Ascension Cantatas

At our upcoming concert on May 18, 2023 at 8 pm at Ventana (Elisabeth-von-Mumm-Platz) the calendar makes the program! On it are cantatas that were composed explicitly for Ascension Day. In addition to the cantata “Wer da gläubet und tauft wird” BWV 37 by Johann Sebastian Bach, you can expect some new discoveries on this evening – as you already know from us!

Christoph Graupner is a contemporary of Bach. And although he and his music were forgotten for a long time, he was highly esteemed during his lifetime – so much so, in fact, that he was supposed to have become Thomaskantor in Leipzig. But his previous employer did not let him go, so that the way was prepared for Johann Sebastian Bach. Graupner’s cantata oeuvre is extensive – he is said to have written 1,400 cantatas, but very few of them are known, as they have been preserved but never published. It is only in the last ten years that musicology, as well as the early music scene, has taken a more intensive look at this part of his oeuvre. Our concert will feature two cantatas for Ascension Day, “Jesus nimmt den Himmel ein” and “Es jauchzen aller Heerscharen”, both of which will have their second world premiere.

Another rediscovery is the music of Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel, who is probably even less known today than Graupner. Born in the Ore Mountains, he received his first musical training from his father before going to the Lyceum in Schneeberg at the age of thirteen, where his professional education began. After studying in Leipzig, he went to Italy and Prague, among other places, where he found an introduction to the international music world. Later he worked in Bayreuth, Gera and Gotha, where he was court kapellmeister at last. His musical output includes works for special festivals and occasions at court as well as secular and church cantatas. However, most of his compositional work – in contrast to that of Graupner – has been lost. With the cantata “Ich will wiederkommen” (I will come again) for Ascension Day, the Cologne Academy, under the direction of Michael Alexander Willens, is rediscovering the work.

We are delighted to be joined on stage this evening by a wonderful quartet of singers: Anna Herbst (soprano), Elvira Bill (alto), Peter Winking (tenor) and Thomas Bonni (bass).

A warm invitation to our concert on Ascension Day!

Tickets à 20 Euro (erm. 10 Euro) can be ordered via dueren@koelnerakademie.de or via phone 0170-2911568.