen tiefgeneigt wir verehren (Karl Fink)

 

Tristis est anima mea (Johann Kuhnau)

Easter 2015

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Påskäggsträd

Saturday in St. Martin, Idstein

Sunday in St. Bonifatius, Wiesbaden

23 April 2015

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Thank you for reflecting the Gerechtigkeitsspirale!

Did you know ... that a church's 1510 spiral of justice declares: "Justice suffered in great need. Truth is slain dead. Faith has lost the battle"?

The poem ends with "Praise the right thing (integrity, decency)".

Pentecost 2015

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Did you know ... that Arnold Schönberg arranged Bach's chorale partita on Luther's hymn for Pentecost "Komm, Gott Schöpfer, Heiliger Geist", a paraphrase of "Veni Creator Spiritus"?

31 May 2015

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Did you know ...

7 June 2015

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50 years St. Martin, Idstein

Did you know ...

 

12 June 2015

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Happy birthday, Egon Schiele!

Did you know ... that "Geh aus, mein Herz, und suche Freud", written by Paul Gerhardt after the Thirty Years War, was translated as "Go Forth, My Heart, and Seek Delight"?

27 August 2015

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28 August 2015

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17 September 2015

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I adopted a kitten and named her Ala.

November 2015

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Saturday 7 November in St. Bonifatius, Wiesbaden (pictured)
Sunday 15 November in St. Martin, Idstein

Advent

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Übers Gebirg Maria geht
Over the mountains Mary goes
 
  • go over the mountains
  • be inspired
  • support each other
  • sing
  • (16th century)
dream
 
Did you know that Max Reger
composed "in new simplicity"
Unser lieben Frauen Traum,
about a dream of Mary
of a tree growing in her?
Advent
 
go · dream · wake up

Christmas 2015

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Fürchte dich nicht – Fear not

Did you know that in his Christmas cantata
Unser Mund sei voll Lachens, BWV 110,
Bach embedded voices in the overture of his
fourth orchestral suite and achieved a
"marvellous rendition of laughter-in-music"?

Christmas eve in St. Martin, Idstein

Christmas day in St. Bonifatius, Wiesbaden

May our mouth be full of laughter

2015 review

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9 January
 
seek delight
8 February
 
Jenkins Te Deum
29 March
 
thank you
23 April
 
spiral of justice
24 May
 
Salve Regina
22 June
 
Jesus und Nikodemus
7 July
 
Mass in C major
17 August
 
confused
1 September
 
fear not
October
 
vacation
15 November
 
December
 
wake up

2016

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peace bell

Tutto nel mondo è burla

Did you know ...

14 Feb Gunsenheimer: Die Versuchung Jesu
25 Mar Kuhnau Tristis est anima mea
27 Mar Haydn: Missa in tempore belli
16 Apr Haydn Die Schöpfung
12 Jun Rossini Petite messe solennelle  
27 Aug Reger Der 100. Psalm  
3 Oct Mendelssohn Elias
6 Nov Reulein Laudato si'

WIKIPEDIA15

edit

Did you know ...

 
how much heartache
15 Jan
 
5 Feb
 
Pierre Boulez
(1925–2016)
10 Mar
 
Nikolaus Harnoncourt
(1929–2016)
14 Mar
 
Peter Maxwell Davies
(1934–2016)
11 Mar
 
27 Jul
 
Einojuhani Rautavaara
(1928–2016)

Bach's birthday

edit
Did you know ...
 
BWV 1

... that the mezzo-soprano Pamela Dellal,
who recorded music by Hildegard von Bingen and Fanny Mendelssohn,
translated all texted works by Bach?

... that Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, BWV 1,
Bach's chorale cantata for the feast of the Annunciation,
was first performed on Palm Sunday?
... that Hana Blažíková is a soprano with the Bach Collegium Japan,
conducted by Masaaki Suzuki, for the project
to record the complete Bach cantatas?

15 April

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Pumpkin in the sky with diamonds
01:09, 15 April 2012 (UTC)

10 July

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10 July
The Witch of Pungo
The good name of
Grace Sherwood
was restored on
July 10, 2006,
the 300th anniversary
of her conviction.

