THC Science

Contents

Did you know ... people, places, performances ...

On this day[edit]

11 June[edit]

Richard Strauss was born, I sang Bach's motet on Jesu, meine Freude, Bach's Mass in B minor, Beethoven's Mass in C major, and Rossini's Petite messe solennelle

... that the hymn "Jesu, meine Freude" (Jesus, my joy) by Johann Franck and Johann Crüger mentions singing in defiance of the "old dragon", death, and fear?
... that Erhard Egidi conducted at the Neustädter Kirche both the first performance after more than 300 years of a funeral music by the church's first organist and Bach's Mass in B minor?
... that Jens-Daniel Herzog staged the opera Intermezzo by Richard Strauss, with Christiane Kohl as Christine, "the composer's formidable and frequently hysterical wife"?
... that Ernst Roth, general manager of Boosey & Hawkes, published four late songs by Richard Strauss in 1950 after the composer's death, naming them Four Last Songs?
... that the late Gothic church St. Lamberti in Hildesheim was rebuilt after destruction in World War II, but a southern annex was kept in ruins as a memorial?

12 June[edit]

Egon Schiele was born, I sang Mendelssohn's Jauchzet dem Herrn, alle Welt, and received Die Schöpfung, Traum durch die Dämmerung, Intermezzo and a private concert of Der Handschuh.

... that Haydn's oratorio The Creation is structured in three parts, the first two about the creation as narrated in Genesis, the third about Adam and Eve in Paradise?
... that Richard Strauss reportedly composed "Traum durch die Dämmerung" ("Dream in the Twilight"), on a love poem by Otto Julius Bierbaum, in 20 minutes?
... that the composition by Graham Waterhouse Der Handschuh (The Glove) for cello and speaking voice, after Schiller's ballad Der Handschuh, is designed for one performer?
... that although Vivaldi composed cello sonatas for private international customers, six of them were published in Paris in 1740 without his permission?

20 June[edit]

Frühlingsopfer, choreographed by Pina Bausch for the Opernhaus Wuppertal

... that in the Opernhaus Wuppertal production of The Rite of Spring (revival pictured), choreographed by Pina Bausch, the dancers performed on a stage covered with soil?
... that Pina Bausch and conductor Thomas Hengelbrock staged Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice in Paris and the ancient theater in Epidaurus?

29 June[edit]

Chanticleer in Unionskirche, Idstein as a concert of the Rheingau Musik Festival

... that walls and the ceiling of the Unionskirche (Union Church) in Idstein are covered with 38 oil paintings from the Dutch Golden Age school of Rubens?

28 August[edit]

I decided to dance, not strike.

Chor St. Martin[edit]

Did you know ...

... that the 2018 Te Deum for choir by Peter Reulein uses the same instruments including a bandoneon as Palmeri's Misatango, and is inspired by tango, habanera and huapango?
... that the Missa primi toni octo vocum was written for double choir by the Italian composer Stefano Bernardi in 1630 for Salzburg Cathedral when he was the music director there?
... that Jauchzet dem Herren, alle Welt by Heinrich Schütz, a 1619 setting of Psalm 100 for double choir, was performed at the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in 1972?
... that the Missa brevis in C by František Brixi, an 18th-century kapellmeister at Prague Cathedral, was not published until 2004?
... that the only trumpet concerto by Antonio Vivaldi is for two trumpets?
... that Felix Mendelssohn, inspired by the singing of nuns at the Trinità dei Monti in Rome, composed the motet Veni Domine for Advent?

... that in September 1610, Monteverdi dedicated to Pope Paul V his Vespro della Beata Vergine, a complex vespers composition which included the style of the emerging opera?
... that tenor Mirko Ludwig took part in the opening of Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie as a member of a vocal quintet?
... that Fabian Kelly, a tenor focused on historically informed performance, was a soloist in Monteverdi's Vespro della Beata Vergine and Handel's Messiah?
... that Three Latin Motets (Beati), Charles Villiers Stanford's only church music not in English, was dedicated to Alan Gray, who succeeded him as organist at Trinity College, Cambridge, and the college's choir?
... that Ave Maria, an obscure piece for two men's choirs by Franz Biebl, became a choral standard after Chanticleer made it part of their holiday programs?
... that John Rutter wrote the text and music for Angels' Carol, a choral piece for Christmas, using the Latin "Gloria in excelsis Deo" from the Christmas story as a refrain?
... that the German Advent song "Tochter Zion, freue dich" has words by Friedrich Heinrich Ranke set to music used for triumphant entrances in two of Handel's oratorios?
... that a verse from Psalm 85 inspired artworks depicting the kiss of Justice and Peace?

... 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)?
... 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?
... that one of the versions of Vivaldi's Magnificat included five arias to be performed by girl soloists from the Ospedale della Pietà orphanage, who were named in the score?
... that the hymn "Nun lässest du, o Herr", written by Georg Thurmair as a paraphrase of the Nunc dimittis, appeared with a 16th-century melody in the first Gotteslob, but with a modern one in the second?
... that Dixit Maria, a motet in Latin by Hans Leo Hassler, sets to music the narrative of Mary's consent to the Annunciation?
... that the choir sings Jauchzet, frohlocket! (Shout for joy, exult!), the beginning of Part I of Bach's Christmas Oratorio, first imitating kettledrums due to its secular model?
... that Und es waren Hirten in derselben Gegend, the second part of Bach's Christmas Oratorio and written for the second day of Christmas, focuses on the annunciation to the shepherds?
... that the cantata Kündlich groß ist das gottselige Geheimnis was written by Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel for the Third Day of Christmas at the court of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen?
... that Charles Wood's Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in D has been regarded as an "epitome of Church of England worship"?
... that the 1876 hymn "Ein Haus voll Glorie schauet" is used for festive occasions such as the millennium of the Bamberg Cathedral, but with drastically changed text?
... that Nikolaus Herman based the melody of his Christmas carol "Lobt Gott, ihr Christen alle gleich" on the Gregorian hymn "Puer natus est nobis"?
... that John Rutter wrote the lyrics for his choral composition Christmas Lullaby, with each verse including the refrain "Ave Maria"?

... that Gabriela Eibenová flew from Prague to Frankfurt to fill in for a soprano in Bach's Mass in B minor in St. Martin, Idstein, a year ago? (29 September 2014)
... that countertenor David Erler was one of five singers invited by amarcord for the performance of Monteverdi's Vespers as the annual Marienvesper of the Rheingau Musik Festival in Eberbach Abbey?
... that according to a reviewer, tenor Georg Poplutz created a "cosmos of emotions" in a performance of Schubert's Winterreise?

... that "Glauben können wie du" by Helmut Schlegel (pictured) is addressed to Mary, and relates to her exemplary faith, hope and love?
... that Andreas Großmann commissioned the oratorio Laudato si' for the 50th anniversary of the Catholic Diocese of Limburg's church music department, which he heads?
... 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 Peter Reulein composed the oratorio Laudato si‘ for five soloists, choirs, organ and orchestra to be premiered in Limburg Cathedral?
... 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?
... that the baritone Johannes Hill was the voice of Jesus and Pilate in Bach's Passions, and of Pope Francis in the premiere of Laudato si'?

... 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 Josef Rheinberger composed the six-voice motet Abendlied (Evening song) at age 15?

... that the biannual festival Wiesbadener Bachwochen has featured Faure's Requiem sung by a project choir in 2015, and Bach's Mass in B minor sung by the Schiersteiner Kantorei in 2019?

... that Gabriel Fauré's Cantique de Jean Racine is often performed with his Requiem, although he composed it much earlier as a student?
... that Olivier Latry, organist of the great organ of Notre Dame de Paris (pictured), derived Salve Regina from his own improvisation?
... that Karl Jenkins conducted the premiere of his Te Deum, "a joyous, theatrical piece", in the European Capital of Culture of 2008, Liverpool?
... that the Gloria by Karl Jenkins was premiered in 2010 by The Really Big Chorus?

... that Geistliche Chormusik, a collection of 29 motets by Heinrich Schütz containing a "plea for peace", appeared in 1648, when the Thirty Years' War ended?
... that Dieterich Buxtehude combined as funeral music for his father the earlier Mit Fried und Freud, composed for Menno Hanneken, and a new lament Klag-Lied?
... that composer Heinrich Schütz published Psalmen Davids, including polychoral settings for many of the included psalms, on his wedding day?
... that parts of Cantiones sacrae, 40 choral pieces composed by Heinrich Schütz during the Thirty Years' War, have been described as intensely expressive, others as happy?
... that a German Magnificat, or Song of Mary (pictured), ends the last work by composer Heinrich Schütz, known as his swan song?
... that the 2000 a cappella composition Lux Aurumque (Light and Gold) was recorded by a Virtual Choir of 185 singers from 12 countries, conducted by its composer Eric Whitacre?
... that Samuel Barber derived his choral composition Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) from his successful Adagio for Strings, showing "the work's sense of spirituality"?

... that Jan Sandström composed the Motorbike Concerto, and a setting of Es ist ein Ros entsprungen for two choirs a cappella: one in four parts, singing Praetorius, and the other in eight parts?
... that in Handel's Messiah, Part II contains the famous Hallelujah Chorus and the oratorio's longest movement, the air for alto He was despised?
... that in Handel's Messiah, Part III closes with the chorus "Worthy is the Lamb", from text in the Book of Revelation, and an extended Amen fugue?
... that a reviewer wrote that Katia Plaschka, "quite accurately described as a high soprano, sings music of stratospheric difficulty" when performing Luigi Nono's music?
... that Markus Flaig brought Handel's darkness and great light to St. Martin, Idstein?

... that the musicians of the chamber orchestra Kammerorchester Basel accompanied Andreas Scholl (pictured) in Bach cantatas and also sang the closing chorale?
... that tenor Ulrich Cordes was the Evangelist in Bach's St Matthew Passion in St. Martin, Idstein, the Berliner Philharmonie and the Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels?

... that soprano Christiane Kohl appeared at the Bayreuth Festival as the Rhinemaiden Woglinde in both Das Rheingold and Götterdämmerung?
... that the vocal quartet of Monika Frimmer, Christa Bonhoff, Dantes Diwiak, and Peter Kooy recorded the Augsburger Tafel-Confect ("Augsburg Table Confectionary") of Valentin Rathgeber and Johann Caspar Seyfert?
... that the 1565 motet "If Ye Love Me" by Thomas Tallis was performed at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle?
... that within ten years bass singer Klaus Mertens recorded all vocal works of Johann Sebastian Bach with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir?
... that Arvo Pärt composed De profundis, a setting of Psalm 130 in Latin for men's choir, organ and optional percussion, after he left Estonia for the West?
... that Salve Regina, composed by Arvo Pärt to venerate the Golden Madonna of the Essen Cathedral, "builds very gradually to a late, majestic climax"?
... 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"?
... that Bartholomäus Gesius wrote the melody of the Easter hymn which Bach used to conclude the Easter section of his Orgelbüchlein?

... that Orgelbau Mebold built a new organ in St. Martin, Idstein, in 2006, which has attracted organists such as Kalevi Kiviniemi and Matthias Eisenberg to perform there?
... 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"?
... that John Rutter composed "The Lord bless you and keep you" for the memorial service of his former music teacher at Highgate School?
... that John Eliot Gardiner (pictured), conductor of the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage, noted the "immensity, vigour, flexibility and imagination of the opening chorus" of Brich dem Hungrigen dein Brot, BWV 39?
... that bass Michael Pospíšil and his ensemble Ritornello recorded music from the hymnal Capella Regia Musicalis, "one of the jewels of Czech musical history"?
... that George Frideric Handel wrote Utrecht Te Deum and Jubilate for the celebration of the Peace of Utrecht in 1713, to English words?
... that the solo parts of Joseph Haydn's oratorio Die Schöpfung were performed by Elisabeth Scholl, Daniel Sans and Andreas Pruys in the Basilika of Schloss Johannisberg?
... that The Company of Heaven, Benjamin Britten's 1937 composition for speakers, soloists, choir and orchestra, contains "metrical spoken (shouted) male chorus"?
... that "Der Geist des Herrn erfüllt das All", a hymn for Pentecost, was written by Maria Luise Thurmair in 1941, the year of her marriage to the hymn writer Georg Thurmair?
... that Bach marked to repeat the opening chorus of cantata Erschallet, ihr Lieder, erklinget, ihr Saiten! BWV 172 after the final chorale?
... that Martin Krumbiegel sang the tenor part in Bach's cantata Erschallet, ihr Lieder (Resound, ye songs) and his "Pipe Aria"?
... that Bach's St Matthew Passion is structured in 67 movements, according to the NBA, and tells the Passion based on the Gospel of Matthew, Picander's contemporary poetry, and chorales?
... that Max van Egmond recorded the bass arias of Bach's St Matthew Passion with Claudio Abbado and the Vox Christi, the words of Jesus, with Gustav Leonhardt?
... that tenor Max Ciolek performed the Evangelist in Bach's Passions, and the Mass in B minor with La Petite Bande in Australia?
... that Bach's solo cantata for alto Gott soll allein mein Herze haben, BWV 169, (God alone shall have my heart) was recorded by soloist Andreas Scholl?

