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Bachfest 2025

TRANSFORMATIONS
June 12 - 22, 2025

Trip Status:  OPEN

Tour Cost: More information to come
 
Activity Level: moderate – an ability to walk 2 hours at a moderate pace
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​Bachfest 2024 in Leipzig lived up to director Michael Maul’s dream of having the audience members sing several verses of the cantatas that Bach composed during his second year in Leipzig.

In Bachfest 2025, Michael will present the transformations that Bach used during his time in Leipzig.  Bach not only repurposed his own music, but also was very influenced by other composers’ works and transcribed or arranged them:  think 

Pachelbel, Vivaldi and earlier masters from the Renaissance such as Palestrina and Frescobaldi. 

 

My friend Miguel Rodé of The Cantata Trail will join us in Leipzig; he will discuss these transformations during some of our breakfasts together.   “Breakfast on the Trail!”  If you’ve listened to any of his presentations on Armchair Journeys, you are aware of his expertise and great teaching skill.   I invite you to join us in our musical home, Leipzig.

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We will attend about 15 concerts/performances during the 10-day festival.  One performance will be about Goethe’s Faust, which was written in Auerbach’s Keller while Goethe was in town.  This, to me, is a dream come true.  While in college many years ago, I studied Faust and learned that it was written in Leipzig.  First of all, I never expected that I would ever be in this part of the world since it was behind “the wall.”  Second, I never expected that I would have the opportunity to see it performed in the place that Goethe actually wrote it.   Amazing.  I can’t wait. 

Leipzig is an easy town to get around.  It is flat – no hills to climb – and performances are scheduled so you don’t have to hurry from one to another, as I did in 2024!  I didn’t even have time to have many meals and lost 10 pounds!!!!  That won’t happen in 2025.
Accommodations
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We will stay at the centrally located Adina Apartments for the duration.    Close by are most of the venues, restaurants and shops.  The rooms at the Adina are equipped with very useful washers and dryers, so you can bring a little suitcase (if you’d like)! 

We hope you’ll join us in Leipzig next June.  Please note that the dates at the top are the festival dates.  I expect to arrive on June 11 and depart June 23. Giving myself an extra day to acclimate helps relieve the ravages of jet lag immensely.
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Hosts

YOUR HOSTS

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Joan Hill
Owner, Host, & Director

In 2008, the seed of Artful Journeys was planted in her brain, when Joan brought together all of her life's passions, her love of music, an affinity for the beautiful things in life, and an ability to organize events to give birth to Artful Journeys, a program of art education trips for the soul. 

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Joan was born and raised in the apple country of the Hudson River Valley in New York; her father was a gentle, very tolerant, educated land surveyor, and her mother was the efficient business administrator and home engineer. The youngest of four children, Joan was encouraged to pursue anything she wanted, but also to do her best. Sometimes that was very difficult, especially succeeding three very accomplished siblings.

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Miguel Rodé 
Consulting Companion

Miguel Rodé was born and raised in Montevideo, Uruguay and moved to the US in 2002 as part of his Information Technology career and currently resides in Seattle, WA. A life-long music lover, over the years Miguel developed a special fascination with the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, and in particular with his cantatas and other vocal works. During the Covid pandemic, Miguel initiated a series of virtual meetings called "The Cantata Trail" with the intent of sharing this incredibly rich musical universe with some close friends. This small community grew organically through word of mouth to its current size of about 70 members. As a musician, Miguel plays the baroque flute and is a member of several chamber ensembles in the Seattle area, for which he also enjoys transcribing and arranging music. 

Cost

JOURNEY COST

More information coming soon about the price of this trip. ​

  • Includes accommodations, most meals, transportation in Europe, event and museum entry fees and teacher and admin fees. 

  • Not included are personal purchases and pampering.

  • NOTE: A deposit of $500 is required upon registration to secure a place in this journey.

  • Airfare to and from Germany is not included to enable travelers to use their “travel points,” upgrade flight arrangements, or to extend their trip.

  • Travel insurance is strongly encouraged. Please see the Travel Insurance Form.

  • A full complement of Covid vaccinations are required to participate in an Artful Journeys trip.

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To register for this journey, please click below:

Please note that PayPal remittances must go through the form on this website.  Thank you.

For details or questions, please click here to contact Joan Hill.
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