Franz Kafka: Der Process (The Trial), - we read in the introduction of our article: the story of a man arrested and prosecuted by a remote, inaccessible authority, with the nature of his crime revealed neither to him nor to the reader". Or a woman.

Reger

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Max Reger (1873–2016)
 
Did you know ...

... that the international Reger-Chor
celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2010,
singing music by Bach, Van Nuffel,
Ryelandt, and Reger's Hebbel Requiem 
in St. Bonifatius, Wiesbaden,
and St. Salvator's Cathedral, Bruges?

... that Gabriel Dessauer conducted in Wiesbaden
the premiere of Max Reger's Hebbel Requiem
in the organ version of Max Beckschäfer?

... that Ignace Michiels of St. Salvator's Cathedral
has been the organist for the
German-Flemish Reger-Chor
in works such as Reger's Requiem?

... that St. Stefanus, Ghent, was
the venue of a concert
dedicated to the Martin Luther Year,
featuring Max Reger's setting of Psalm 100 ?
 

... that "Im April" from Max Reger's
Sechs Lieder, Op. 4,
has been called "one of
Reger's sunniest songs"?

... that poems by Martin Greif
inspired music by
Max Reger, Alban Berg, Anton Webern,
and possibly Gustav Mahler?

... that Max Reger composed his
first cello sonata as a student
and had it published in London?

... that at the age of 19, while composing
Drei Chöre, Op. 6, Max Reger
began his lifetime practice of
writing dynamic markings in red?

... that Max Reger composed the chorale fantasia
Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott, Op. 27,
for Karl Straube, who premiered it
before it was published?

... that Sechs Lieder, Op. 35,
are six songs by Max Reger
on love poems by five authors
which inspired "some of Reger's
most magical sonorities"?
 

... that Max Reger was inspired by his
teacher's chorale fantasia to compose
Zwei Choralphantasien, Op. 40?

... that in No. 2 of
three chorale fantasias, Op. 52,
Max Reger has the chorale tune
enter like "the voice of an angel",
according to the organist Karl Straube?

... that a reviewer of
Zwölf Stücke, Op. 65,
twelve organ pieces by Max Reger,
wrote that the composer was
"still in his storm and stress period"?

... that Max Reger recorded some of his
52 Chorale Preludes, Op. 67,
on the Welte Philharmonic organ?

... that after attending the premiere,
a critic wrote that
Gesang der Verklärten by Max Reger
"may well reach the outermost limit of
musical expression altogether"?

... that Max Reger's Zwölf Stücke, Op. 80,
for organ contain nine pieces composed
in 1904 and three from 1902?
 
... that Max Reger based four tone poems,
Vier Tondichtungen nach A. Böcklin,
on four paintings by Arnold Böcklin,
including Isle of the Dead?

... that music publisher Henri Hinrichsen,
owner of C. F. Peters in Leipzig,
promoted composers such as
Gustav Mahler, Max Reger,
and Arnold Schoenberg?

... that Max Reger's
Eine romantische Suite
for orchestra, inspired by
three poems by Joseph von Eichendorff,
was arranged for chamber ensemble
by Arnold Schönberg?

... that Max Reger's three
sacred motets for up to eight voices,
Geistliche Gesänge, Op. 110,
were composed in different years
at different places
for different choirs?
 

... that Lula Mysz-Gmeiner, a contralto
and influential voice teacher
from Transylvania, performed lieder
written for her by Max Reger and
other prominent contemporaries?

... that Die Weihe der Nacht,
composed by Max Reger for
a female soloist, men's choir, and orchestra
and set to a poem by Friedrich Hebbel,
evokes daybreak?

... that Max Reger conducted the premiere of
"An die Hoffnung" (To Hope),
a setting of Hölderlin's poem
and his only orchestral song,
with contralto Anna Erler-Schnaudt?
 
... that Der 100. Psalm,  an extended setting
of Psalm 100 for choir, orchestra and organ
by Max Reger, was premiered
simultaneously in Chemnitz and Breslau?

... that Georg Dohrn conducted
at the Konzerthaus Breslau
the premiere of Reger's Der 100. Psalm, 
Mahler's Eighth Symphony,
and Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto
with Vladimir Horowitz?

... that Wolfram Röhrig, who was responsible
for "entertaining music" including jazz
for the broadcaster Süddeutscher Rundfunk,
recorded Max Reger's Der 100. Psalm ?

 

... that Max Reger composed
20 Responsories in English for use in
the American Lutheran church,
although he did not speak English?

... that Max Reger composed
Introduction, Passacaglia and Fugue,
Op. 127, for Karl Straube,
to be played as the first organ piece
at the new Centennial Hall
in Breslau in 1913?

... that Max Reger composed
"in new simplicity"
Unser lieben Frauen Traum,
a motet suitable for Advent,
about a dream of Mary
of a tree growing in her?
 

... that among the late
works by Max Reger
are a fragment of a Latin Requiem
and the Hebbel Requiem?

... that Max Reger's Nachtlied
(Night Song) appears on the recording
The Best of the King's Singers?

... that Max Reger had the proofs
of his eight-part motet
Der Mensch lebt und bestehet
open next to his bed when
he was found dead on 11 May 1916?

... that in seven last pieces for organ,
Sieben Stücke, Op. 145,
Max Reger quotes Lutheran chorales
and a patriotic anthem?
 
... that the Requiem by Max Reger
is a musical setting not of the Latin Requiem,
but of a poem Requiem written by the
dramatist Friedrich Hebbel?

... that Max Reger regarded his composition
Der Einsiedler,
a setting of a poem by Eichendorff
for baritone, choir and orchestra, as "among
the most beautiful things I've ever written"?

... that Max Reger dedicated Der Einsiedler
to conductor Philipp Wolfrum and his choir,
but they performed the premiere
only after the composer's death,
together with his Requiem?
 

... that in 2008, the Max-Reger-Institute
in Karlsruhe began publishing
the complete works by Max Reger?

... that Elsa Reger, who had
first rejected Max Reger's courting,
titled her autobiography
Mein Leben mit und für Max Reger?

... that Dr. J. Butz, founded in 1924,
has published sacred music
by English composers such as
Colin Mawby, Christopher Tambling,
and Robert W. Jones in Germany?
 

... that Cybele Records has
published award-winning audiobooks,
"portraits" of living composers,
and in 2016 the complete organ works
of Max Reger?

... that Helmut Kahlhöfer conducted
his choir Kantorei Barmen-Gemarke in
recordings of Reger's Geistliche Gesänge, Op. 110,
and Bach's Mass in B minor for the
tricentenary of the composer's birth?

28 August 2016

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28. August 2013
 
Birmingham music

5 October 2016

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In memoriam Frank Stähle
 
5 October 2016 Dr. Hoch's Konservatorium

In memoriam 2016

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A Requiem in our time
 
OREYA singing Samuel Barber's Agnus Dei

6 November 2016

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Laudato si'
... that Peter Reulein composed the oratorio
Laudato si' – Ein franziskanisches Magnificat
for five soloists, choirs, organ and orchestra
to be premiered in Limburg Cathedral? ... that the Franciscan Helmut Schlegel
wrote the lyrics of an oratorio
Laudato si', including writings by
Francis of Assisi and Pope Francis,
and the Magnificat?
 
... that in November 2016 Peter Reulein
conducted the premiere of his oratorio
Laudato si', described as a
Franciscan Magnificat, with more than
250 performers at the Limburg Cathedral?

Thanksgiving 2016

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Danke
 
Variedades de calabaza

Advent 2016

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Evening service in Advent
 
St. Bonifatius, Wiesbaden 9 December 2016

Christmas 2016

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sing peace to men and women
 
Singt Fried den Menschen!
Merry Christmas, DYK ...
that in the carol
"Vom Himmel hoch, o Engel, kommt",
printed in 1622, the angels
are requested to come from Heaven
with musical instruments,
to sing of Jesus and Mary,
and for peace?
For unto us a Child is born
 
sing peace more
the time is fulfilled
 
Laudato si'
Merry Christmas, erfüllt ist die Zeit, Magnificat
play for young children
 
DYK ...
... that the Taschenphilharmonie,
called the world's smallest orchestra,
earned prizes for classical music
embedded in narration
for young children?

2017

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sing peace

2017 is the year of the reformation.

