Bach Festivals & Cantata Series
Hamburger Bach-Wochen

Name:

Hamburger Bach-Wochen (Bach Weeks at St. Michaelis)

Location:

Hamburg, Germany

Venues:

Hauptkirche St. Michaelis (locally known as the "Michel"), Hamburg

Years:

Since 1973 (Annual Festival)

Months:

October-November

Artistic Director:

KMD Günter Jena (1973-1997), Founder
KMD Christoph Schoener (February 1998- Decembr 2019))
KMD Jörg Endebrock (since January 2020)

Ensembles:

The festival features a variety of world-class and resident performing ensembles, frequently broadcasts or partners with major regional institutions like NDR Kultur. The festival primarily highlights period-instrument orchestras, local church choirs, and renowned guest vocal groups. Prominent ensembles that regularly perform during the festival include:
Resident & Local Choirs & Orchestras
Chor St. Michaelis Hamburg: The festival's anchor choir, frequently led by church music directors Jörg Endebrock and Magne H. Draagen.
Vokalsolisten St. Michaelis: A specialized vocal ensemble often featured in oratorios and cantata opening nights.
Hamburger Ratsmusik: A renowned local historical ensemble specializing in the music of Hamburg's Baroque heritage.
Orchester St. Michaelis
Visiting Period-Instrument & Chamber Orchestras
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin (AAMB): Frequently featured for major choral-orchestral masterpieces like J.S. Bach's Mass in B Minor
Concerto Köln: An internationally celebrated period-instrument orchestra that often headlines opening concerts performing repertoire from J.S. Bach and his contemporaries.
Freiburger Barockorchester: A regular guest for grand symphonic and operatic Baroque/Classical programs.
Ensemble Polyharmonique: An award-winning vocal octet that performs at the festival, specializing in Renaissance and Baroque a cappella music.

Website:

Chor St. Michaelis, Hamburg

History & Mission:

The Bach-Wochen an St. Michaelis (often referred to as the Hamburger Bach-Wochen) is a renowned annual classical music festival based at Hamburg's landmark church, Hauptkirche St. Michaelis (the "Michel"). Running from late autumn into winter, the weeks-long event features monumental choral, orchestral, and intimate Krypta concerts.
History
Hamburg has long been tied to the Bach family, most notably serving as the home and final resting place of J.S. Bach's second-oldest son, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, who was the city's music director. The city was an early pioneer of modern J.S. Bach interpretations, hosting the Neue Bachgesellschaft: Bachfest as early as 1965 (40^th NBG Bachfest.).
The Bach-Wochen at the "Michel" have been a pillar of Hamburg's musical calendar for decades. The festival is deeply embedded in the legacy of the church, utilizing its massive main sanctuary and its highly evocative, subterranean Krypta.
Mission
Preserving and Expanding the Canon: The core mission of the Bach-Wochen is grounded in the idea that Western church music as we know it would not exist without J.S. Bach.
Connecting Eras: The festival explores how J.S. Bach's compositional DNA directly influenced later generations of musicians. To that end, the programming deliberately pairs Bach's work with the compositions of artists he heavily influenced or was influenced by, ranging from Baroque contemporaries like Georg Philipp Telemann to Romantic and Classical masters like W.A. Mozart and Johannes Brahms.
Spiritual and Cultural Integration: Rather than just serving as traditional concert series, the Bach-Wochen are closely intertwined with the liturgical life of the church. The event features "Kantaten-Gottesdienste" (cantata services) alongside major concert performances, aiming to make profound theological and spiritual art widely accessible to both the local public and visitors to the city.
Note
Internationales Bachfest Hamburg (found 2023) is a new spring festival reviving the Bach Family Legacy: Rather than focusing solely on J.S. Bach, the festival frequently explores the works of his sons - such as Hamburg's Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and the "London Bach," Johann Christian Bach.

Recent Festivals:

Mar 11- 27, 1994

Mar 9-25, 2001
Oct 25-Nov 24, 2002
Nov 1-23, 2003
Oct 29-Nov 7, 2004 = 79^th NBG Bachfest
Sep 25-Oct 30, 2005
Oct 28-Nov 19, 2006
Mar 16-Sep 2, 2007
Oct 31-Nov 16, 2008
Oct 31-Nov 25, 2009
Oct 30-Nov 28, 2010

Oct 21-Nov 23, 2011
Oct 21-Nov 28, 2012
Nov 2-27, 2013
Nov 1-26, 2014
Oct 31- Nov 25, 2015
Oct 22- late November, 2016
Oct 30-Nov 26, 2017
Oct 27-Nov 24, 2018
Oct 20-Nov 27, 2019
Oct 24-Nov 22, 2020

Oct 23-Nov 21, 2021
Oct 19-Nov 22, 2022
Oct 27-Nov 26, 2023
Oct 11-Nov 24, 2024
Oct 31-Nov 23, 2025
Oct 31-Nov 22, 2026

Logo: