Friday, 8 September, 7 pm
Sts. Johns’ Church, Šv. Jono g. 12, Vilnius
Bach & Luther
German organ music from H. Scheidemann to J. S. Bach
Benjamin Alard – organ (France)
As soon as it was adopted, the Lutheran Reformation played an important part in the practice of music in the various courts and cities of Germany. Just as it made the alphabetization possible for a large number of people, the Reformation created the genre of the Chorale, from popular and ancient melodies. The Six Chorales of catechisms are the foundation of the Lutheran faith (Ten Commandments, Creed, Our Father, Baptism, Confession and Communion). On the occasion of the bicentennial of the adoption of the Reformation in the city of Leipzig, in 1739 Johann Sebastian Bach published a symbolic work uniting Lutheran Mass (Kyrie and Gloria) and two versions of each of the Chorales of the Catechism.
Among the significant influential composers of the German organ school, one cannot overlook the Hamburg musicians Heinrich Scheidemann and Matthias Weckmann, whose complex musical styles left a strong impression on the young J. S. Bach, changing the course of music history.
Concert is supported by Institut français de Lituanie
