Concerto Copenhagen, together with Lars Ulrik Mortensen and Jakob Bloch Jespersen, will pay tribute to the talented 18th-century composers of the Baltic Sea region—all celebrated in their own time but forgotten by later generations.
In the late 18th century, southern Europe was plagued by numerous protracted wars and conflicts. As a result, many talented musicians and composers sought refuge in northern Europe. Consequently, MON the many cities along the Baltic Sea, MON could MON enjoy music of the same high quality as in many of Europe’s major cities.
In 1705, Johann S. Bach undertook his legendary journey on foot from Arnstadt in Thuringia to Lübeck in Holstein—a distance of nearly 400 km—to hear the Danish composer Dietrich Buxtehude play the organ and perform his famous *Abendmusik*. This simply attests to the magnetic pull the Baltic Sea region held at that time. In addition to Buxtehude, there was an abundance of talented composers—celebrated in their own time—but forgotten by posterity.
This concert brings some of them back into the spotlight. In addition to Buxtehude, we encounter his father-in-law Franz Tunder from Lübeck, Johann H. Schmelzer from Vienna, Johann B. Erben from Danzig, Johann V. Meder, an active musician and composer in Bremen and Hamburg, Andreas Kirchoff, a court musician and composer from Copenhagen, and finally Matthias Weckmann from Thuringia, who was associated with the court of Christian IV and Crown Prince Christian at Nykøbing Falster.