Barihunks performing in quincentenary of Reformation

Marco Vassalli (left) and Malte Roesner (right)

Germany will have musical celebrations of Martin Luther's Reformation, which occurred 600 years ago this year. 

One of our favorites will have its world premiere at an open air concert in Tecklenburg in September with additional performances at the Stadtkirche Westerkappeln on October 14th and 15th, and then in Seligenstadt and Aschaffenburg. The concerts will feature barihunks Marco Vassalli and Malte Roesner in a new piece written by composer Thomas Gabriel and librettist Eugen Eckert called "Bruder Martin" (Brother Martin). The two singers will be part of a four soloists backed by orchestra and a massive chorus, which will tell the life story of Martin Luther in an oratorio-style piece. 

Leipzig is in the midst of a month long celebration of the Reformation featuring a number of barihunks. On June 12, Felix Schwandtke will perform music by Johann Rosenmüller at the Nicolaikirsche,  Jochen Kupfer will perform Mendelssohn's Paulus at the Thomaskirsche on June 15th,  and on June 18th, Luca Pisaroni will perform Bach's Mass in B-minor at the Thomaskirsche. The entire program is available here.

Felix Schwandtke

On June 17th, barihunk Roman Trekel will perform the debut of composer Daniel Pacitti and librettist Christian Meißner's new work "Luther Oratorio" under the baton of Helmuth Rilling at the Berliner Dom. 

The Reformation happened when Martin Luther rejected several teachings and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. He strongly disputed the Catholic view on indulgences as he understood it to be, that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. Luther proposed an academic discussion of the practice and efficacy of indulgences in his 95 Theses of 1517. Luther taught that salvation and, consequently, eternal life are not earned by good deeds but are received only as the free gift of God's grace through the believer's faith in Jesus Christ as redeemer from sin. His theology challenged the authority and office of the Pope by teaching that the Bible is the only source of divinely revealed knowledge from God.

His translation of the Bible into the vernacular (instead of Latin) made it more accessible to the laity, an event that had a tremendous impact on both the church and German culture. It fostered the development of a standard version of the German language, added several principles to the art of translation, and influenced the writing of an English translation, the Tyndale Bible. His hymns influenced the development of singing in Protestant churches. His marriage to Katharina von Bora, a former nun, set a model for the practice of clerical marriage, allowing Protestant clergy to marry.  

Roman Trekel to perform controversial Henze oratorio

Roman Trekel

The world of opera has seen its fair share of controversies, including the political censorship of Verdi operas, outrage over the sexual nature of Richard Strauss' Salome and the recent protests over John Adams' The Death of Klinghoffer at the Metropolitan Opera.

Much of this pales to the reaction that greeted Hans Werner Henze's oratorio Das Floß der Medusa (The Raft of the Medusa) in Hamburg, Germany in 1968. The piece, which was written as a requiem for Che Guevera, had advertisements torn down, protests, chanting and the chorus actually walkng off the stage chanting that they wouldn't sing under the "red flag," a reference to the communist flag that had been hoisted by students. Scuffles ensued in the audience, the police had to be called and the performance was cancelled.

The piece has subsequently had a few performances without incident and is scheduled for two performances beginning tonight with baritone Roman Terkel and the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. 

The Raft of the Medusa by Théodore Géricault

Das Floß der Medusa tells the story of the French frigate Meduse, which ran aground off the west coast of Africa in 1816. It marks an ignominious episode in French political and maritime history, and was later immortalized in the painting of the same name by Théodore Géricault. 

The piece is written for soprano, baritone, speaker, choir, children’s choir and orchestra. The choir, as a collective mass, plays an important role and expresses its visions of death in floating, nearly impossible sounds. At the apotheosis, which features the Vietnam war, Henze based his rhythmic patterns on the chants in honor of Ho Chi Minh. As Henze's oratorio builds to its climax, the "dead" move from the choir of the living to that of the dead, which is full of both adults and children, creating an imbalance on the stage.

Tickets and additional information are available online. 

2015 Barihunk Calendar

Mildly less controversial is our 2015 Barihunks Charity Calendar, which is available by clicking on the LULU button below.