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The Merseburger Hofmusik was founded in 1998. Directed by Michael Schönheit, musicians from the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and other freelance musicians formed an ensemble in order to perform Middle German Baroque music on historical instruments. It is their special interest to relate the rich music tradition of the former residence of Merseburg (Johann Joachim Quantz, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, Georg Friedrich Kauffmann) to the music of J.S. Bach, George Frideric Handel, and Georg Philipp Telemann. Aside from annual concerts in the Merseburg Cathedral, the ensemble has performed at the Heinrich Schütz Music Festival, the Handel Festival in Halle, and at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival. The Merseburger Hofmusik has also given performances of Dietrich Buxtehude's (2004-2007) and Krebs's complete works (2013) in the Gewandhaus in Leipzig. In 2016, they made a guest appearance at the Oslo International Church Music Festival with the premiere of Steffen Schleiermacher’s Nach Markus. Passion and Max Reger's Requiem Op. 144b on historical instruments. |