 
29 Jan – Reulein – Laudato si'Frankfurt Cathedral
19 Feb – Praetorius – Mass for two choirsSt. Martin, Idstein  
5 Mar – Rossini – Petite messe solennelle  Herz Jesu Oberrad
16 Apr – Beethoven – Mass in C majorSt. Bonifatius, Wiesbaden
4 Jun – William Lloyd Webber – Missa Princeps Pacis – St. Bonifatius
25 Jun – Missa Princeps PacisPropsteikirche, Leipzig
3 Oct – Handel – Der Messias   – St. Bonifatius
5 Nov – Reger – Der 100. Psalm  St. Stefanus, Ghent
18 Nov – Rutter – Requiem – St. Bonifatius
26 Dec - Haydn: Theresienmesse - St. Bonifatius

Poulenc

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Francis Poulenc (7 January 1899 – 30 January 1963)

 
 

... that the catalogue of compositions by Francis Poulenc, published in 1995 by Carl B. Schmidt, contains Concert champêtre, FP 49, inspired by the harpsichordist Wanda Landowska?

... that the early Sonata for horn, trumpet and trombone by Francis Poulenc was described as offering a "variety of tone colors, striking rhythms, delicious dissonances, and elegant wit"?

... that Francis Poulenc composed the four motets Quatre motets pour un temps de pénitence, FP 97, at different times, three of them on responsories for the Holy Week?

... that Francis Poulenc placed an ode to liberty at the end of his Figure humaine, FP 120, a cantata for a twelve-part choir, composed in occupied France and premiered by the BBC?

... that Francis Poulenc's L'Histoire de Babar, le petit éléphant, FP 129, for narrator and piano was inspired by children requesting him to play from the book Histoire de Babar?

... that Francis Poulenc Litanies à la Vierge Noire, a French litany to the Black Virgin at Rocamadour, after a pilgrimage to the shrine?

2 February 2017

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2 February
 
in peace and joy I let go

Did you know ...

... that the bass Thomas Thomaschke appeared as
Wagner's Hunding at La Scala,
as Mozart's Sarastro in Glyndebourne,
and recorded Bach's Mit Fried und Freud  with Harnoncourt?

... that while English composers often combine "Mag and Nunc", Arvo Pärt set his Magnificat for Berlin and his Nunc dimittis later
for the Edinburgh Episcopal Cathedral?

... that the East German actress Sonja Kehler (born 2 February 1933),
who was known for singing Brecht, taught acting in Denmark?

Reformation

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2017 Reformation
 

Did you know ...

... that the communion song "Gott sei gelobet und gebenedeiet", which Martin Luther derived from an older model, entered Catholic hymnals in the 20th century?

... that Martin Luther paraphrased in "Mitten wir im Leben sind mit dem Tod umfangen" the Latin "Media vita in morte sumus" (In the midst of life we are in death), including its Trisagion?

... that "Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit", a hymn by the Protestant reformer Martin Luther based on Psalm 124, appears in the current Protestant hymnal only partly, within stanzas from a colleague's hymn?

... that "Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort" by Luther was titled "A hymn for the children to sing against the two arch-enemies of Christ, and His Holy Church, the Pope and the Turks"?

... that "Es woll uns Gott genädig sein", a paraphrase by Martin Luther of Psalm 67 in German, appeared in the Erfurt Enchiridion in 1524?

... that "Dies sind die heilgen Zehn Gebot" is a hymnal version of the Ten Commandments by Martin Luther?

... that Martin Luther wrote the song of praise "Die beste Zeit im Jahr ist mein" (The best time of the year is mine)
as part of a poem, not as a hymn?

... that "Es spricht der Unweisen Mund wohl" ("The mouth of fools doth God confess") by Martin Luther was one of eight hymns in the first Lutheran hymnal?

 

... that "'Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr" is one of the oldest hymns of the Reformation? (1531)

... that three stanzas of the penitential hymn "Ach lieben Christen seid getrost" by Johannes Gigas were retained unchanged for Bach's chorale cantata? (1561)

... that the hymn "Herr Jesu Christ, wahr Mensch und Gott" ("Lord Jesus Christ, true man and God") by the Lutheran Paul Eber appeared in Catholic hymnals from 1567? (1563)

... that the simple hymn "Nun laßt uns Gott dem Herren", used at the end of a meal, became a model for other songs of thanks? (1587)

