Bach, Bach, Bach and Bach again!

2024 – we are now in the third month of this special anniversary year for us – high time to send you an update! 8 gigs, 2 workshops, 1 film shoot and 1/2 CD recording. All this is already behind us this year.

With the Calmus Ensemble's origins in the St. Thomas Boys Choir, it's almost fateful that the next few months will be all about Johann Sebastian Bach!

In four special concerts, we will be interpreting some of his best-known and newly published works, even beyond the borders of Germany.

St. John Passion

On March 17, there will be a special premiere for Calmus in St. Martin/Pfalz. We will be singing Bach's St. John Passion as soloists, as an ensemble and as part of the choir. Former Calmus member Manuel Helmeke will be joining us in the role of Jesus. And you can sing along too! Some selected chorales may be sung along by the audience. You can find all information about this project here:

Bach and Rheinberger

March 23 gives us something we've been longing for. We will finally be singing Bach's 8-part motets! In combination with Josef Gabriel Rheinberger's incomparably beautiful Mass in E flat major “Cantus Missae” (Op. 109), we will bring Bach's motets “Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied” (BWV 225), “Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf” (BWV 226), “Fürchte dich nicht, ich bin bei dir” (BWV 228) and “Komm, Jesu, komm” (BWV 229) to the stage. But that doesn't work with five people? That's right! That's why we brought in instrumental reinforcements to replace the missing voices. We are overjoyed to have found the perfect partners in crime in Elisabeth Grümmer (oboe), Magdalena Schenk-Bader (viola) and Antje Nürnberger (violoncello)! With the beguilingly beautiful tones of their historical instruments, they give the pieces a particularly rounded note. The whole thing will take place in Bilbao. We can hardly wait!

The Well-Tempered Clavier

Some of you will have already discovered it: The last album on which Calmus can still be heard with Anja, Ludwig and Manuel. “Rethinking the Well-Tempered Clavier” with Natalya Pasichnyk on the keys. The pianist examined the Well-Tempered Clavier for chorale melodies and other themes used by Johann Sebastian Bach and found what she was looking for. Natalya chose the Calmus Ensemble and has thus woven us into her life's work. This gem is not available in physical form, but exclusively as a digital album on all popular streaming platforms.
And here it comes: on April 24 there will be a release concert at Konserthuset Stockholm! We are really looking forward to this special project!

Bach for five

You all know it by now, our CD “Bach for five”. Up to now, we have only sung the album as a concert program in France and the USA. This year we will be performing the CD program in Germany for the first time. So you are warmly invited to the Alte Oper Frankfurt on May 2!

So this is how we connect the past with the present. And now to the future!

As you know, we are celebrating our 25th anniversary this year. Have you all marked November 22 and 23 in your calendars? There are now locations for the dates! On the 22nd we'll be singing a concert in the Nikolaikirche and on the 23rd in the Peterskirche – both in Leipzig, of course. We can't reveal any more yet!
But you can contribute to the success of the events and pass on our appeal for Bernd Franke's composition! Do you personally know people all over the world who would write us 1-3 sentences about their wishes for the future? Write to them and ask them directly if they would like to take part! Here is the promotional video we made for this purpose.

In addition to these projects, we are of course singing many more concerts. A complete list of our concerts including June can be found at the end of this text.

We very much look forward to welcoming you live in concert again!

Elisabeth, Maria, Friedrich, Jonathan und Michael

List of concerts until the end of June: