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Bachfest 2024

CHORAL TOTAL
June 6 - 17, 2024

Trip Status:  CLOSED

Tour Cost: $5250; Single Supplement $775
 
Activity Level: moderate – an ability to walk 2 hours at a moderate pace
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Bachfest Leipzig will become a mainstay of Artful Journeys. Why? Kapellmeister J.S. Bach wrote so much beautiful music that even if you’ve heard it once or twice or thrice, another audience will only bring more understanding. And Herr Bach wrote so much music - religious, secular and semi-operatic - that there can never be a dearth from which to choose.

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Bachfest 2024 will indeed be special. Choirs from around the world will come together to sing the entire cycle of cantatas that Bach composed during 1724 – 1725. That numbers 63 works! Also, Bachfest 2024 will
celebrate the 500th anniversary of Luther’s hymns that Bach so ingeniously wove into his cantatas. If you love to raise your Bachian voice, you may do so before every cantata concert: the Luther hymn upon which the cantata is based will be sung by the audience before the performance. Also celebrated will be the 300th anniversary of the St. John’s Passion, which will be performed by two different groups, the Thomanerchor and Vox Bona Bonn. 

I have not yet chosen the program because the entirety has not yet been published, as of this posting. However, I can guarantee that we will hear many of the cantata programs, which will have been further enhanced by Miguel Rodé’s Cantata Trail series which will precede the Bachfest. (Last year there were 150 offerings; we only had time to attend 15 of them, if we wanted to sleep and digest our food.)

The lineup for June 2024 includes John Eliot Gardiner and his Monteverdi Choir; Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra; the effervescent Andreas Reize with the Thomanerchor; the wonderful organist from the Sankt Thomas Kirche, Johannes Lang; and conductors Philippe Herreweghe and Hans-Christian Rademann. That list, of course, does not include the myriad of exceptional performers – the singers and instrumentalists and choirs. It is truly amazing that the people at the Bacharchiv are able to bring so many exceptional people together. That in itself is a feat to marvel. 
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Bachfest 2024 will indeed be a wonderful experience, full of musical heft and glory.
We will stay the entire 10 days in Leipzig, perhaps making a pilgrimage to a town where either Bach or baroque music played a significant role. That will be determined only when the full schedule is available. The time in
Leipzig will give us ample time to get to know the very walkable town and experience its intriguing architecture, alleys, and markets. We’ll visit the Bach Museum and Mendelssohnhaus, among other important Bach sites.
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Accommodations
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We will be staying at Amano Home Leipzig, which is just down the street from the Nikolai Kirche. Each apartment has its own kitchen, so when there is not enough time to sit down at a restaurant, we can always grab something quickly from the frig. However, I’ll make sure we get good square meals as often as possible, pending the concert schedules!
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The cost of this musical journey is $5250, double occupancy. The single supplement is $775. This price includes hotel accommodation, most meals, tickets to the performances with exclusive seating, ground transportation within Germany, museum entrances, and administration fees. The cost
does not include plane fare and personal purchases.

 

I hope that you will join us for a trip of a lifetime. Really, to experience such beauty and wondrous music is rare indeed, but attainable.


“Wie wunderbar sind deine Werke!”
That is the subtitle of Michael Maul latest book on Bach, entitled simply J.S. Bach.

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

$5,250, double occupancy

  • Single supplement is $775.

  • 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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