... that Daniel Rump closely modeled the beginning of his Advent song "Der Morgenstern ist aufgedrungen" after a Tagelied, a wake-up call for lovers? (1587)

... that the Advent song "Macht hoch die Tür" is number 1 in the German Protestant hymnal? (1623)

... that "Jerusalem, du hochgebaute Stadt", a song of New Jerusalem, was written by Johann Matthäus Meyfart, rector of the Casimirianum, for an academic sermon? (1626)

... that the communion hymn "Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele", with lyrics by Johann Franck and a melody by Johann Crüger, was translated to "Deck thyself, my soul, with gladness"? (1649)

... that the Advent hymn "Wie soll ich dich empfangen" with lyrics by Paul Gerhardt had a melody by Johann Crüger when he published it in 1653, but Bach used a different melody in his Christmas Oratorio? (1653)

... that while the Three Kings bring gold, incense and myrrh to the manger, the singer of "Ich steh an deiner Krippen hier" offers spirit and mind, heart, soul and courage as gifts? (1653)

... that in the pastoral poem "Ich will dich lieben, meine Stärke", by Angelus Silesius, the Soul promises to love Jesus until her death? (1657)

... that the lyrics of "Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht" ("I do not let go of my Jesus") are based on memorial sermons for Elector Johann Georg of Saxony, who reflected the ideas on his deathbed? (1658)

 

... that Michael Praetorius published Missodia Sionia, a collection of 104 pieces of sacred music in Latin, including 14 settings of Amen and a mass for eight voices?

... that Heinrich Schütz published his Symphoniae sacrae I, a collection of 20 "eloquent, sensitive, and often sensuous" settings of biblical texts, in 1629 in Venice, where he studied with Monteverdi?

... that "Ich hab in Gottes Herz und Sinn" is the only hymn by Paul Gerhardt which Bach set to music as a chorale cantata?

... that Bach composed five organ settings of the hymn "Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend", which was translated by Catherine Winkworth for communion as "Lord Jesus Christ, be present now!"?

... that in seven last pieces for organ, Sieben Stücke, Op. 145, Max Reger quotes Lutheran chorales and a patriotic anthem?

 

... that St. Nicolai, Lüneburg, a brick Gothic church with a "star" rib vault (pictured), was the location of the first Lutheran sermon in Lüneburg?

... that when the citizens of Hanover accepted the Reformation in 1533, the 200-year-old Kreuzkirche became Lutheran?

... that Johann Sebastian Bach sang as a choir member for two years at St. Michaelis in Lüneburg, a brick Gothic former abbey church?

... that a Hiroshima peace bell was donated to the Aegidienkirche, the ruin of a Gothic church that was left as a war memorial?

 

Did you know ...

... that Martin Janus wrote the original lyrics of "Jesu, meiner Seelen Wonne", which Bach used in a cantata in a setting known as Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring?

... that the minister, writer, and publisher Christian Gottlob Barth (pictured) is remembered on 12 November in the calendar of saints?

 

Did you know ...

... that Otto Riethmüller was director of the Confessing Church's youth organisations and created their logo, the Cross on the Globe, in 1935?

... that facing the rise of Nazi ideology, Otto Riethmüller compiled the song for young people "Sonne der Gerechtigkeit" from hymns of three authors of two earlier centuries?

... that "Von guten Mächten", a poem written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer in prison in 1944 where he faced execution, became a hymn with several melodies?

Passion 2017

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Did you know ...

... that Bach wrote the chorale
"O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig"
(O Lamb of God, innocent)
in red between the music for the two choirs
in the beginning of his St Matthew Passion?

... that Bach set a stanza
from the evening hymn
"Werde munter, mein Gemüte"
(Become cheerful, my mind),
which Johann Rist and Johann Schop created in collaboration, in his St Matthew Passion?

... that tenor Max Ciolek performed
the Evangelist in Bach's Passions,
and the Mass in B minor
with La Petite Bande in Australia?

Easter 2017

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Why seek ye the living
among the dead?
 


Did you know ...

... that "Christ ist erstanden" (Christ is risen),
possibly the oldest German hymn, mentioned in the 12th century,
was set for choir in the 21st?

... that Charles Villiers Stanford composed the anthem for Easter
"Why seek ye the living?" on Luke 24:5–7 for mixed choir and organ, when he was organist at Trinity College, Cambridge?