Idsteiner Kantorei[edit]

... that Carsten Koch conducted all Beethoven symphonies at the historic Unionskirche, and shared Bach's Christmas Oratorio there in an ecumenical project (performance pictured)?
... that Anne Bierwirth has performed the alto part in Bach's Christmas Oratorio (pictured, 2nd from left), and in a recording of the first Passion oratorio in German by Reinhard Keiser?
... that walls and the ceiling of the Unionskirche (Union Church) in Idstein are covered with 38 oil paintings from the Dutch Golden Age school of Rubens?
... that Fallt mit Danken, fallt mit Loben (Fall with thanks, fall with praise), Part IV of Bach's Christmas Oratorio for New Year's Day 1735, celebrates the naming of Jesus?
... that a stanza from "Nun liebe Seel, nun ist es Zeit", a German Lutheran hymn, was used in Part V of Bach's Christmas Oratorio?

Reger-Chor[edit]

Reger-Chor in 2016

... that the international Reger-Chor celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2010, singing music of Bach, Van Nuffel, Ryelandt, and Reger's Hebbel-Requiem in St. Bonifatius, Wiesbaden, and St. Salvator's Cathedral, Bruges?
... that the motet In Exile for double choir by Herbert Sumsion was premiered at Gloucester Cathedral?
... 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 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 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 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 Bach composed his motet for double choir Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf, BWV 226 (autograph pictured), for the funeral of Johann Heinrich Ernesti at the Paulinerkirche?
... that Fest- und Gedenksprüche are three motets composed by Johannes Brahms for the ceremony in which he was named an honorary citizen of Hamburg?
... that St. Leonhard in Frankfurt was remodeled from a Romanesque basilica to a late Gothic hall church?

... 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 Der 100. Psalm, an extended setting of Psalm 100 for choir, orchestra, and organ by Max Reger, was premièred simultaneously in Chemnitz and Breslau?
... that Two Songs to be sung of a summer night on the water by Frederick Delius are wordless songs for an a cappella choir, described as being amongst the composer's "most transcendently ecstatic moments"?

... that the second of Five Childhood Lyrics, compositions for an unaccompanied choir by John Rutter, is Edward Lear's "The Owl and the Pussycat"?
... that John Rutter set Psalm 23 in The Lord is my Shepherd for choir and organ, and later included it in his 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 the six movements of a Missa by Bach, a short mass consisting of Kyrie and Gloria, are parodies of his cantata music?
... that Caroline Stein appeared as Mozart's Queen of the Night at the Berlin State Opera, and sang his Mass in C minor and Alban Berg's Altenberg Lieder at The Proms?
... that Henry Purcell's eight-voice anthem Hear my prayer, O Lord features "pungent" harmonies in a long, "inexorable" build-up to a "towering dissonant tone cluster" right before it ends?

... that in his Magnificat and Nunc dimittis for St Paul's Cathedral (interior pictured), Herbert Howells uses slow and spacious changes in harmony and tonality to suit the building's long echo?
... that Benjamin Britten's Te Deum in C, first performed at St Michael's, Cornhill, was among his earliest published works?
... that, although Joseph Jongen conducted the first performance of his Mass, Op. 130, at Liège Cathedral in 1946, it was not published until 1990?

... that among the late works by Max Reger are a fragment of a Latin Requiem and the Hebbel Requiem?
... that contralto Marga Höffgen, known as a Bach singer for Karajan and as Erda in Bayreuth, recorded Max Reger's Requiem compositions?
... that Gabriel Dessauer conducted in Wiesbaden the premiere of Max Reger's Hebbel Requiem in the organ version of Max Beckschäfer?

Chor von St. Bonifatius[edit]

... that the church choir Chor von St. Bonifatius celebrates 150 years today, singing in Wiesbaden the premiere of a Missa solemnis by Colin Mawby, conducted by Gabriel Dessauer? (3 October 2012)
... that Johannes Schröder composed an oratorio honouring Katharina Kaspar, who became a new saint in 2018?
... that the Missa brevis in B, written by Christopher Tambling for mixed choir, trumpets, trombones, tubular bells and organ, was first performed in 2014 at St. Maria in Landau by around 1,400 singers?
... that the Easter composition Surrexit a mortuis (He rose from the dead) was scored for choir and two organs by Charles-Marie Widor, organist at Saint-Sulpice in Paris from age 25?
... that a 2009 recording of Louis Vierne's Messe solennelle for choir and two organs at Saint-Sulpice, where it was first performed in 1901, was called "musical and spiritual time-travel"?
... that Arvo Pärt began his choral composition Da pacem Domine (Give peace, Lord) two days after the 2004 Madrid train bombings?
... that the mass Messe in A by Christopher Tambling, originally set for high voices, proved so popular that a four-part version was commissioned?
... that Marc-Antoine Charpentier composed the midnight mass Messe de minuit pour Noël based on the melodies of ten French Christmas carols?
... that "Look at the world" is a 1996 choral harvest anthem with text and music by John Rutter, written for CPRE "on the theme of the environment and our responsibility towards it"?

... Talia Or recorded the soprano solo of Bach's cantata Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140, with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Zubin Mehta in Jerusalem?
... that Silvia Hauer, a singer of Rossini's Rosina and Bizet's Carmen at Staatstheater Wiesbaden, performed the mezzo-soprano solo of Verdi's Requiem in 2022?
... that Sung Min Song, who was an informatics engineer in Seoul until age 26, performed the extreme tenor role of Arnold in Rossini's Guillaume Tell as his debut at the Saarländisches Staatstheater?
... that organist Jehan Alain's Messe modale en septuor was written for a septet of soprano, alto, flute and string quartet?
... that César Franck composed Psalm 150, a setting of "the musicians' psalm", for choir, orchestra, and organ, for a school for the blind in Paris?
... that the Messe brève no. 7 by Charles Gounod is an 1890 Missa brevis that he derived from an earlier work for only two voices and organ?
... that the 2005 song "Auf dem Weg durch diese Nacht" (On the way through this night), from a collection of the same name, was performed during evensong at the Katholikentag?
... that the Johannespassion by Wolfram Menschick, a setting of the Passion according to St John for three soloists and choir, was performed today at Essen Cathedral? (15 April 2022)
... that all stanzas of the song "Gott liebt diese Welt" begin with this line, sending the message that God loves this world to young Christians in Mecklenburg after the Berlin Wall was built?
... that Chanson à bouche fermée, a 1933 choral piece composed by Jehan Alain, is sung without text and with a closed mouth?
... that Roman Twardy conducted the Wiesbadener Knabenchor in the first recording of a rediscovered Passion oratorio by Johann Mattheson?
... that Franz Schubert's third mass in B flat major is by its short duration a missa brevis, but by its large orchestral force of brass, woodwinds, and timpani a missa solemnis?
... that the protest initiative Omas gegen Rechts (Grannies against the Right) was awarded a prize for civil courage by the Central Council of Jews in Germany?
... that O salutaris hostia (O saving victim), a setting of a Eucharistic hymn for mixed choir by Vytautas Miškinis, was performed in Brussels when Lithuania held the EU presidency?
... that in his 1831 chorale cantata Verleih uns Frieden, Mendelssohn set Luther's German prayer for peace to a new melody?
... that the repeated question "Warum?" ('Why?') from the Book of Job structures the first movement of Two Motets, Op. 74, by Johannes Brahms?

... that Louis Vierne completed his Third Organ Symphony during a summer vacation with the family of Marcel Dupré, who played the world premiere in Paris in 1912?
... that the Missa brevis for choir a cappella is one of about 300 choral compositions by Knut Nystedt?
... that "Aus der Tiefe rufe ich" ('Out of the depths have I cried') is one of six 1883 psalm settings by Friedrich Kiel?
... that Arvo Pärt composed the motet The Deer's Cry on a commission from Louth, Ireland, setting the conclusion of Saint Patrick's Breastplate, "Christ with me"?
... that Felix Mendelssohn first composed the motet Denn er hat seinen Engeln befohlen (For He shall give His angels charge) for an eight-part choir, then included it with orchestra in Elijah?
... that Mendelssohn was requested to compose Psalm 100 for the new Hamburg Temple, but probably set it as Jauchzet dem Herrn, alle Welt for the Berlin Cathedral?
... that the motet Lord, have mercy upon us was composed by Felix Mendelssohn in 1833, setting responses from the Book of Common Prayer?
... that the song "Nun, Brüder, sind wir frohgemut" was written by Georg Thurmair in 1935 for processions to Mary in the Altenberger Dom, in subtle opposition to the Nazi regime?

... that a clinic in Mopti, Mali, is named after Werner Bardenhewer, born 90 years ago today, who was for decades priest of St. Bonifatius, Wiesbaden, and then founded a charity group?
... that three verses from Psalm 86 became part of Mendelssohn's oratorio Elijah, including the opening "Lord, bow thine ear to our pray'r"?
... that Three Latin Motets (Beati), Charles Villiers Stanford's only church music not in English, was dedicated to Alan Gray, who succeeded him as organist at Trinity College, Cambridge, and the college's choir?
... 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 in Laetatus sum for choir and organ, Jules Van Nuffel set a Psalm of Ascent that expresses prayer for the peace of Jerusalem?
... that the third movement of the chorale motet Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme contains a quotation from a Bach cantata which composer J. C. F. Bach included as a tribute to his father?
... that a reviewer came to like John Rutter's anthem O clap your hands better, many years after he first found the jollity of its beginning "a bit relentless"?
... that John Rutter's choral composition A Gaelic Blessing associates "deep peace" with elements of nature?
... 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 William G. Whittaker called Bach's chorale cantata Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (hymn pictured) "without a dull bar, technically, emotionally and spiritually of the highest order"?
... that Michael Haydn composed a mass suitable for Lent and Advent, the Missa Tempore Quadragesimae, in D minor for just choir and organ?
... that Wolfgang Rösch, who studied mechanical engineering and theology, administers the Diocese of Limburg during the absence of the bishop? (16 January 2014)
... that Max Reger composed 20 Responsories in English for use in the American Lutheran church, although he did not speak English?

... that the prolific composer and Westminster Cathedral conductor Colin Mawby (pictured left) said, "I cannot write choral music unless I work with choirs ... I have to write for particular people"?
... that Andreas Boltz is the cathedral music director at the Frankfurt Cathedral Kaiserdom St. Bartholomäus?
... that William Lloyd Webber's Missa Princeps Pacis was performed at St Martin-in-the-Fields to celebrate Webber's centenary?
... that Prince Nikolaus Esterházy, who commissioned Beethoven's Mass in C major for his wife's name day, found it "unbearably ridiculous and detestable"?
... that Swiss composer Hermann Suter set St. Francis of Assisi's Italian Canticle of the Sun in Le Laudi, his symphonic oratorio for choir, soloists, voci di ragazzi, organ and orchestra?
... that the Polish soprano Zofia Kilanowicz appeared as Roxana in Szymanowski's King Roger in Paris, and recorded Górecki's Symphony of Sorrowful Songs?
... that bass-baritone Johann-Werner Prein took part in the 1994 premiere of Erwin Schulhoff's only opera, Flammen, which the Nazis had suppressed?
... that the church St. Bonifatius was built in Wiesbaden in Gothic Revival style, after a first building had collapsed?

... that Hans Uwe Hielscher played the 1500th weekly organ recital during market time at the Marktkirche in Wiesbaden in a series he initiated some 30 years earlier?
... that Andreas Karasiak recorded Bach's St Matthew Passion, scored for double chorus, with two boys choirs, Knabenchor Hannover and Thomanerchor?
... that Camille Saint-Saëns commented after the premiere of the St. Cecilia Mass by Charles Gounod that "at first one was dazzled, then charmed, then conquered"?
... that in the 1714 Bach cantata Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, BWV 12, the first choral section was described as a "tombeau ... most impressive and deeply affecting"?
... that Guido Dessauer, a German executive and art collector, registered more than 30 patents in paper technology and started the career of Horst Janssen as a lithographer?

... that Haydn's oratorio Die Schöpfung is structured in three parts, the first two about the creation as narrated in Genesis, the third about Adam and Eve in Paradise?
... that Anton Bruckner's Ave Maria for seven voices, the first motet composed after his studies, was sung by his choir in the Linz Cathedral?
... that a 2009 recording of Louis Vierne's Messe solennelle for choir and two organs at Saint-Sulpice, where it was first performed in 1901, was called "musical and spiritual time-travel"?
... that the choir sings Jauchzet, frohlocket! (Shout for joy, exult!), the beginning of Part I of Bach's Christmas Oratorio, first imitating kettledrums due to its secular model?
... that Und es waren Hirten in derselben Gegend, the second part of Bach's Christmas Oratorio and written for the second day of Christmas, focuses on the annunciation to the shepherds?
... that Herrscher des Himmels, erhöre das Lallen, a Bach cantata for the Third Day of Christmas, contains the only aria that he newly composed for the oratorio?
... that the 1227 Gothic church of the Cistercian Marienstatt Abbey escaped demolition because it became a parish church in 1831?
... that in his 1960 Quatre Motets sur des thèmes grégoriens, Maurice Duruflé "shows his particular genius for invoking the spiritual element of plainsong in a polyphonic context"?
... that Friedrich Zehm composed four songs for men's choir that he called Grasshoffiade in honor of Fritz Grasshoff, the author of their lyrics?
... that the Zelter-Plakette has been awarded annually by the President of Germany since 1956 to German and foreign choirs which have served cultural life continuously for 100 years or more?
... that in the motet Popule meus by Tomás Luis de Victoria, which sets the Good Friday Reproaches, two choirs alternate Greek and Latin versions of the Trisagion?

Kammerchor Ehrenbach[edit]

... that Rossini scored the last of his "sins of old age", the Petite messe solennelle, for twelve singers, two pianos, and harmonium?

Syburger Kantatenchor[edit]

St. Peter, Syburg

... that the Romanesque church St. Peter in Syburg, now a suburb of Dortmund, is surrounded by a graveyard with stones dating back to the ninth century?
... 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?
... that Bach's cantata for the second day of Christmas, Darzu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes ("For this the Son of God appeared"), BWV 40, is his first Christmas cantata composed for Leipzig? (2012)
... that the Annunciation to the shepherds in Handel's Messiah, Part I, is the only scene from a Gospel in the oratorio? (2006)
... that William G. Whittaker called Bach's chorale cantata Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme "without a dull bar, technically, emotionally and spiritually of the highest order"? (2002)
Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147
... 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? (2001)
... that Bach wrote in Weimar the opening chorus of his cantata for the First Sunday of Advent Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 61, as a French overture?

The Master Singers of Westchester[edit]

Bedford
Presbyterian Church

... that Bedford Presbyterian Church (pictured), said to have excellent acoustics, has hosted concerts such as Bach's Mass in B minor and Britten's Saint Nicolas?
... that Ave Maria, an obscure piece for two men's choirs by Franz Biebl, became a choral standard after Chanticleer made it part of their holiday programs?
... that Mozart composed four litanies between 1771 and 1776 – two Marian and two sacramental – as a church musician for the prince-archbishop of Salzburg?
... that one of the versions of Vivaldi's Magnificat included five arias to be performed by girl soloists from the Ospedale della Pietà orphanage, who were named in the score?
... that the complete Psalm 131 and the first verse of Psalm 133 in Hebrew comprise the text of the last movement of Chichester Psalms by Leonard Bernstein?
... that on his first commission from the US, John Rutter composed Gloria as a concert piece for choir, brass, percussion, and organ?
... 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?
... that the Annunciation to the shepherds in Handel's Messiah, Part I, is the only scene from a Gospel in the oratorio?
... that the mezzo-soprano Pamela Dellal, who recorded music by Hildegard von Bingen and Fanny Mendelssohn, translated all texted works by Bach?
... that Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach conducted his Magnificat decades after he composed it, juxtaposed in the concert to his father's Credo?
... that soprano Rosa Lamoreaux, who recorded Bach's Mass in B minor with The Bach Choir of Bethlehem and at the Carmel Bach Festival, won the 2009 Wammie as classical vocal soloist?
... that the violinist Mela Tenenbaum recorded in the US works that Dmitri Klebanov had composed for her in Ukraine, including Japanese Silhouettes for soprano, viola d'amore and ensemble?
... that Bach's Magnificat in E-flat major, BWV 243a, was performed for his first Christmas as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, but its initial performance may have been earlier in 1723 at a Marian feast there?
... that Antonio Vivaldi composed three settings of Dixit Dominus, each an extended setting of the vespers psalm for five soloists, choir, and orchestra, and one even for double choir?

Idsteiner Vokalisten[edit]

... that Bach based the first movement of his last cantata for the feast of St. Michael and all angels, Man singet mit Freuden vom Sieg, BWV 149, on the finale of his Hunting Cantata?

Rheingauer Kantorei[edit]

Geisenheim
Rheingauer Dom

... that the Rheingauer Kantorei performed Mendelssohn's oratorio Elias in the Geisenheimer Dom and in the Marktkirche Wiesbaden?
... that director Frank Stähle revived the choir and orchestra of Dr. Hoch's Konservatorium and conducted them in Mozart's Requiem for the centenary of the Lutherkirche?
... that in Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, BWV 56, called a cantata by Bach himself, life is compared to a sea voyage and death addressed to come?
... that the facade and towers of the Gothic Rheingauer Dom (pictured) in Geisenheim were added in the 19th century?
... that the chamber orchestra Folkwang Kammerorchester Essen, founded in 1958, is the only orchestra to regularly perform at the historic Villa Hügel?
... that René Morax founded the Thêatre du Jorat, where his play Le Roi David premiered with dramatic music by Arthur Honegger?
... that Klesie Kelly, soprano and academic voice teacher in Cologne, recorded love songs for voices and instrumental soloists with tenor Ian Partridge?
... that Erich Wenk sang a "rage aria" in Bach's dramma per musica Preise dein Glücke, gesegnetes Sachsen?

... that Johannes Eccard composed Übers Gebirg Maria geht (Over the mountains Mary goes)—a retelling of Mary's Visitation (pictured) to Elisabeth—as a motet for five voices?
... that mezzo-soprano Claudia Eder sang the parts of the Muse and Nicklausse in Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann on a recording with Plácido Domingo as Hoffmann?
... that Gerd Nienstedt performed 14 different roles, including the dragon in Siegfried, during 15 consecutive summers at the Bayreuth Festival?
... that the Staatstheater Mainz and the University of Mainz collaborated on the program "Mathematics and Physics in the World of Sound"?
... that in Nazi Germany, Karl Maria Zwißler conducted major works by composer Igor Stravinsky regarded as degenerate music, including the ballet The Firebird and the German premiere of Dumbarton Oaks?

Kantorei St. Johannis[edit]

Neustädter Kirche, Hannover

... that the Neustädter Kirche was built in Hanover's Calenberger Neustadt in the 17th century as one of the earliest aisleless churches in Lower Saxony?
... that Erhard Egidi conducted at the Neustädter Kirche both the first performance after more than 300 years of a funeral music by the church's first organist and Bach's Mass in B minor?
... that Jesu, meine Freude (Jesus, my joy), a motet by Bach, has a complex symmetrical structure in which six hymn stanzas alternate with five Bible verses?
... that "Christus, der uns selig macht", a translation by Michael Weiße of a Latin Passion hymn, begins with Jesus arrested like a thief?
... that Bach was only in his twenties when he composed the cantata Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4, for Easter, using in seven movements the words and tune of Martin Luther's Easter chorale?
... that in the final movement of Die Sintflut (The Flood), a cantata for eight-part unaccompanied choir by Willy Burkhard, the voices paint Noah's rainbow?
... that the choir sings Jauchzet, frohlocket! (Shout for joy, exult!), the beginning of Part I of Bach's Christmas Oratorio, first imitating kettledrums due to its secular model?
... that Und es waren Hirten in derselben Gegend, the second part of Bach's Christmas Oratorio and written for the second day of Christmas, focuses on the annunciation to the shepherds?

... 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 baritone Gerhard Faulstich takes an "unpretentious, conversational approach" to the part of Jesus in his recording of Bach's St Matthew Passion?
... that the third verse of Martin Schalling's death song "Herzlich lieb hab ich dich, o Herr" concludes Bach's St John Passion in its first and fourth version, ending with "praise you for ever"?
... that "Christ ist erstanden", possibly the oldest German hymn as mentioned in the 12th century, was set for choir in the 21st century?

Kantorei St. Lamberti[edit]

St. Lamberti, Hildesheim

... that the late Gothic church St. Lamberti (pictured) in Hildesheim was rebuilt after destruction in World War II, but a southern annex was kept in ruins as a memorial?
... that Jesu, meine Freude (Jesus, my joy), a motet by Bach, has a complex symmetrical structure in which six hymn stanzas alternate with five Bible verses?
... that at age 79, composer Heinrich Schütz published only the recitatives of his Christmas Story and offered the other music for sale on request?
... that the hymn "Jesu, meine Freude" (Jesus, my joy) by Johann Franck and Johann Crüger mentions singing in defiance of the "old dragon", death, and fear?

Rheingau Musik Festival[edit]

Schloss Johannisberg

... that the concert venues of the Rheingau Musik Festival include Eberbach Abbey, Schloss Johannisberg and Lorch?
... that Princess Tatiana von Metternich-Winneburg turned the East Wing of Schloss Johannisberg into a concert hall for the Rheingau Musik Festival?
... that the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra brought music by three Ukrainian composers to concert halls in Poland and Germany in April 2022, including the Berlin Philharmonie and the Kurhaus Wiesbaden (pictured)?
... that Luigi Gaggero conducted the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra in Germany in April 2022, restoring Lyatoshynsky's Symphony No. 3 to its 1951 version, with the last movement themed "Peace will conquer war"?
... that the Russian violinist Evgeny Sviridov, who has been concertmaster of the Baroque ensemble Concerto Köln since 2015, has made an award-winning recording of sonatas by Giuseppe Tartini?
... that Markus Becker, who earned awards for his recording of the complete piano works by Max Reger, also recorded jazz?
... that when the new church of St. Martinus in Hattersheim was built in 1915 with Jugendstil elements, the architect incorporated parts from the earlier church?
... that Stardust, the title of a composition by Taylor Scott Davis for eight voices a cappella commissioned by Voces8, became also the name of the vocal ensemble's 2022 tour?
... that Britten's Five Flower Songs, part songs composed for a couple's 25th wedding anniversary, premiered at their estate Dartington Hall?

... that in a choral tour program titled Salmo!, Bach's 18th successor first conducted Salmo 150, an a cappella setting of Psalm 150 by the Brazilian composer Ernani Aguiar?
... that when pieces from Mendelssohn's German Liturgy were sung by the Thomanerchor (pictured) in 2022, a reviewer noted "a captivating purity in the tone of devotional Reformation romanticism"?
... that Andreas Reize ranked Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen, a choral setting of the first verses of Psalm 84 by Johann Hermann Schein, as one of three pinnacles of motets before Bach?
... that when La Folia Barockorchester made the first recordings of anonymous violin concertos found in the Dresden Hofkirche, they chose not to discover the identity of the composers?
... that the Japanese mezzo-soprano Mihoko Fujimura, who appeared as Fricka at the Bayreuth Festival in 2002, toured Mahler's Resurrection Symphony with the BSO conducted by Andris Nelsons?
... that MDR Rundfunkchor, the radio choir of the MDR in Leipzig, performed Dvořák's Stabat Mater in the opening concert of the 2019 Rheingau Musik Festival at Eberbach Abbey?
... that Olivier Latry, organist at Notre-Dame de Paris, played a concert at St. Martin in Lorch am Rhein in 2019?
... that American tenor Scot Weir sang Hans Zender's contemporary version of Schubert's Die Winterreise with chamber orchestra in a performance of the Hamburg Ballet?
... that Jörg Breiding, only the second leader of the Knabenchor Hannover in its 69-year history, conducted the choir and the Canadian Brass quintet in folk song arrangements in 2019?

... that Michael Herrmann is founder-director of the Rheingau Musik Festival, which holds about 150 concerts every season in vineyards and historical buildings?
... that Claus Wisser founded the services company Wisag, and co-founded the Rheingau Musik Festival which staged a concert of Orff's Carmina Burana for his 60th birthday?
... that today (16 August 2010), the 80th birthday of Walter Fink is celebrated at the Rheingau Musik Festival with compositions of Kirchner, Lachenmann, Rihm, Widmann and Hosokawa?
... that Hans Otto Jung was a jazz musician during World War II, ran a winery from the Boosenburg, and was co-founder of the Rheingau Musik Festival?
... that Sakura-Variationen, a trio for saxophone, piano, and percussion by Helmut Lachenmann, is based on a Japanese folk song and was composed for a children's concert?
... that Toshio Hosokawa composed several operas based on Japanese Noh theatre, including Vision of Lear after Shakespeare?
... that tenor Daniel Behle had a single day to learn rarely performed romantic duets when he stepped in at short notice for a 2018 Rheingau Musik Festival concert with Annette Dasch?
... that the last of three Regina coeli settings written by Mozart for Salzburg Cathedral is scored for four soloists, choir and orchestra?
... that the oboe quartet Phantasy, composed by Benjamin Britten as a student, was the work that won him international recognition?
... that during his long acting career, Walter Renneisen has presented Patrick Süskind's Der Kontrabaß (The Double Bass) in his own touring production?
... that Volker David Kirchner, who composed operas for the Wiesbaden State Theatre and a mass for the Mainz Cathedral, was the first recipient of the Rheingau Musikpreis?
... 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?
... that accordionist Vincent Peirani and pianist Michael Wollny, both multiple ECHO Jazz winners, recorded the "symbiotic" album Tandem?
... that Gerhild Romberger, an award-winning contralto and professor of voice, was a soloist in Mahler's Second Symphony at the Rheingau Musik Festival? 9 Sep 2017
... that Tamar Halperin recorded music by Eric Satie, playing piano, harpsichord, Hammond organ, and Wurlitzer piano?
... that soprano Dorothee Mields sang solo and tutti in five cantatas composed for Pentecost by the prolific Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel, a contemporary of Bach?
that the text of Bach's Fürchte dich nicht, BWV 228, a motet for a double choir composed for a funeral, contains two verses by Isaiah that both begin with "Do not fear"?
... that at age 70, music conductor Rolf Beck is still active with choral academies he founded, presenting Carmina burana in Brazil and Bach motets at the Rheingau Musik Festival?
... that in celebration of the tercentenary of the birth of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, tenor Markus Schäfer performed in his oratorio Die Auferstehung und Himmelfahrt Jesu at the Rheingau Musik Festival? (6 August 2014)

... that the piano duo Anthony & Joseph Paratore played Brahms at the first Rheingau Musik Festival, and entertained children with The Carnival of the Animals at the 25th?
... 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 Profeti della Quinta, a male vocal ensemble from Israel based in Basel, performed Italian madrigals and Hebrew psalms by Salomone Rossi in a documentary of the composer's life?
... that the Lautten Compagney played Monteverdi's Vespers for the Rheingau Musik Festival's annual Marienvesper, which was sung by "amarcord and guests?"
... that soprano Lucy Crowe, performing Janáček's Cunning Little Vixen at the Glyndebourne Festival, was described as "a powerhouse of foxy ingenuity"?
... that Karl-Friedrich Beringer conducted the Windsbacher Knabenchor, winner of the 2007 Rheingau Musikpreis, in Bach's St John Passion in Eberbach Abbey?
... that the chamber choir RIAS Kammerchor performed Monteverdi's Vespro della Beata Vergine, 400 years after its premiere, at the Rheingau Musik Festival?
... that former Gewandhaus organist Matthias Eisenberg performed with clarinetist Giora Feidman at the Rheingau Musik Festival in Eberbach Abbey?

... that when Gert Westphal recited novels by Thomas Mann, his widow Katia (couple pictured ) called him "des Dichters oberster Mund" (the poets principal voice)?
... that Die Singphoniker recorded Schubert's complete part songs and Singphonic Christmas, European Christmas carols?
... that singers Anne Sofie von Otter and Christian Gerhaher recorded music written in the concentration camp of Terezín by artists such as Ilse Weber, Hans Krása, Pavel Haas and Viktor Ullmann?
... that Niki Reiser, composer for such films as Alles auf Zucker!, was awarded the Rheingau Music Prize in 2005 for "suffusing each individual work with its own unique sound"?
... that Hungarian pianists Márta Kurtág and her husband performed together for 60 years, often from his collection Játékok (Games) on an upright piano?
... that the a cappella ensemble amarcord, five former members of the Thomanerchor, won the CARA award "Best classical album" again in 2010, for Rastlose Liebe (Restless Love)?
... that mezzo-soprano Mechthild Georg, a voice teacher at the Musikhochschule Köln, performed music by C. P. E. Bach at the first Rheingau Musik Festival?

Graham Waterhouse[edit]

Graham Waterhouse

... that Chieftain's Salute, composed by Graham Waterhouse is scored for Great Highland Bagpipe and string orchestra? (22 August 2009)
... that compositions by Graham Waterhouse range from the beginning of his String Sextet, Op. 1, in 1979 to the Fantasia Ucraina for two violins in 2022? (2 November 2022)
Concentricities, a 2019 clarinet–cello–piano trio by Graham Waterhouse, musically depicts a theme of circular, spiraling, or oscillating concentric phenomena in nature and human structures. (7 Jan 2023)
... that Four Epigraphs after Escher is a 1993 piano trio by Graham Waterhouse for viola, heckelphone and piano based on four graphic artworks by M. C. Escher including Reptiles?
... that Phoenix Arising for bassoon and piano was composed by Graham Waterhouse (pictured) in memory of his father, the bassoonist William Waterhouse, who believed in his instrument's "broad expressive possibilities"?
... that In Freundschaft was composed in friendship by Karlheinz Stockhausen as a clarinet solo for Suzanne Stephens, and later adapted to the instruments of other friends?
... that although Vivaldi composed cello sonatas for private international customers, six of them were published in Paris in 1740 without his permission?
... that Graham Waterhouse began his String Sextet, Op. 1, in 1979, and completed it 34 years later?
... that Variations for Cello Solo, premiered by the composer Graham Waterhouse in Vienna in 2020, depicts characteristics of members of his family?
... that Claude Debussy described his Cello Sonata, composed within a few weeks in July 1915 at a Normandy seaside town, in a letter to his publisher Durand as of "almost classical form"?
... that although Vivaldi composed cello sonatas for private international customers, six of them were published in Paris in 1740 without his permission?
... that pianist Katharina Sellheim and two other women played piano trios by Beethoven, Waterhouse, and Mendelssohn at the Beethovenfest?
... that in his Viola Sonata entitled Sonata ebraica ("Hebrew Sonata"), Graham Waterhouse quotes the Yiddish song "Oyfn Pripetshik"?
... that in his song cycles, Graham Waterhouse has used a cello, a string quartet, or a Pierrot ensemble to complement the singer?
... that the Taschenphilharmonie, called the world's smallest orchestra, earned prizes for classical music embedded in narration for young children?

... that Bright Angel, composed by Graham Waterhouse for three bassoons and contrabassoon, relates to the Bright Angel Trail of the Grand Canyon which the composer hiked with his father at the age of nine?
... that Graham Waterhouse, who played the solo part in his Cello Concerto in Mexico in 1995, performed it at his university in Cambridge?
... that celebrating his fiftieth birthday, Graham Waterhouse played the cello in his compositions for string quartet, some with a solo instrument?
... that Mouvements d'Harmonie for wind nonet was composed by Graham Waterhouse for the 60th birthday of his father, the bassoonist William Waterhouse?
... that Praeludium, a 1992 composition by Graham Waterhouse, has been described as a "dramatic concert piece"?
... that pianist Christopher White arranged four movements of Mahler's unfinished Tenth Symphony for his instrument and made a recording at Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel, Hampstead?
... that composer Graham Waterhouse was the cellist in a performance of his string trio Zeichenstaub at his former school, playing the U.K. premiere with two members of the Münchner Philharmoniker?
... that Graham Waterhouse (pictured) composed Rhapsodie Macabre for piano and string quartet as an homage to Franz Liszt and played the cello part in Munich and London?
... that composer and cellist Graham Waterhouse dedicated his Three Pieces for Solo Cello, described as "rhapsodic movements of great expressive strength", to Siegfried Palm? (History 10 April 2012)
... that the Piccolo Quintet, composed by Graham Waterhouse, was performed in a lecture concert of the first Sergiu Celibidache Festival in Munich?
... that Epitaphium, composed for string trio by Graham Waterhouse, is performed today (16 April 2011) in Wigmore Hall in a memorial concert for his father, the bassoonist William Waterhouse?

... that the Comet Hale-Bopp inspired Graham Waterhouse to compose Hale Bopp for string orchestra, which ends with a boy soprano singing How Brightly Shines the Morning Star?
... that in his award-winning string quartet Chinese Whispers, Graham Waterhouse has phrases gradually morph as they pass from player to player, as verbal phrases do in the whispering game?
... that Hans Krieger, an award-winning German essayist, influential in papers such as Die Zeit, wrote the text for a Christmas cantata by Graham Waterhouse that premieres today (4 December 2011)?
... that in a concert "Hommage à Liszt" at Munich's Gasteig, pianist Valentina Babor played chamber music by Franz Liszt and Graham Waterhouse scored for piano solo up to piano and string quartet?
... that mezzo-soprano Martina Koppelstetter has recorded Lieder by Rudi Spring for Bayerischer Rundfunk?
... that the composition by Graham Waterhouse Der Handschuh (The Glove) for cello and speaking voice, after Schiller's ballad Der Handschuh, is designed for one performer?
... that in one concert, bassoonist Lyndon Watts premiered Bernd Redmann's Migrant, played Jörg Duda's first Finnish Quartet, which he had commissioned, and the Bassoon Quintet of Graham Waterhouse, which he had premiered?
... that Graham Waterhouse composed the piano trio Bei Nacht (At Night), inspired by a Kandinsky oil painting entitled Nacht?
... that the flute arrangement of the trio composition Gestural Variations was premiered in Munich by the composer, Graham Waterhouse, and two other composers?
... that three composers, flutist Jens Josef, cellist Graham Waterhouse and pianist Rudi Spring, each set a Christmas carol for their trio concert at the Gasteig?
... that William Waterhouse considered the rapport between violist Cecil Aronowitz and cellist Terence Weil the special distinction of the Melos Ensemble?

Bach[edit]

... that it took more than half a century to complete the Neue Bach-Ausgabe, the second edition of the collected works of Johann Sebastian Bach?

... that in 2002, Georg Christoph Biller and others conceived the Forum Thomanum as a new music educational campus for the Thomanerchor, Bach's choir dating back to 1212?
... that Johann Sebastian Bach sang as a choir member for two years at St. Michaelis in Lüneburg, a brick Gothic former abbey church (choir pictured)?
... that Bach used the first, fifth and seventh stanzas of the 1533 hymn "In dich hab ich gehoffet, Herr", a paraphrase of Psalm 31, as chorales in three vocal works, including in the St Matthew Passion?
... 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"?
... that Martin Luther's chorale Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir (From deep affliction I cry out to you) was sung at his own funeral?
... that conductor Helmuth Rilling, Gächinger Kantorei and Bach-Collegium Stuttgart finished the first complete recording of Bach's cantatas and oratorios on the composer's 300th birthday, 21 March 1985?
... that the oratorio Sankt-Bach-Passion by Mauricio Kagel, premiered for the tricentenary of Bach's birth in 1985, "changed the game by making Bach himself the suffering protagonist"?

Performances[edit]

... that the voice of Jessye Norman was described as a "grand mansion of sound?
... that in her 2021 composition This too shall pass with string orchestra, Raminta Šerkšnytė used a vibraphone for the flow of time, a violin for the transience of humans, and a "heavenly" cello?
... that the Polish mezzo-soprano Agnieszka Rehlis, who sang in the Grammy Award–winning album Penderecki conducts Penderecki, was Verdi's Azucena in Zürich in 2021?
... that in The Gamblers, Shostakovich tried to set Gogol's play word for word but gave up after one act, and Krzysztof Meyer completed the opera decades later?
... that Elsa Dreisig appeared at the Berlin State Opera in soprano roles from Diane in Rameau's Hippolyte et Aricie to Natascha in the world premiere of Beat Furrer's Violetter Schnee?
... that Francis Poulenc composed his Sinfonietta on a commission from the BBC?
... that Anna Tifu, a violinist from Cagliari, Sardinia, who won the 2007 George Enescu International Competition, plays a 1716 Stradivarius?
... that 2019 concerts in the 19th-century Bergkirche in Wiesbaden included Pärt's Passio and Handel's Messiah?
... that Dutch baritone John Bröcheler first sang concerts including world premieres, but was "discovered" for opera in a role of Donizetti's Maria Stuarda alongside Joan Sutherland? 21 Feb
... that the 1934 choral composition Totentanz (Danse Macabre) by Hugo Distler combines motets with spoken dialogue between Death and its victims?
... that Aribert Reimann composed Medea for the Vienna State Opera, based on the drama by Franz Grillparzer?

... that on Good Friday 2020, Benedikt Kristjánsson sang all roles in a chamber arrangement of Bach's St John Passion, broadcast live from the composer's burial place? 22 May
... that in 1918, Richard Strauss composed Sechs Lieder, Op. 68, on poems by Clemens Brentano, with the voice of Elisabeth Schumann in mind?
... that Harry Kupfer, the stage director at the Komische Oper Berlin for decades, presented Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer at the 1978 Bayreuth Festival as a psychological drama?
... that the English tenor Mark Milhofer appeared as Mozart's Ferrando in Beijing and Moscow, and as Poppea's nurse in Berlin, dressed as a parody of Riff Raff?
... that Diego Fasolis conducted L'incoronazione di Poppea at the reopened Staatsoper Unter den Linden, adding music by other composers of Monteverdi's time?
... that the secular Bach cantata Weichet nur, betrübte Schatten, BWV 202, scored for a soprano soloist, oboe, strings and continuo, pictures the transition from winter to spring?

... that Christoph Siebert conducted the Collegium Vocale Gent singing music by Schubert and Annelies Van Parys in a theatrical performance at international festivals?
... 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 Sara Hershkowitz, who usually appears on the opera stage as the Queen of the Night and Zerbinetta, parodied Donald Trump in Ligeti's Mysteries of the Macabre at the Lowlands Festival?
... 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 Bach's setting of the chorale "Es ist genug" ("It is enough"), with a melody beginning with an unusual whole-tone sequence, was quoted with variations in Alban Berg's Violin Concerto?
... that Liza Ferschtman, recipient of the Nederlandse Muziekprijs in 2006, played Alban Berg's Violin Concerto "To the memory of an angel" in 2017?
... that Andreas Schager was called a "sensation" when he first performed Wagner's Tristan in Minden, and went on to Siegfried at the Staatsoper Berlin, La Scala, and The Proms?

... that in the Opernhaus Wuppertal production of The Rite of Spring (revival pictured), choreographed by Pina Bausch, the dancers performed on a stage covered with soil?
... that Matthias von Stegmann made German voice-overs for The Simpsons, staged Wagner's Ring Cycle for children, and directed the first production of Wagner's Rienzi at the Bayreuth Festival?

... that Bright Blue Bird, In A Grey Red Sky, composed by Mansoor Hosseini for violin and orchestra based on a Persian legend, premiered at the Allerheiligen-Hofkirche?
... that EuropaChorAkademie, a choir formed by students from two universities, participated in an award-winning recording of Bernd Alois Zimmermann's Requiem für einen jungen Dichter?
... that the Tonhalle, a concert hall in Zurich praised for its acoustics, was inaugurated by Johannes Brahms conducting in 1895?
... that Vilde Frang played the Carmen Fantasy by Pablo de Sarasate, with Mariss Jansons conducting the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, at age 13?
... that Jens-Daniel Herzog staged the opera Intermezzo of Richard Strauss, with Christiane Kohl as Christine, "the composer's formidable and frequently hysterical wife"?
... that soprano Janis Martin appeared at the Zurich Opera as Isolde in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde?

