Weekly cantata services at the venue of the original performance
Many of Bach’s most famous works were composed in Leipzig, including the St John and St Matthew Passions, the Christmas Oratorio and the B minor Mass. During his first years in office, he composed new “cantatas” – often every week. These works were performed during services in St Thomas’ or St Nicholas’ Church and functioned as musical sermons on the Bible texts read on the individual Sundays and feast days. Their contents belong to the core of our canon of values: e.g. justice between rich and poor, young and old, charity, mercy, honesty, openness to the world and much more. Bach’s 200 or so surviving works of church music are performed all over the world today – across all denominational and cultural boundaries – and continue to shape the musical work of the St Thomas’s Boys Choir to the present day.
From 11 June 2023 onwards, Bach’s cantatas will be performed as part of a service on the Sunday of the church year in which they were first performed – usually alternately in St Thomas’ and St Nicholas’ churches. The Thomanerchor (Bach’s own choir) and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra will be responsible for a large part of the performances.
You can find the performance calendar under Events & Tickets