J. S. Bach, Organ Mass at St. Stephen’s Cathedral

About the Event

Experience with Johann Sebastian Bach's organ mass a music that leaves no one untouched at Vienna's at St. Stephen’s Cathedral. From Kyrie to the plea for peace, it touches and gifts the soul deeply. In this composition Bach shows the almost infinite wealth of imagination of his art.

The Rheintaler Bach Choir delves into the chorales on which the organ mass is based and looks forward to singing the challenging movements in St. Stephen's Cathedral. Alexander Seidel will conduct the choir from the harpsichord, as Bach might have held.

Bach originally published a series of organ works and choral arrangements in Leipzig in 1739, based on chorales that were well known at the time. Nowadays, one cannot assume that the public is familiar with these. Therefore, the Rheintaler Bach‐Choir puts its choral singing to the side of the organ works. The 27 movements of the so‐called organ mass were named by Bach himself as 'Clavier-Übung 3. Teil'. 'Clavier' in Bach's day was a collective term for anything with keys, and there was no confusion if it meant the organ. Later, the work was called an 'organ mass' because the movements were arranged according to the course of a church service. The fascinating variety of Bach's composition, between magnificent sonority and simple, introverted moods, makes the 'Organ Mass' a wonderful experience.

The Rheintaler Bach‐Chor cultivates demanding choral singing and gives dedicated amateur singers access to great choral works. The choir is 'borderless' and contributes to the networking of the Lake Constance‐Alpine Rhine region. It promotes a valuable human and cultural exchange across borders.