... that when the Theater Münster opened in 1956, it was regarded as the first new theatre in Germany after World War II?
... that Hans Wallat conducted Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen ninety times?
... that conductor Christoph Poppen played Bach's Partita for Violin No. 2 interspersed with related Bach chorales, sung by the Hilliard Ensemble?
... that the Theater Bonn opened a new opera house in 1965?
... that when the Beethoven Orchester Bonn was founded as a professional orchestra in Beethoven's hometown in 1907, Richard Strauss conducted his own works?

Film[edit]

... that Thomas Fritsch, a film actor who charmed the teens of the 1960s, was the German voice of Russell Crowe, Scar and Diego, a Smilodon?

Casals Forum[edit]

... that the walls of the Kronberg Academy's Casals Forum (pictured) are curved and covered with wood in a manner reminiscent of a string instrument?
... that Ella van Poucke, a cellist who studied at the Kronberg Academy, returned there as a soloist, playing Haydn's Cello Concerto No. 1 in the new Casals Forum?
... that the Concerto for Piano and String Orchestra was described by its composer, Alfred Schnittke, as sounding like a "blues nightmare" at one point?

Nationaltheater München[edit]

... that after the Ukrainian soprano Olga Bezsmertna won the Neue Stimmen competition in 2011, she was engaged at the Vienna State Opera?
... that Katharina Konradi, a soprano born in Kyrgyzstan, made a recording of lieder with pianist Gerold Huber including settings by Lori Laitman of children's poems written in Terezin?
... that that American soprano Emily Pogorelc went from winning the 2018 "Most Promising Talent" prize at Glyndebourne to appearing as Mozart's Cherubino at the Munich Opera Festival?
... that operatic soprano Elena Tsallagova has been described as a natural actress who can make even looking around a corner interesting?
... that at age 22, Yoel Gamzou from Tel Aviv conducted an orchestra that he had founded, playing his completion of Mahler's Tenth Symphony in Berlin?
... that Elena Guseva's training as a choral conductor helped her analyse the score when playing Polina in Prokofiev's The Gambler at the Vienna State Opera?

Dreikönigskirche, Frankfurt[edit]

... that Bach's cantata Ich lasse dich nicht, du segnest mich denn was first performed 295 years ago today during a memorial service for Johann Christoph von Ponickau?
... that after the Dreikönigskirche escaped destruction in World War II, it became Frankfurt's leading venue of church music performances? (19 January 2021)
... that the church cantata Gelobet sei der Herr täglich (Praised be the Lord daily) by Philipp Heinrich Erlebach for four voices and strings is extant in a manuscript score from around 1710?
... that Bach was "fired up as never before" when he began his second cycle of chorale cantatas with O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 20, for the first Sunday after Trinity in 1724?
... that "O komm, du Geist der Wahrheit" is an 1833 German-language hymn for Pentecost in which the "Spirit of Truth" is called to come and restore the attitude of early Christianity?
... that in Bach's mature 1735 chorale cantata Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit, BWV 14, the cantus firmus of Luther's hymn is played by horn and oboes, while the voices perform a counter-fugue?
... that a German theologian wrote "Vertraut den neuen Wegen" to be sung at a wedding in Eisenach shortly before the fall of the Wall?
... that Das Leiden Jesu von seinen Freunden, one of Christoph Graupner's church cantatas, reflects how Jesus suffered from his friends, and ends with a chorale fantasia "full of dissonances"?
... that in Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, a cantata in eleven movements for Advent, Georg Böhm set all eight stanzas of Luther's hymn, and all differently?
... that "Mit Ernst, o Menschenkinder", a 1642 Advent hymn, includes a call to penitence that John the Baptist took from the prophet Isaiah?
... that in 1982, a Magnificat in German composed in 1707 for soprano, traverso, strings, and continuo and attributed to Bach and Telemann, was identified as a composition by Melchior Hoffmann?
... that Bach first performed his cantata for Advent, Bereitet die Wege, bereitet die Bahn! BWV 132, on 22 December 1715 in the Schlosskirche Weimar?

Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie[edit]

... that a reviewer from The Guardian noted after a concert at The Proms that Jonathon Heyward led Beethoven's Third Symphony "from memory – a fast and fearless performance"?
... that the Konzerthalle in Bad Salzuflen, an example of spa architecture in the 1960s, is one of the regular venues of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie?
... that Linus Roth, who plays the 1703 Dancla Stradivarius violin, recorded all compositions by Mieczysław Weinberg which feature a solo violin?
... that the Alfred Fischer Hall, built as the machinery hall for a 1912 coal mine, was the venue for a concert performance of Beethoven's Fidelio in 2021?
... that Dirk Kaftan conducted Schönberg's Gurre-Lieder, recorded Jenůfa with the Graz Opera, and led Bruckner's Fourth Symphony in seven concerts of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie?
... that in The Gamblers, Shostakovich tried to set Gogol's play word for word but gave up after one act, and Krzysztof Meyer completed the opera decades later?
... that Andris Nelsons conducted Bartok's Viola Concerto and Mahler's Fifth Symphony in the final concert with his Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie in Herford?
... that Erna Berger sang the title role of Bedřich Smetana's The Bartered Bride in a 1955 recording with Wilhelm Schüchter and the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie?

Der Ring in Minden[edit]

... that the Stadttheater Minden, a municipal theatre without an ensemble, received international attention for its Wagner opera project?
... that Jutta Hering-Winckler, a lawyer from Minden whose grandfather saw the premiere of Wagner's Ring cycle, "made the impossible possible" by organizing Der Ring in Minden?
... that when directing Der Ring in Minden, Wagner's Ring Cycle at a municipal theatre, Gerd Heinz focused on the psychology in the interactions of the characters?
... that Frank Beermann conducted the first recording of Bruno Maderna's Requiem, and the German premiere of Péter Eötvös's opera Love and Other Demons at the Chemnitz Opera?
... that Frank Philipp Schlößmann designed the stage for Wagner's Ring cycle in Bayreuth in 2006, and more recently created a large illuminated ring framing the stage for the same work in Minden?
... that baritone Heiko Trinsinger of the Aalto Theatre appeared as Alberich in Der Ring in Minden, in which reviewers noted expressivity in every moment and a thunderous curse of the ring?

... that Renatus Mészár, who made his opera debut at the Munich Biennale and then was a member of the NDR Chor, has appeared as Wotan in Wagner's Ring cycle, including on DVD?
... that Kathrin Göring portrayed both Fricka and Waltraute in Der Ring in Minden, and a critic called her scene in Götterdämmerung a highlight, noting her dramatic mezzo-soprano and intense acting?
... that tenor Thomas Mohr, who performed the roles of Loge, Siegmund, and Siegfried in Der Ring in Minden, hosts concerts in his cowshed?
... that Belgian bass Tijl Faveyts, recognized internationally since his 2006 performance as Mozart's Sarastro at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, has portrayed both Fasolt and Hunding in Der Ring in Minden?
... that American tenor Jeff Martin has appeared as the Astrologer in Rimsky-Korsakov's The Golden Cockerel at the Bolshoi Theatre?
... that Dara Hobbs appeared as Wagner's Isolde at many venues, including Theater Bonn, Stadttheater Minden, and Schloss Neuschwanstein?
... that the coloratura soprano Julia Bauer played five roles in Der Ring in Minden, including her on-stage portrayal of the Forest Bird in Siegfried?
... that in Der Ring in Minden, the orchestra played at the back of the stage, and the singers all turned towards it to listen to the music at the end?

Oper Frankfurt[edit]

... that the Städtische Bühnen Frankfurt manage stages for opera and drama in Frankfurt under one roof (pictured), in a building incorporating the ruins of the bombed former playhouse?
... that Bernd Loebe, who began his career as a music journalist, received the 2018 International Opera Award in the category of Leadership in Opera?
... that Sebastian Weigle, named "Conductor of the Year" by Opernwelt three times between 2003 and 2006, performed Wagner's Ring Cycle at the Frankfurt Opera?
... that after Domen Križaj from Slovenia was a prize winner in the singing competition Neue Stimmen, he moved to the Oper Frankfurt where he appeared as Massenet's Albert and Mozart's Papageno?
... that in 2021 Sarah Aristidou recorded Jörg Widmann's Labyrinth V, a wordless piece for her soprano voice with "ululations, sobs, jazz inflections and wild laughter"?
... that in 2020 when Persian-Canadian countertenor Cameron Shahbazi performed in Written on Skin in Cologne, his "Luciferian charm" and "iridescent voice" were noted?
... that Ukrainian baritone Danylo Matviienko, who holds a master's degree in mathematics, appeared as Demetrius in Britten's opera A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Oper Frankfurt
... that when the Canadian baritone Iain MacNeal appeared as Odysseus in Dallapiccola's Ulisse at the Oper Frankfurt, a reviewer noted that he portrayed the "character's self-exegeses"?
... that when Francesco Lanzillotta conducted Dallapiccola's Ulisse at Oper Frankfurt in 2022, a reviewer noted that he "does not shy away from agglomerations of sound"?
... that Pier Giorgio Morandi first played as the principal oboist at La Scala in Milan, and conducted a 2019 recorded production of Verdi's Il trovatore at the Verona Arena, directed by Franco Zeffirelli?
... that Victória Pitts from Brazil portrayed characters in all three parts of Puccini's Il trittico at the Oper Frankfurt in 2022, including Zita in Gianni Schicchi?
... that Colombian singer Juanita Lascarro became a soprano at the Oper Frankfurt, where she appeared as both Calypso and Penelope in a new production of Dallapiccola's Ulisse?
... that Lorenzo Passerini, who has conducted several operas in Sydney, revived Giordano's Fedora at the Oper Frankfurt?
... that when Nadja Stefanoff portrayed the title role of Giordano's Fedora at the Oper Frankfurt, one reviewer complimented the brilliance and agility of her voice, assertive even when singing softly?
... that when tenor Jonathan Tetelman appeared as Loris Ipanov in Giordano's Fedora, which had made Caruso famous, a reviewer called him ideal for the role?
... that when public radio stations aired Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in solidarity with Ukraine on 10 March 2022, the bass voice of Anthony Robin Schneider was heard live from Frankfurt and recorded from Auckland?
... that AJ Glueckert appeared at the Metropolitan Opera as Erik in 2017, described as a "clarion sensitive tenor", and at the Oper Frankfurt as Flamand in 2018, with "passionate power"? 21 May
... that a reviewer noted that when Leo Hussain conducted Weinberg's Die Passagierin at the Oper Frankfurt, the orchestra excelled in chamber music moments, hard beats and distorted entertainment music?
... that Monika Buczkowska, who appeared as a student at the Grand Theatre, Poznań, as Mozart's Susanna, was a soloist in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at a charity concert for Ukraine at the Alte Oper?
... that during a German charity concert for Ukraine, Slovakian singer Judita Nagyová performed a solo in the finale of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony?
... that the mezzo-soprano of Beth Taylor was the only lower voice when she appeared as Dardano in Handel's Amadigi, portraying her male character with fine vocal lines and "remarkable coloraturas"? 19 Apr
... that in Inferno, an opera by Lucia Ronchetti premiered in 2021 at the Oper Frankfurt, the main character Dante has a speaking voice and an inner voice of four male singers?
... that Giedrė Šlekytė conducted a version of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte for children at the 2018 Salzburg Festival, and Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites at the Oper Frankfurt in 2021?
... that Claus Guth, recognised internationally for directing the 1999 premiere of Berio's Cronaca del luogo at the Salzburg Festival, later received two Faust awards?
... that Hildegard Heichele, a soprano of the Oper Frankfurt known for performing Mozart roles, appears as Adele on a DVD of Die Fledermaus from the Royal Opera House?
... that Katrin Lea Tag, named the 2020 Scenic Designer of the Year, created sets and costumes for Die Schutzbefohlenen at the Burgtheater, and for Barrie Kosky's Salome at Oper Frankfurt?
... that American tenor Joshua Guerrero stepped in at late notice to sing Almaviva in a Grammy Award-winning production of The Ghosts of Versailles?
... that a Financial Times reviewer described Der Mieter (The Tenant}, a German opera based on a French novel, as "a journey to the blackest regions of an anguished psyche in a hostile world"? 7 May 2021
... that Albert Lortzing (engraving shown), who adapted a 1733 French play for his German Spieloper Die Opernprobe, died the day after its successful premiere at the Oper Frankfurt on 20 January 1851?
... that Damiano Michieletto, known for directing Rossini's operas, recently staged Schreker's Der ferne Klang at the Oper Frankfurt, where the world premiere had been performed in 1912?
... that American opera singer Jennifer Holloway portrayed Grete in Der ferne Klang as a young girl whose lover leaves her, as a courtesan, and as an old woman who holds the returned lover while he dies?
... that Barbara Zechmeister, who appeared in world premieres at the Oper Frankfurt, portrayed Clarissa in a recorded production of Weber's Die drei Pintos at the 2004 Wexford Festival?
... that the oboist and composer Rolf Riehm taught music theory in Frankfurt from 1974 to 2000 and wrote an opera, Sirenen, for a 2014 premiere at the Oper Frankfurt?
... that Vincent Boussard staged Manon for Vilnius, San Francisco, and Seoul, and I puritani for Liège and Frankfurt??
... that Zuzana Marková's last-minute performance as Lucia di Lammermoor at Opéra de Marseille in 2014 was described as "dazzling" and praised for its depth of understanding??
... that Andreas Bauer has appeared in bass roles such as Mozart's Sarastro, Verdi's Philipp II of Spain, and Wagner's Marke, but also as Bluebeard and Ibn-Hakia?
... that in his opera Tri sestry (Three Sisters), composer Péter Eötvös wants the three sisters from Chekhov's play to be sung by countertenors?
... that Hilmar Hoffmann, who wanted "culture for all", initiated a 15-museum complex in Frankfurt, including the first independent Jewish museum in postwar Germany?
... that Kateryna Kasper appeared at the Los Angeles Opera as Belinda in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, staged by Barrie Kosky, and in Frankfurt as Antonida in Glinka's Iwan Sussanin, staged by Harry Kupfer?
... that Sarah Louvion, playing principal flute with the Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester, recorded 20th-century French music with solo flute by André Jolivet, Jacques Ibert, and others?
... that Katharina Magiera, a member of the Frankfurt Opera, has appeared as Lisa, a former SS officer in Auschwitz, in Weinberg's opera The Passenger?
... that German stage director Tobias Kratzer nominated two versions of Verdi's Rigoletto for an international competition, pretending to be an American woman in the first instance, and a Bulgarian in the second?

