Program

The program will feature Bach, a well-known name, represented by one of the sons of the great Johann Sebastian Bach,
but also lesser-known female composers such as Fanny Hensel and Marianna Martines will be given their place.

With two female composers among others, the focus is on music that is unfortunately still relatively unknown today, which was appreciated during the composers' lifetimes but was mostly not published due to social circumstances. For example, Fanny Hensel (1805-1847), sister of the famous Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, that the concert evenings she organized were held in very high social esteem and that many other female artists also performed there, but that she herself was sometimes prevented by her father, brother, and husband from publishing her works. Fanny Hensel herself wrote a version of "Zum Fest der heiligen Cäcilia" for soloists, choir, and piano. It can be assumed that for practical reasons, only the piano was chosen as accompaniment, which is why the accompaniment with string orchestra published by Laurent Jouvet brings out the tonal diversity of this work even more clearly. The composition is based on the Mass for Saint Cecilia, patron saint of music according to Catholic doctrine, written in 856. The work clearly reveals the composer's sensitivity and technical diversity.

Works by Marianna Martines (1744-1812) were performed during her lifetime at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, among other venues, but subsequently fell into oblivion. Her setting of Psalm 112, "Laudate Pueri Dominum," based on the psalm phrases of the Italian D. Saverio Marrei, is one of a series of psalm settings penned by her.

The lesser-known but tonally very appealing Magnificat setting by Bach's son Carl Philipp Emanuel is to conclude the program of the 2026 cantata project. It is believed that he composed the work in order to present himself with this sonorous and large-scale vocal work. Among other things, C.P.E. Bach's application for the Thomaskantorat in Leipzig (and thus as his father's successor) in 1750 and 1755 is considered a possible reason for the composition.

As a setting of the Magnificat, it is also liturgically appropriate, but by no means only for the Advent and Christmas season. In the 2026 cantata project, it complements the program with a colorful and varied work that in many places still follows the tonal tradition of his father Johann Sebastian Bach, but already makes Carl Philipp Emanuel's clear style audible. We are thus presenting the work of a composer who was 36 years old at the time, which otherwise, unjustly, is rarely heard. It is a cross-denominational and ecumenical work, like the others in our program, which helps to ensure that as many visitors as possible can gather behind this program and be inspired by it.