Last Thursday the 6th Bach Academy in the Ukraine ended with four concerts at three venues and an
organ concert in Dnipro. Eight German lecturers had travelled to Dnipro in order to work with students from the local conservatoires. The aim was to rehearse and perform the cantata BWV 21 Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis (I had much grief) and the Missa (Kyrie, Gloria and Dona nobis Pacem from the Mass in B minor, BWV 232) by Johann Sebastian Bach. Works from Bach and his contemporaries were also covered in an organ course.
The Academy programme, which had been very well prepared by the local participants, involved daily rehearsals in the form of concentrated solo work in courses on conducting and choral singing, solo singing, stringed instruments, woodwind instruments, trumpets, continuo and organ music. This work was followed by joint rehearsals with the choir, orchestra and soloists. A remarkable level of interest and commitment was shown by not only the participants, but also the interpreters who were hired to assist the teachers and their classes.
The choir, orchestra and soloists first presented the results of their intensive week of rehearsals at a lecture-concert on 13 November 2016. At the three subsequent, well-attended concerts and the organ concert that marked the end of the Academy, the young musicians impressed audiences with their finely honed precision and musicality.
Our two eventful and fulfilling weeks of ongoing engagement with the music of Johann Sebastian Bach in the Ukraine have come to a close. We would like to thank everyone whose hard work and commitment helped make this Academy possible. We are already looking forward to the next Academy!