... that the Bockenheimer Depot (pictured) in Frankfurt, built to house trams, is now a theatre which staged the German premiere of Olga Neuwirth's Lost Highway?
... that Canadian soprano Kirsten MacKinnon, a winner of the Met Auditions, appeared as Fiordiligi at the Glyndebourne Festival, and as Meyerbeer's Inès at the Frankfurt Opera, staged as a space mission?
... that Antonello Manacorda, who made an award-winning recording of Schubert's symphonies with his Kammerakademie Potsdam, conducted Mozart operas at La Fenice and Meyerbeer's grand opera at the Frankfurt Opera?
... that Lorenzo Viotti conducted Massenet's Werther in three productions in opera houses of three countries in 2017, silently singing with the soloists?
... that after baritone Johannes Martin Kränzle recovered from MDS, he made his debut at the Bayreuth Festival in 2017 as Beckmesser, staged by the festival's first Jewish director?

... that Camilla Nylund (pictured) appeared as the Countess in Capriccio by Richard Strauss at the Frankfurt Opera, staged by Brigitte Fassbaender, who set the opera in Occupied France?
... that Marc Soustrot conducted a staging of both Debussy's cantata La Damoiselle élue and Honegger's oratorio Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher at the Frankfurt Opera in 2017?
... that David Hermann staged a Mozart opera at the Salzburg Festival at age 29, and combined three Krenek operas in Frankfurt? 4 July 2017
... that mezzo-soprano Tanja Ariane Baumgartner has portrayed complex characters as Schoeck's Penthesilea, and Cassandre in Les Troyens?
... that mezzo-soprano Claudia Mahnke appeared as Dido in Les Troyens by Berlioz, and in the final 25 minutes convincingly ranged from hurt vulnerability to furious despair?

... 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 (pictured)?
... that Vera Nemirova staged Lulu at the Salzburg Festival and The Ring for the Frankfurt Opera?
... that contralto Sonia Prina performed the title role of Antonio Vivaldi's 1727 opera Orlando furioso at the Frankfurt Opera, staged as a rocker?
... that Christof Loy received the Der Faust award for staging Mozart's Così fan tutte at the Frankfurt Opera?
... that soprano June Card appeared as Freia and Gutrune in Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, conducted by Michael Gielen and staged by Ruth Berghaus at the Frankfurt Opera?
... that Margit Neubauer appeared as Sesto in Handel's Giulio Cesare, conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, at the start of her 39-year career at the Frankfurt Opera? 26 June 2017

Hessisches Staatsheater Wiesbaden[edit]

... that in 2011 the annual festival Internationale Maifestspiele Wiesbaden, founded in 1896 after the model of the Bayreuth Festival, opened at the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden (pictured) with the first performance in German of Rodion Shchedrin's opera Lolita?
... that Uwe Eric Laufenberg, General Manager of the Staatstheater Wiesbaden, presented his staging of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Internationale Maifestspiele in 2017? (2017)
... that the dramatic soprano Catherine Foster, a former midwife, appeared as Brünnhilde at the Bayreuth Festival celebrating Wagner's bicentenary? (2017)

... that a reviewer found Maria Bengtsson (pictured) believable and expressive when she first performed the title role of Arabella by Strauss?
... that the Hochschule für Musik Mainz collaborated with the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden to stage a production of Scarlatti's La Giuditta earlier this year? (2017)
... that during the last decade, Lance Ryan appeared as Siegfried at three Bayreuth Festivals? (2017)
... that Albert Horne conducted Gershwin's Porgy and Bess for the Internationale Maifestspiele Wiesbaden, with the chorus of the Cape Town Opera and the Wiesbaden orchestra? (2017)

... that Siegfried Köhler conducted Wagner's Rienzi and premiered operas by Volker David Kirchner at the Staatstheater Wiesbaden (pictured)? (his era)
... that in Patrick Süskind's play Der Kontrabaß, the double bass in the title role is a "constant handicap" to its player, "humanly, socially, sexually, musically"? (1980s)

... that the Slovenian soprano Sabina Cvilak (pictured) was Puccini's Mimi in Washington, Wagner's Sieglinde in Wiesbaden, and performed Britten's War Requiem in London on the composer's centenary? (2017)
... that soprano Nadine Secunde was praised for "formidable acting skills" in the title role of Dmitri Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk?
... that Hermin Esser performed 14 tenor roles at the Bayreuth Festival dedicated exclusively to stageworks by Richard Wagner, beginning in 1966 as Froh and ending in 1981 as Tristan?
... that baritone Eike Wilm Schulte, who performed more than 100 roles since 1966, stepped in at the Bayreuth Festival as Gunther in Götterdämmerung?
... that baritone Berthold Possemeyer performed songs by John Dowland, Gerald Finzi and Thomas Morley in a parody chamber musical after Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream?
... that the mezzo-soprano Carla Henius performed in the premiere of Luigi Nono's Intolleranza 1960 at La Fenice, and had a composition by Dieter Schnebel written for her voice?

Jahrhundertring[edit]

Götterdämmerung

... that a French team created the Jahrhundertring of Wagner's Ring Cycle at the centenary Bayreuth Festival in 1976, causing "a near-riot"?
... that Patrice Chéreau, the stage director of the Jahrhundertring in Bayreuth, directed the film Intimacy, which "sparked a debate about unsimulated sex on screen"?
... that Manfred Jung is remembered as Siegfried in Bayreuth's Jahrhundertring, but also sang all other tenor roles in The Ring?
... that mezzo-soprano Patricia Payne made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in Ponchielli's La Gioconda, and took part in the first performance of Britten's Peter Grimes in New Zealand?
... that Cornelia Wulkopf made her operatic debut in the centenary production of Wagner's Ring Cycle at the Bayreuth Festival and recorded the alto part in Bach's Mass in B minor with Sergiu Celibidache?

... that a decade after suggesting that opera houses should all be "blown up", the French composer Pierre Boulez conducted the centenary production of Wagner's Ring cycle at the Bayreuth Festival?
... that soprano Hannelore Bode appeared in the Bayreuth centenary Jahrhundertring as both Sieglinde and Gutrune?
... that soprano Carmen Reppel performed several parts in the Jahrhundertring, Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle staged by Chéreau, and sang in Siegfried Wagner's Schwarzschwanenreich?
... that Ilse Gramatzki appeared as a Rhinemaiden in the Jahrhundertring at the Bayreuth Festival, and in Zimmermann's Die Soldaten in Frankfurt and Brussels?
... that the mezzo-soprano Marga Schiml, an academic voice teacher in Karlsruhe, appeared as a Rhinemaiden and a valkyrie in the Jahrhundertring?

Staatsoper Hannover[edit]

... that after George Alexander Albrecht collapsed when conducting Beethoven's Ninth Symphony during a New Year's concert, he returned to composing and began hospice work?
... that the favourite role of Wilma Schmidt, who performed at the Staatsoper Hannover for more than five decades in German, Italian and Slavic operas, was the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier?
... that Hans-Dieter Bader performed the title role of Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari's opera Sly, recorded live at the Staatsoper Hannover, "as written", while Plácido Domingo had to cut and change the part?
... that Hans Herbert Jöris conducted the world premiere of Giselher Klebe's one-act opera Das Rendezvous, composed for the 125th anniversary of the Staatsoper Hannover?
... that the baritone Ernst Gerold Schramm was the voice of Christ for Karl Richter in Bach's St John Passion and St Matthew Passion?
... that Giselher Klebe wrote the libretto for his opera Die tödlichen Wünsche based on Balzac's La Peau de chagrin?
... that Voltaire's tragedy Olimpie premiered in 1762 and Henze's opera Elegie für junge Liebende in 1961 at the Schlosstheater Schwetzingen?
... that soon after starting her career at the Met, Gwendolyn Killebrew appeared as a valkyrie in Wagner's Die Walküre in a live broadcast alongside Birgit Nilsson in the title role?
... that mezzo-soprano Marie-Louise Gilles appeared in trousers roles in Wiesbaden and as a valkyrie in Bayreuth?

Oper Dortmund[edit]

... that the Opernhaus Dortmund was opened in 1966 with Der Rosenkavalier, performed in Dortmund first in 1911?
... that Eli is an opera by Walter Steffens, who based the libretto on a mystery play by Nelly Sachs which dealt with the suffering of Israel?
... that Hainer Hill, who took hundreds of photographs documenting Brecht's Berliner Ensemble, created the stage design for Hindemith's Mathis der Maler at the new Opernhaus Dortmund in 1966?
... that Ita Maximowna, who trained as a painter in Paris and Berlin in the 1920s, began working in scenic and costume design after World War II and went on to work internationally?
... that Liselotte Hammes, a soprano with the Cologne Opera, appeared as Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier at the Glyndebourne Festival alongside Teresa Żylis-Gara in the title role and Montserrat Caballé as the Marschallin?
... that the tenor Alfred Vökt, who performed in the premiere of Henze's Il re cervo, had a Doctor of Law degree?
... that Günther Morbach appeared in more than 180 operatic bass roles, including Mozart's Sarastro in the new Opernhaus Dortmund and in a Harald Weiss world premiere at the Staatstheater Braunschweig?
... that Mozart built the final scene of his opera The Magic Flute "upon a solemn fugato around the chorale Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein" by Martin Luther?
... that the contralto Elisabeth Schärtel, known for performing many Wagner parts at the Bayreuth Festival, sang Verdi's Meg Page alongside Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as Falstaff?
... that Erna Berger sang the title role of Bedřich Smetana's The Bartered Bride in a 1955 recording with Wilhelm Schüchter and the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie?
... that Hans Herbert Jöris conducted the world premiere of Giselher Klebe's one-act opera Das Rendezvous, composed for the 125th anniversary of the Staatsoper Hannover?

Places[edit]

... that the eight original Francis turbines of Kraftwerk Heimbach (pictured), a hydro-electric power station that opened in 1905 as then the largest in Europe, served until 1974?
... that during Tag des offenen Denkmals, Germany's largest annual cultural event, thousands of historic monuments are opened for free?
... that a wall and a statue of Mary that survived the World War II bombing of St. Kolumba in Cologne have been incorporated into a chapel within the Kolumba art museum?
... that the Überwasserkirche, a Gothic hall church in Münster, was the location of the second of three sermons held in 1941 by Bishop Clemens August Graf von Galen in defiance of the Nazi regime?

... that the Basilica of St. James in Levoča contains the world's tallest carved wooden altar (pictured)?
... that Goethe was commissioned to lead the reconstruction of the Schloss in Weimar (pictured) after a fire in 1774?
... that the Park an der Ilm, landscaped partly by Goethe, contains a monument to Shakespeare by Lessing?
... that the Paulinerkirche, the university church of Leipzig where Luther preached, Bach performed and Mendelssohn premiered Paulus, was dynamited in 1968 in communist East Germany?

Gardens and nature[edit]

... that Kühkopf-Knoblochsaue is a large Naturschutzgebiet in Hesse, Germany, protecting the ecology of the floodplains where the Rhine formerly meandered?

München[edit]

... that St. Sylvester is a Catholic church that combines the old village church of Schwabing, now part of Munich, and a 20th-century expansion under one roof?
... that the 1711 Missa Sanctae Caeciliae, the first composition by Jan Dismas Zelenka, who had come from Prague to play in the Dresden court orchestra, is a 45-minute mass?
... that star singers from the Munich parish of St. Martin, Moosach, were received by Angela Merkel in 2012?

Idstein[edit]

... that St. Nikolaus von Flüe, the first Catholic church in Wörsdorf, was consecrated in 1962?
... that Hermann Müller was mayor of Idstein for 24 years and won the Hessentag festival for the German town in 2002?
... that "Kommt herbei, singt dem Herrn" is a Christian hymn that Diethard Zils wrote in 1972 as a paraphrase of Psalm 95 to an Israeli melody?
... that "Ich lobe meinen Gott von ganzem Herzen" is a cheerful hymn based on the beginning of Psalm 9?
... that the first prayer of "Hilf, Herr meines Lebens", a Christian song written when its author was age 85, is not to be on earth in vain?
... that Hans-Karl von Kupsch, who was instrumental in the unification of the East and West German booksellers' associations, ran a gallery of contemporary art together with his wife?
... that Martin Perscheid published more than 4,300 cartoons, exploring "abysses of sexism, racism, ignorance, corruption and stupidity"?
... that the melody of "Nimm, o Gott, die Gaben, die wir bringen", an offertory hymn written in 2009, is taken from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Jesus Christ Superstar?
... that "Alle Menschen höret auf dies neue Lied", a new offertory hymn with a simple melody, has been suggested for use in confirmation masses?

... that Nothgottes, a pilgrimage destination in the Rheingau since the 14th century, is a monastery of Cistercians from Vietnam?
... that "Nun saget Dank und lobt den Herren", a 16th-century German hymn based on Psalm 118, was rewritten and shortened in the 20th century for a hymnal of the Swiss Reformed Church?
... that Dieter Trautwein gave his 2003 autobiography the same title as his hymn "Komm, Herr, segne uns" (Come, Lord, bless us), for which he wrote the text and music in 1978?
... that "Wo Menschen sich vergessen" was the first song in the opening service of the 2021 Ecumenical Church Assembly in Frankfurt, held as an open-air livestream?
... that the Christuskirche in Idstein-Walsdorf received this name in 1993, 600 years after a first chapel in the village was mentioned?
... that the 1974 song "Manchmal feiern wir mitten im Tag" claims that we sometimes celebrate resurrection in the middle of a day?

... that the Kreuzkapelle (pictured) above Bad Camberg, a pilgrimage chapel dedicated to the Holy Cross, has a floor plan of a Greek cross?
... that "Segne du, Maria", requesting Mary to bless her child in life and death, was written by Cordula Wöhler in 1870 and finally included in the common Gotteslob hymnal in 2013?
... that "Herr, du bist mein Leben" (Lord, You are my life), a translation of a popular Italian 1977 "Symbolum" with text and music by Pierangelo Sequeri, was included in the next German Catholic hymnal?
... that "Der am Kreuz ist meine Liebe" (He on the Cross is my love) is the first line of four hymns from the 17th, 18th and 20th centuries?
... that in "Herr, stärke mich, dein Leiden zu bedenken", Christian Fürchtegott Gellert reflected the theological and emotional impact of the Passion of Jesus, using a familiar Passion hymn tune?
... that "Lobpreiset all zu dieser Zeit", for New Year in the current Catholic hymnal Gotteslob, takes two stanzas from a 1851 song by Heinrich Bone, a third stanza and refrain from 1969, and a 1529 popular melody by Luther?
... that "Herr, du bist mein Leben" (Lord, You are my life), a translation of a popular Italian 1977 "Symbolum" with text and music by Pierangelo Sequeri, was included in the next German Catholic hymnal?
... that Anna Martina Gottschick wrote the hymn "Herr, mach uns stark im Mut, der dich bekennt" because a composer wanted to make Ralph Vaughan Williams's 1906 melody of "For All the Saints" available for German church singing?
... that "Macht weit die Pforten in der Welt", written for the Basel Mission, was included with a new melody in Kirchenlied to proclaim Christ the King in opposition to the Nazi regime?
... that the Advent song "Kündet allen in der Not", an appeal to tell those in need to take courage, was written by Friedrich Dörr, based on Isaiah's prophecy, in preparation of the 1975 Catholic Gotteslob?
... that Beethoven's Third Cello Sonata, first performed in 1809, has been described as the first sonata for piano and cello to treat the instruments as equal partners?
... that only the refrain of "Herr, wir bringen in Brot und Wein", a 1970 offertory hymn written after Huub Oosterhuis, appeared in the first edition of Gotteslob, but the complete text in the second?
... that the author of the hymn "Das Jahr steht auf der Höhe" wrote his reflections of midsummer in 1978 to a 16th-century melody of a love song?
... that a song of God's presence, written in 1965 in Dutch by Huub Oosterhuis, became part of the first common German Catholic hymnal, and was retained in the second by popular demand?
... that "All Praise and Glad Thanksgiving" is sung to the hymn tune of "Gott Vater, sei gepriesen"?
O Täler weit, o Höhen: ... that Felix Mendelssohn subtitled Sechs Lieder, Op. 59, six songs for four voices setting poems by Eichendorff and others, "Im Freien zu singen"?
... that "Meine engen Grenzen" ("My narrow limits"), a new hymn with text by Eugen Eckert and a melody by Winfried Heurich, was recorded with a band?
... that in the 1657 hymn "Morgenstern der finstern Nacht" with text by Angelus Silesius, the glory of Jesus is likened to a thousand suns?

... that Schloss Weilburg, a Baroque garden palace, contains a Renaissance palace?
... that Elke Heidenreich, two-time winner of the Grimme television award, wrote the book Nero Corleone featuring a tomcat as the bullying protagonist?
... that Alte Liebe (Old Love) is a novel about a couple married for 40 years, told by a couple married longer but separated, with chapters written alternately by wife and husband?
... that a cantata titled God is Now, based on the hymn "Gott ist gegenwärtig" and scored for choir, big band, organ, and live electronics, premiered on the 250th anniversary of the hymn writer's death?
... that Heinrich Schütz composed Die sieben Worte Jesu Christi am Kreuz, setting the Seven Words for the Evangelist, who sings in up to four voices, and Jesus, who is accompanied by obbligato instruments?
... that Raymund Weber wrote "Zeige uns, Herr, deine Allmacht und Güte" to be sung with a modern melody, but it appears in the German Catholic hymnal with a Baroque melody?

... that Die Wolke (The Cloud}), a young-adult novel by Gudrun Pausewang (pictured) written after the Chernobyl disaster, was translated into English as Fall-Out?
... that two conductors shared performances of Verdi's Messa da Requiem in St. Martin, Idstein?
... that the title of the poem "Sozusagen grundlos vergnügt" by Mascha Kaléko can be translated as "Call it causelessly merry"?
... that Bishop Franz Kamphaus opposed the pope, "convinced that our way of counselling women would save the lives of many more children"?
... that the girls of the Mädchenkantorei Limburg joined a women's choir to perform sacred choral music by contemporary composers at a 2019 concert in Limburg Cathedral?

... that Kloster Gnadenthal was a Cistercian nunnery from 1235, a Protestant women's Stift from 1564, and became an ecumenical community in 1969?
... that the youngest bell of St. Lubentius, Dietkirchen, a Romanesque church on a rock, was consecrated by Pope John Paul II?
... that "Stern über Bethlehem" is a German song created in 1964 and often sung by star singers?
... that the moated Holzhausenschlösschen, completed in 1729 as a summer residence of the Frankfurt Holzhausen family, has served as a cultural venue from 1989?

... that Swiss computer science academic Bernhard M. Hämmerli (pictured) is a specialist in the field of critical infrastructure protection in the European Union?
... that Thomas Gabriel composed the Missa mundi for World Youth Day 2005, representing the continents in style and instrumentation with pan flute, sitar, drums and didgeridoo?
... that the German architect Johannes Krahn designed the Bienenkorbhaus (Beehive House) in Frankfurt and St. Martin in Idstein?

... that the Ukrainian mixed chamber choir OREYA (pictured) won a special prize for the best interpretation of a religious choral work at the 14th International Chamber Choir Competition Marktoberdorf?
... that Lothar Zenetti's poem "Segne dieses Kind" became a song of blessing for a child, often sung at baptism?

... that walls and the ceiling of the Unionskirche (Union Church) in Idstein are covered with 38 oil paintings from the Dutch Golden Age school of Rubens?
... that Erich Barke, professor of microelectronic systems and since 2005 president of the the University of Hannover, was elected as president for a second term?}
... that "Einer ist unser Leben" ("One is our Life"), a hymn with text written by Lothar Zenetti in 1973, was recommended for a regional ecumenical service in 2020?
... that Karlheinz Oswald created sculptures of Cardinal Volk, Pierre de Coubertin, and Hildegard of Bingen?

Armonk - Greenwich[edit]

... that a museum in the Bedford Village Historic District occupies the former court house (pictured), erected in 1787 and the oldest government building in Westchester County?
... that Stonecrop Gardens in the Hudson Highlands features alpine vegetation and a sunken English garden?
... that Rabbi Michael Robinson and 15 other Reform rabbis were arrested and jailed after answering Martin Luther King's call to stand with him for civil rights in St. Augustine, Florida?

... that Innisfree Garden in Millwood, New York, was developed from the 1930s by a painter fascinated with an 8th-century Chinese artist, and a landscape architect from Harvard?
... that Claude Debussy composed The Little Nigar, a cakewalk, for a piano method?
... that Claude Debussy dedicated a piano piece to Yvonne Lerolle in 1894, and included it in his suite Pour le piano in 1901?

Wiesbaden[edit]

... that Schlosspark Biebrich (pictured), the garden at a former residence of the Duchy of Nassau on the Rhine, is the venue of the Internationales Pfingstturnier Wiesbaden?

... that the interior of the church Mariä Heimsuchung, a tall concrete landmark of Wiesbaden, features two large, abstract triptychs?
... that "Bewahre uns, Gott" (Keep us, God) is a hymn for protection and blessing that Eugen Eckert derived from a 1968 peace song written and composed in Argentina?
... that "Nahe wollt der Herr uns sein" (The Lord wanted to be close to us), first written in Dutch by Huub Oosterhuis in 1964, was included in the 1975 German hymnal Gotteslob?
... that a song of God's presence, written in 1965 in Dutch by Huub Oosterhuis, became part of the first common German Catholic hymnal, and was retained in the second by popular demand?
... that the rhythm of "Solang es Menschen gibt auf Erden", a Dutch hymn translated into German, has been compared to a tango?
... that Franz Harnoncourt became CEO of the Kastner & Öhler department store in Graz after working for Karstadt and Marks & Spencer, and beginning as sales person and storage worker?

... that Nerotalanlagen, a park along a creek in Wiesbaden, was built in the late 19th century to enhance the town's spa quality?
... that "Seht, er lebt" (Look, he lives) is a German Easter hymn by Lothar Zenetti, sung to a melody from Israel?
... that the 1938 hymn "Dein Lob, Herr, ruft der Himmel aus" ('The sky shouts your praise, Lord') is based on a text by a 17th-century Jesuit astronomer paraphrasing Psalm 19?
... that when the Mass in D major by Antonín Dvořák was first performed in 1887 at the chapel of a summer residence, his wife was a solo singer?

... that because of a pilgrimage to relics of St. Valentine, the basilica minor St. Valentin in Kiedrich has Gothic-carved pews for the congregation?
... that a church's 1510 spiral of justice (pictured) declares: "Justice suffered in great need. Truth is slain dead. Faith has lost the battle"?
... that the melody of the Christian hymn "Ich steh vor dir mit leeren Händen, Herr" is written without bar lines, reflecting the singer's insecurity and questions?
... that "Erde, singe" ("Earth, sing") was a carol in ten stanzas derived in the 19th century from a pastoral lullaby, but appears in the current hymnal in four stanzas, alluding to Christmas only once?

... that Ambroise Ouédraogo, who became the first Bishop of Maradi, Niger, in 2001, has focused on dialogue with Islam?
... that Henning Mankell preferred the African storytelling style used in his novel Chronicler of the Winds to European storytelling because of its ability to "jump between realities"?
... that Hans Stadlmair, conductor of the Münchener Kammerorchester for almost four decades, in 1971 premiered Wilhelm Killmayer's Fin al punto, of which the composer said, "The calm already contains the catastrophe"?

... that Guido Dessauer (pictured), a German executive and art collector, registered more than 30 patents in paper technology and started the career of Horst Janssen as a lithographer?
... that "Das Weizenkorn muss sterben" (The grain of wheat must die), the signature song written by Lothar Zenetti, deals with the mystery of faith that in death there is life?
... that Hermann Kasack's first novel Die Stadt hinter dem Strom, published in 1947, "catapulted his name into the literary limelight" and won the 1949 Fontane prize of Berlin?
... that the Limburger Domsingknaben, a boys' choir founded in 1967 by Wilhelm Kempf to sing at the Limburg Cathedral, took part in the premiere of Kagel's Sankt-Bach-Passion?

... that the Lutherkirche in Wiesbaden has two great organs, one behind the altar (pictured) built by Walcker in 1911, the other opposite built by Klais in the 1970s?
... that Hans Uwe Hielscher played the 1500th weekly organ recital during market time at the Marktkirche in Wiesbaden in a series he initiated some 30 years earlier?

