Passie voor Bach - O HOLDER TAG

In December 1721, the young widower Johann Sebastian Bach married soprano Anna Magdalena Wilcke.

Like Bach, she served at the court of Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen and was the highest-paid musician at the court chapel after Bach, holding the position of Hof-Cantatrice. She came from Weissenfels, where her father worked as a trumpeter and where she likely sang many arias by Krieger, the court composer there, during her training. After the Bach family moved to Leipzig, Anna Magdalena no longer performed publicly but did sing at private events with her husband, such as anniversaries and weddings. At such occasions, she frequently performed the cantata O holder Zeit. The virtuosity of the soprano part suggests that Anna Magdalena must have been a highly gifted singer.

For the fifth season, Phion, Orchestra of Gelderland & Overijssel, and Wilminktheater and Music Center Enschede are collaborating on the Passie voor Bach series. In four themed concerts on Sunday mornings at the Grote Kerk, Ensemble Himmelsburg will perform a selection of well-known and lesser-known works by Johann Sebastian Bach and his contemporaries.

Ensemble Himmelsburg, named after the castle church in Weimar where Bach worked for several years, consists of Phion musicians with a deep passion for Bach, complemented by violinist Carla Leurs and harpsichordist and organist Pieter Dirksen, who also serves as the musical director. On Sunday, December 8, at the Grote Kerk in Enschede: Passie voor Bach - O HOLDER TAG.

The Passie voor Bach series is a co-production of Phion, Orchestra of Gelderland & Overijssel, and Wilminktheater and Music Center Enschede.