... that Ursula Zollenkopf, a contralto of the NWDR Chor, performed solo and choral parts in a posthumous Schoenberg opera premiere
and in an Easter cantata by Bach?

... that Bach's cantata for Easter Monday, Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden, BWV 6,
is based on the Road to Emmaus narration?

... that the opening chorus of Bach's cantata for the Second Day of Easter, Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen, BWV 66, has been termed "one of the longest and most exhilarating of Bach's early works"?

Pentecost 2017

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Musical memories

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The Blessed Damozel

Did you know ...

... that when Debussy wrote his cantata La Damoiselle élue,
setting a poem by Dante Gabriel Rossetti,
he had probably not seen the poet's painting of the subject?

... that the Twelve Fantasias for Viola da Gamba solo,
published by the composer Georg Philipp Telemann in 1735,
were believed lost but published again in 2016?

... that Paula Murrihy, who appeared in operatic title roles
such as Dido, Carmen, Hänsel and the Rosenkavalier,
sang Lieder with viola and piano for the Hessischer Rundfunk?

... that Nicole Chevalier was awarded Der Faust
for her performance of the four female characters
in Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffman at the Komische Oper Berlin?

... that Marc Soustrot conducted at the Frankfurt Opera a staging of both
Debussy's cantata La Damoiselle élue
and Honegger's oratorio Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher?

Telemann

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Did you know ...

 

... that at age 18, Daniel Schiebeler wrote the libretto for an opera by Telemann based on an episode from Cervantes' Don Quixote, which he could read in Spanish?

... that in the opera Don Quichotte auf der Hochzeit des Comacho,
Georg Philipp Telemann characterized the noble people by elements
from the opera seria, and the peasants by Spanish folk music?

... that the Twelve Fantasias for Viola da Gamba solo, published by their composer Georg Philipp Telemann in 1735, were believed lost but published again in 2016?

Auugust 2017

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Did you know ...

... that the Basilica of St. James in Levoča contains the world's tallest carved wooden altar?



13 August 2017

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Did you know ...

... that the second of Five Childhood Lyrics,
compositions for an unaccompanied choir
by John Rutter, is Edward Lear's
"The Owl and the Pussycat" ?

Wollny

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Did you know ...

... that accordionist Vincent Peirani and pianist Michael Wollny,
both multiple ECHO Jazz winners,
recorded the "symbiotic" album Tandem?

... that when the jazz pianist Michael Wollny was artist in residence
of the Rheingau Musik Festival, he played a concert with
Andreas Schaerer, Émile Parisien and Vincent Peirani?

Rüdesheim

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Today's featured picture 22 November 2017 - a place of memories

 
Rüdesheim

Did you know ...

Thanksgiving 2017

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Nun danket alle
 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Did you know ...

... that the simple hymn
"Nun laßt uns Gott dem Herren",
used at the end of a meal,
became a model for other songs of thanks?

... that Bach used music of thanks
from his cantata
Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir, BWV 29 ,
for his final
Dona nobis pacem (Grant us peace)?

Christmas 2017

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Merry Christmastide
 



mein hertze soll dir grünen
my heart shall green for you

(Paul Gerhardt, 1653)

Did you know ...

... that the musicologist Willi Gundlach, who founded the chamber choir of Dortmund University, trained volunteers to sing a Bach cantata in one day, including Part I of Bach's Christmas Oratorio? (25 Dec)

2017 review

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Green Year

2018

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Jauchzet, dienet
 
rejoice, serve, serve with joy, reflect,
come together to dance and give thanks
in loving memory of my mother
who was born on 9 January,
and my father who died on 15 January
listen, 2017

2018 – Serve with Joy

  • 4 Feb
Eberlin: Missa secundi toni
St. Martin, Idstein
  • Easter 1 Apr
Mozart: Coronation Mass
St. Bonifatius, Wiesbaden
  • 3 Oct
Brahms – Ein deutsches Requiem
St. Bonifatius
  • 8 Dec
Bach: Christmas Oratorio (1–3)
Unionskirche, Idstein
  • 16 Dec
Bach: Christmas Oratorio (excerpts)
St. Bonifatius
  • 25 Dec
Gounod: St. Cecilia Mass
St. Bonifatius