Siegburg[edit]

... that Joseph Mohr left Germany when Jesuit institutions were dissolved, and wrote his popular hymn abroad?
... that the Klassische Philharmonie Bonn (pictured), a symphony orchestra founded and conducted by Heribert Beissel, has a tradition of playing a series of concerts at more than ten major halls in Germany?
... that when Friedrich Spitta revised "Im Frieden dein, o Herre mein", a 1530 German Lutheran communion hymn based on the biblical Nunc dimittis, he completely changed the meaning?
... that the hymn "Den Herren will ich loben", which Maria Luise Thurmair based on the Magnificat to a popular 1613 melody, was arranged with trumpets and timpani for a papal visit in Munich's Frauenkirche?
... that architect Jörg Streli and his two colleagues, a team for 35 years, designed the Sankt-Margarethen-Kapelle in Tyrol, which rises like a tower on a circular floor?
... that Philipp Harnoncourt (pictured) initiated the restoration of a Gothic chapel with a triangle floorplan, originally dedicated to the Trinity and reopened on Trinity Sunday 2020?
... that Franz Harnoncourt became CEO of the Kastner & Öhler department store in Graz after working for Karstadt and Marks & Spencer, and beginning as sales person and storage worker?

Hannover[edit]

... that the 1964 church (pictured) for the new parish Zu den heiligen Engeln (To the Holy Angels) in Hanover was designed by Josef Bieling to symbolize the tent of God among men?
... that the melody of Mozart's aria "Dove sono" from Le nozze di Figaro, asking "Where are those happy moments ...?", begins similarly to the Agnus Dei from his earlier Coronation Mass?
... that Gudrun Schröfel, the longtime choral conductor of the Mädchenchor Hannover and a professor at the Musikhochschule Hannover, received the Lower Saxony State Prize in 2015?
... that Richard Strauss's art song "Freundliche Vision" describes a waking dream?
... that Richard Strauss reportedly composed "Traum durch die Dämmerung" ("Dream in the Twilight"), on a love poem by Otto Julius Bierbaum, in 20 minutes?

... that the Berggarten, a historic botanical garden since 1750 in Herrenhausen, features a mausoleum (pictured), where members of the royal family were interred?
... that Christa Wolf's Der geteilte Himmel, published in East Germany in 1963, was called a "socialist bestseller"?
... that Johannes Brahms used the same melody for a song of his Fünf Lieder, Op. 105, as for the theme of the slow movement of his second piano concerto?

... that Hermann Eggert designed the Frankfurt Main Station and the New Town Hall (pictured) in Hanover?
... that the Theater am Aegi, which opened in Hannover in 1953 as "Germany's most modern theatre" and served mostly as a cinema, is now a venue for a wide range of performances?
... that Nicholas Nabokov composed an opera Love's Labour's Lost, setting the same play by Shakespeare as the fictional hero of Mann's Doctor Faustus, "in a spirit of the most artificial mockery"?
... that Brahms composed the first of Two Songs for Voice, Viola and Piano more than 20 years after the second?
... that "Von guten Mächten", a poem written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer in prison in 1944 where he faced execution, became a hymn with several melodies?
... that Reinhard Peters conducted several new operas and Wilhelm Killmayer's Tre Canti di Leopardi, and a number of his recordings were chosen for the CD compilation Musik in Deutschland 1950–2000?

... that Dieter Oesterlen designed the large concert hall (exterior pictured) of the Funkhaus Hannover?
... that Hans-Dieter Bader performed the title role of Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari's opera Sly, recorded live at the Staatsoper Hannover, "as written", while Plácido Domingo had to cut and change the part?
... that Ernst Pepping composed symphonies, a German mass in 1938, a Latin mass in 1948, and Jesus und Nikodemus?
... that Siegfried Strohbach composed a program of music for Advent for the Knabenchor Hannover, performed today (2 December 2011) at the Marktkirche?
... that Hans Stadlmair, conductor of the Münchener Kammerorchester for almost four decades, in 1971 premiered Wilhelm Killmayer's Fin al punto, of which the composer said, "The calm already contains the catastrophe"?

... that in 1968, the German artist Bazon Brock created a sign in the style of a high voltage warning saying "der Tod muß abgeschafft werden ..." ("death must be abolished ...")?
... that the art photographers Anna and Bernhard Blume created Kitchen Frenzy and Pure Reason?
... that a Hiroshima peace bell was donated to the Aegidienkirche, the ruin of a Gothic church that was left as a war memorial?
... that Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau was the soloist in a recording of Max Reger's Requiem with the Monteverdi-Chor Hamburg in 1990?
... that Berlin's Theater des Westens was the stage for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes with Anna Pavlova, the premiere of Henze's opera König Hirsch, and the premiere in German of My Fair Lady?

... that Erich Barke, professor of microelectronic systems and since 2005 president of the the University of Hannover, was elected as president for a second term?
... that the soprano Rotraud Hansmann performed six parts in three Monteverdi operas conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, including Euridice in L'Orfeo?
... that the NDR Chor performed in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony for the opening of the Elbphilharmonie?
... that when the citizens of Hanover accepted the Reformation in 1533, the 200-year-old Kreuzkirche became Lutheran?

Erftstadt-Liblar[edit]

... that Schlosspark Türnich, the park of a moated palace (pictured), is managed with a focus on biodiversity?
... that "Segne, Vater, diese Gaben", a round for saying grace of unknown authorship, has appeared in German collections for kindergarten, schools and events for young people?
... that in the 1930s, the Baroque parterre of the Schlosspark (aerial view pictured) in Brühl, part of a World Heritage Site, was restored according to the original 1728 plans?

... that in 1990, Forbes named Carmen Thomas one of the 100 most influential women in Germany for running Hallo Ü-Wagen, a weekly travelling talk radio show with audience participation?
... that Hallo Ü-Wagen (Hello Radio Van, pictured) was a long-running weekly German radio talk show on wheels?
... that in Bio's Bahnhof, a German live music talk show presented by Alfred Biolek (pictured) in a former train depot, Kate Bush made her first television appearance?

Borgholzhausen[edit]

... that the Protestant Church in Borgholzhausen features a 1501 carved stone altar with scenes from the Passion of Jesus?
... that Wolkentanz, a leading Hanoverian stallion at the Celle State Stud, sired 21 licensed stallions?

... that the Alfred Fischer Hall, built as the machinery hall for a 1912 coal mine, was the venue for a concert performance of Beethoven's Fidelio in 2021?
... that Elvira Bierbach has run an alternative medicine school for heilpraktiker in Bielefeld since 1992?

Dortmund[edit]

... that on 12 April 1945, a white flag was hung from the tower of the Große Kirche Aplerbeck (pictured), one of two churches after the same design by Christian Heyden, to signal capitulation?
... that the three lines of the traditional German round "Lobet und preiset, ihr Völker, den Herrn" are based on verses from three psalms?
... that Schloss Gripsholm was dedicated by author Kurt Tucholsky to a license plate number?
... that the Goethe-Gymnasium, founded as the first school of higher education for girls in Dortmund in 1867, is now focused on competitive sports?
... that Christa Ludwig, known for fiction for young horse-lovers, received a prize after her novel about Else Lasker-Schüler's late years in Jerusalem was published?
... that Wolfgang Anheisser was the leading baritone at the Cologne Opera while simultaneously a member of East Berlin's State Opera?
... that the melody of a song to Venus became the tune for the 17th-century hymn "Auf meinen lieben Gott" (in English "In God, My Faithful God") and others?
... that both Jochen Klepper and Hildegard Schaeder sought solace amidst the horror of the Nazi regime in Paul Gerhardt's 17th-century New Year's song "Nun lasst uns gehn und treten"?
... that "Mit Ernst, o Menschenkinder", a 1642 Advent hymn, includes a call to penitence that John the Baptist took from the prophet Isaiah?
... that "Die Himmel rühmen!" ('The heavens praise'), which begins a song from an 1803 lieder collection by Beethoven setting Gellert's paraphrase of Psalm 19 to music, became the title of a concert series by a pop singer?
... that the melody of the children's song "Kommt ein Vogel geflogen" ("Comes a Bird Flown") was used by Siegfried Ochs for variations in the styles of different classical composers?
... that Walther Killy, who wrote his dissertation about Hölderlin's poems, published a literary lexicon which came to be known as "Der Killy"?
... 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?
... that several composers of the 18th century used Paul Gerhardt's hymn "Ein Lämmlein geht und trägt die Schuld" to begin their Passion music?
... that Mozart built the final scene of his opera The Magic Flute "upon a solemn fugato around the chorale Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein" by Martin Luther?
... that Antonia Fahberg, a lyric soprano of the Bavarian State Opera for 25 years, recorded Bach with Karl Richter, including an aria described as "a beguiling and beautifully restrained performance"?

... that the Swoon of the Virgin (detail pictured) is depicted in Dortmund's Marienkirche?
... that the Kölner Rundfunkchor, the radio choir of the WDR in Cologne, premiered Karlheinz Stockhausen's Momente in 1962?
... that Bach used a stanza from "Vater unser im Himmelreich", Luther's versification of the Lord's Prayer, as a chorale in his St John Passion?
... that the first stanza of the hymn "Nun bitten wir den Heiligen Geist", asking the Holy Spirit for the right faith most of all, is documented in German in the 13th century, and the later three stanzas relate to faith, love and hope?
... that contralto Hildegard Rütgers recorded Bach's Magnificat with Christmas interpolations with Helmuth Rilling?

... that Marcel Cordes, a German baritone known for Italian opera, appeared as the King in the first recording of Carl Orff's Die Kluge?
... that Maria Friesenhausen sang soprano solo with the NDR Chor in the 1950s and trained students of the University of Dortmund for an opera performance in 2001?
... 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 the bass Oskar Czerwenka appeared in 1,084 performances at the Vienna State Opera, and his home was integrated into a state music school (pictured) that was named after him?

... that the high altar in the Propsteikirche, created by Derick Baegert, includes the oldest depiction of Dortmund on its left panel?
... that facing the rise of Nazi ideology, Otto Riethmüller compiled the song "Sonne der Gerechtigkeit" for young people from hymns by three authors of two earlier centuries?
... that Friedrich Spee wrote the lyrics of the Christmas carol "Zu Bethlehem geboren" to a popular French tune with a frivolous text?
... that Neues Geistliches Lied, a genre of contemporary songs for use at church, was performed by around 1,895 choirs and bands in German dioceses according to a 2001 report?

... that Maria, Königin des Friedens, a Brutalist pilgrimage church in Neviges, Germany, has become architect Gottfried Böhm's signature building?
... that Daniel Rump closely modeled the beginning of his Advent song "Der Morgenstern ist aufgedrungen" after a Tagelied, a wake-up call for lovers?
... that Aplerbeck, now part of Dortmund, is associated with two legendary martyrs and a regional psychiatric clinic founded in 1890?
... that the Romanesque cross basilica St. Georg in Aplerbeck from the 12th century fell into such disrepair that its street was named Ruinenstraße?
... that Vera Little from Memphis, Tennessee, was for four decades a member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, where she appeared as Bizet's Carmen and in the world premiere of Henze's Der junge Lord?
... 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?
... that the communion song "Gott sei gelobet und gebenedeiet" ("God be praised and blessed"), which Martin Luther derived from an older model, entered Catholic hymnals in the 20th century?

... that singer Elise Barensfeld is a possible dedicatee of Ludwig van Beethoven's Für Elise?
... that "Dies sind die heilgen Zehn Gebot" is a hymnal version of the Ten Commandments by Martin Luther?
... that the Advent hymn "O Heiland, reiß die Himmel auf" was written against a backdrop of the Thirty Years' War, the plague, and witch trials?
... 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"?
... 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?
... that the Easter hymn "Erschienen ist der herrlich Tag" (The glorious day has appeared) by Nikolaus Herman inspired other hymns and musical settings of the 20th century?
... that the novella Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts was translated as Memoirs of a Good-for-Nothing several times, the first in 1866 by Charles Godfrey Leland?
... that the Advent song "Macht hoch die Tür" is number 1 in the German Protestant hymnal?
... that the Easter hymn "Gelobt sei Gott im höchsten Thron" was written in 1531, but is known with the 1609 dancing tune by Melchior Vulpius?
... that Bach set Johann Gramann's hymn "Nun lob, mein Seel, den Herren" in a cantata reflecting the end of the year with praise?
... that the German Christmas hymn "Fröhlich soll mein Herze springen" (Merrily my heart shall leap) by Paul Gerhardt was published by Johann Crüger, who also wrote the melody?
... that Paul Gerhardt's song of thanks and praise "Nun danket all und bringet Ehr" was first published along with 17 of his other hymns in 1647, during the Thirty Years' War?
... that "Wir pflügen und wir streuen", with words by Matthias Claudius, began as a song of a fictional harvest festival, and is now a Protestant hymn for Erntedankfest?
... that in his ballet Alice im Wunderland, composer Herbert Baumann made the story's author a character?
... 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 Luther adapted "Christe, du Lamm Gottes" as a Protestant communion song from the Latin "Agnus Dei" (Lamb of God) of the mass?
... that "Nun jauchzt dem Herren, alle Welt", a 1646 paraphrase of Psalm 100 by David Denicke, appears in current Protestant and Catholic hymnals?
... that "Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr" is one of the oldest hymns of the Reformation?
... that for his song of praise "Lobet den Herren alle, die ihn ehren", Paul Gerhardt used the Sapphic stanza?
... that the hymn "Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier", a prayer for illumination because the human mind is "shrouded in darkness", became popular in English as "Blessed Jesus, at your word"?
... that for the morning song "Die güldne Sonne voll Freud und Wonne", the poet found a new metre, and the composer a new melody, to reflect the many meanings of "rising"? - one of my songs
... 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?


Marienvesper on 1 September 2019


Chor St. Martin and L'arpa festante in 2013