THE MUSICAL LEGACY OF A LEGENDARY FAMILY
The opening concert will pay tribute to what is arguably the most famous musical family in the world. In Baroque-era central Germany, the name Bach was virtually synonymous with "musician"—and not by coincidence. And as this year marks the 340th anniversary of the birth of the great Johann Sebastian, his music will of course be part of the programme.
The genealogy of the male members of this extensive musical dynasty was compiled by Johann Sebastian himself, who was also deeply committed to preserving the family’s strong musical tradition. His inherited and carefully maintained collection of vocal works by his ancestors Altbachisches Archiv provided the inspiration for the opening concert of the 26th festival edition.
Die Bach-Familie
Thursday 17. 7. 2025 | 20.00
The Church of Our Lady and Slavic Saints
Emmaus Monastery
Vyšehradská 49/320, Praha 1 – Nové Město
The highlight of the concert will be Jesu, meine Freude, a monumental motet, in which Johann Sebastian brings this genre to perfection while adopting many stylistic elements of his compositionally proficient ancestors. Bach’s longest and most complex motet will symbolically connect all the musical genealogical lines from Johann Michael, Johann Christoph and Johann Ludwig into a brilliantly structured masterpiece of creative genius.
The artists talk about how to approach Bach's musical legacy, for example, in this video:
