Café Zimmermann
Some Bach and coffee
J. S. Bach
FiBO Players:
Hanna Haapamäki, recorder
Anni Elonen, violin
Jussi Seppänen, cello
Eero Palviainen, lute
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750), who worked in Leipzig from 1723 until his death, did not only work as Cantor at St. Thomas, but also as the musical director of four churches in the city. Bach also gave concerts every week on Friday nights at Café Zimmermann. The coffee house concerts presented a great number of Bach’s chamber music, harpsichord concertos, often with Bach’s sons Friedemann and Emanuel, and cantatas that Bach composed so many of that they could be performed in church each Sunday and church holiday for five years.
Bach, opposite to many of his contemporaries, marked the intended instrumentation very clearly in his compositions. On the other hand, Bach was also a great lover of arrangements. Arranging, re-working and transposing pieces to other keys was customary during the Baroque, and Bach was not unfamiliar to modifications regarding neither his own nor his contemporary composers’ music. Bach created several versions and instrumentations of a great part of all his chamber music. Especially his over 200 maintained cantatas offer quite a lost-and-found store in this aspect. The master composer was clearly looking for various ways to express an idea through different emphases and timbres. With this kind of recycling, it is possible that Bach also wanted to make sure that his best music would be listened to more than just once.
The concert is organized with exceptional arrangements to ensure the safety of the listeners and the musicians: Only 45 tickets are up for sale and they can only be purchased in the webshop. The audience is seated with safety distances taken into account. Hand sanitizer and face masks are offered. You must not have any kind of symptoms of a respiratory infection when attending a concert.
The initiative resulting in the organizing of the summer concerts came from a German parish that wanted to support freelance musicians. Our warmest thanks to the parish for the cooperation.
Duration: 35 min (no intermission)