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Bach Academy

Master Classes for Students of Early Music with Concerts

The first Bach Academy will take place in Leipzig from 14th to 18th of November, 2022. 21 students or graduates of Early Music from Germany, Italy and France are invited to participate after an application procedure. They will rehearse a joint programme in instrumental groups under the direction of the tutors listed below as well as together as an orchestra. They will also have the opportunity to learn Baroque dances that influenced Bach's compositions. On Wednesday 16th of November, they will participate in the service at St. Nicholas Church (where Bach premiered many of his cantatas as well as his Christmas Oratorio and St John Passion) and on Friday, 18th of November, they will give a concert at the Alte Börse (Leipzig's oldest Baroque building).

The Bach Academy prepares young musicians - instrumentalists and singers - for their careers as professional artists specialising in the interpretation of the Baroque repertoire. The academy offers them a unique experience: they can apply the knowledge and skills they have acquired in the course of their studies at the conservatories and put them into practice in the context of a concrete realisation - namely the preparation of two concerts.
The chosen repertoire deals with a special period in music history: the transition from the baroque to the classical style in the middle of the 18th century. This particular period brings with it significant developments in musical language: under the influence of literature and the philosophy of the Enlightenment, composers develop their harmonic and melodic language into new lines of tension and forms of expression. Rhythmic figures gain in importance and increasingly detach themselves from the dance model. Musical forms also develop towards greater freedom and try to adapt to the new developments.

Initially, the academy will take the form of workshops in which each instrumental family will work under the guidance of a coach: Reynier Guerrero for the first violins, Mechthild Karkow for the second violins and violas, Aude Walker-Viry for the cellos, while the singers will work with Franck-Emmanuel Comte. These workshops will cover the technical aspects of each instrument family. In parallel, joint rehearsals will take place under the direction of Franck-Emmanuel Comte, who will not only rehearse the selected scores together, but also present the works worked on from different perspectives: historical, rhetorical and aesthetic.

In addition to acquiring a collective know-how, the academy aims to give each participant a better understanding of the aesthetics of this transitional period. Finally, this first academy aims to create a permanent framework for encounter and collaboration between enrolled or graduated student artists from the music academies of Germany, Italy and France. Under the direction of guest conductors who will rotate, the academy will evolve at the rhythm of a biennial event according to the expectations of each partner. The next academy is planned for 2024 at the Teatro Comunale di Modena in Italy.

Tutors of the Bach Academy:

Reynier Guerrero (1st Violins and Traverso, France)
Mechthild Karkow (2nd Violins and Violas, Germany)
Aude Walker-Viry (Violoncelli and Baroque bass, France)
Franck-Emmanuel Comte (Conducting, Singers, France)
Nicolle Klinkeberg (Dance, Germany)

Participants:

Adrienn Bernadett Illés, harpsichord (Germany)
Antonia Neussl, cello (Germany)
Ayano Shigematsu, violin (Germany)
Azurra Raneri, cello (Germany)
Charlotte Gerbitz, violin (France)
Clara Sidhoum, violin (France)
Daria Doliuk, violin (Germany)
Fiammetta Tofoni, soprano (Italy)
Franziska Susanne Kiesel, viola (Germany)
Iris Werhahn, cello (Germany)
Jingwen Lin, traverso (Germany)
Martina Korbes Bracht, violin (Germany)
Pauline Laurier, violin (Germany)
Pouria Kiani, viola (Germany)
Rahel Sögner-Niesterok, violin (Germany)
Rosa Rubino, double bass (France)
Svea Guémy, traverso (Germany)
Svetolik Belosliudov, bass bariton (Italy)
Vincenzo Tremante, tenor (Italy)
Vladyslav Snadchuk, violin (Germany)
Yunqi Wang, viola (Germany)

Programme:

Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
Ouverture, extrait de la Suite n°5 BWV 1070
 
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
Die Auferstehung und Himmelfahrt Jesu (1774) (extraits)
            1. Aria basse « Mein Geist, voll Furcht und Freude
            2. Recit basse « Her ist di Sionitin »
            3. Duo ténor/soprano « Vater deiner schwachen Kinder »
 
Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach
Sinfonia in D minor W 1/3 (1768)
            Allegro
            Andante amoroso
            Allegro assai
 
Johann Christian Bach
            Aria Berenice (soprano) « Confusa smarrita » extrait de Catone in Utica
            Aria Mustafa (basse) « Almen la parce irata » extrait de Zanaida
 
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
Erzittert und Fallet (Halle, 1749-1755) (extraits)
            Aria Ténor (n°2)  « Was für reizend sanfte Blikke »
            Aria Soprano (n°6) « Rauscht, ihr Fluten »
 
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (attribution douteuse)
Sinfonia in d minor FK 65
            Adagio
            Allegro
 
Johann Sebastian Bach
Kaffee Kantate BWV 211 (1734)


Special thanks for their support belongs to:

Hochschule für Musik und Theater "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig

Stiftung Händel-Haus Halle

Parish of St. Nicholas Church Leipzig

Muesum of Musicial Instruments of Leipzig University

Kulturstiftung Leipzig / Alte Nikolaischule


Supported by the Cultural Foundation of the Free State of Saxony. This measure is co-financed by tax funds on the basis of the budget passed by the members of the Saxon State Parliament.

Supported by the Creative Europe program of the European Union.

Supported by the Franco-German Youth Office.