Greetings during the opening of the Bach Marathon

Dear Bach family,

I too had hoped to stand here today to welcome family members from all over the world – including nearly 50 Bach choirs from every corner of the earth – to a very special Bachfest in Leipzig. But none of us had reckoned with one guest: this miserable little virus that is now literally occupying all the benches in Bach’s churches and blocking the way to Leipzig for so many visitors and performers. That hurts us all!

BUT: we Bach lovers also know that his music is stronger than the pandemic. Which is why I am so happy we have found a way of coming together at least virtually, despite the cancellation of the Bachfest. We achieved that once already with the St. John Passion on Good Friday here in St. Thomas’ Church, and that is how we intend to continue: with a four-day Bach Marathon this weekend and next. More than 1,500 minutes of Bach »for the recreation of the soul«. Recreation in the sense of renewal – Bach himself attested to this effect of music. And he was right: we all know that Bach’s own music does more than delight. It also has the wondrous effect of consoling people, refreshing our souls, relaxing us and imparting new strength. In this crisis, we all need this consolation, this »recreation of the soul«.

But our performers need it most urgently. Because many musicians who devote their life to Bach are freelancers. Since the virus crippled public life all over the world, thousands of concerts have had to be cancelled and artists have almost no means of performing. And this is why I am delighted that precisely these musicians will be performing in our Bach Marathon: 160 freelancers, most of them from Leipzig, agreed to appear with just a few days’ notice and have put together a wonderfully diverse programme that they are now presenting in the churches of St. Thomas and St. Nicholas – respecting physical distancing of course – but which, thanks to live-streaming, will overcome all boundaries. Stupendous! I am extremely grateful to each and every one of you. And from the bottom of my heart I also want to thank all the sponsors and supporters thanks to whom this Marathon is not just manna – heavenly food – for the artists, but also a bit of daily bread.

It is a wonderful symbol that the necessary means came in part from Bach lovers from all over the world, who donated money during the St. John Passion performance on Good Friday. And it is also a magnificent sign that Sparkasse Leipzig and Leipziger Gruppe – who are our »local« providers of the basic necessities of power, heat and water and »unrighteous mammon« – are making this Marathon possible for all of us thanks to their generous support, and despite the cancellation of the Bachfest allowing the entire city of Leipzig to resound with music. That’s what dependable partnership is. That is how Saxony is. And that is why our heartfelt thanks must go to our Minister President Michael Kretschmer and the Saxon State Chancellery for the funding granted at very short notice under the So-geht-Sächsisch initiative.

Lastly, a huge thank you to my team at the Bach Archive which, firstly, is still digesting the cancellation of the Bachfest and, secondly, has really done a marathon task in organising this marathon at very short notice – and now could really do with some »re-creation of the soul«.

Once again: I really cannot thank you all enough. The piece with which Thomaskantor Gotthold Schwarz and the Sächsisches Barockorchester, together with members of the Thomanerchor, will be opening our Marathon is all the more appropriate. Cantata BWV 29 – we have just heard its breathtaking introduction – was composed by Bach in the year 1731 for the church service following the election of the new Leipzig town council. It begins with a plain, four-part movement to the words »Wir danken Dir, Gott, wir danken Dir!« – »We thank you, God, we thank you!«. It will be familiar to many of you. However, the words will be different. Bach used the music again 15 years later as the closing movement for his B Minor Mass. »We thank you, God, we thank you!« became »Dona nobis pacem« – Bach’s emphatic plea to God for peace.

The movement, like the entire B Minor Mass, became a work for eternity – a composition that has long since overcome all geographical and cultural boundaries and in normal times is the most frequently performed of all Bach works. This is one of principal reasons why ›normal‹ Bachfests always end with the B Minor Mass. And it is why our Bach Marathon in St. Nicholas’ Church next Sunday will also close with the B Minor Mass. Because of the coronavirus, it will have to be a chamber music version; perhaps the smallest performance ever. But wherever you are, you are all invited to sing and play along. It will be our joint B Minor Mass, one which – like the St John Passion on Good Friday – will go around the globe and in doing so embody the motto that was to banner this year’s Bachfest: BACH – We are FAMILY! Many of the choirs that were invited to the Bachfest – from New Zealand and Paraguay, from Japan to Canada – have promised to join the singing. Moreover, many of you have sent us moving musical greetings, which we will also be broadcast during the Bach Marathon. Yes, »BACH – We are FAMILY!« has turned into more than the motto of a postponed Bachfest. It seems to me to have grown into a movement, a special spirit that I am quite sure will carry us all during the next two years.

With these thoughts, I wish everyone an effective Bach Marathon »for the re-creation of the soul«. At the same time, I hope to see everyone back here in Leipzig at the 2022 Bachfest – or even at the 2021 Bachfest, which is aptly entitled »Redemption«. Stay healthy and take care: BACH – We are FAMILY!