Concerto Copenhagen, together with Lars Ulrik Mortensen and Jakob Bloch Jespersen, will pay tribute to the talented composers of the Baltic Sea region from the 18th century – all celebrated in their own time, but forgotten in posterity.
At the end of the 18th century, southern Europe was marked by many ongoing wars and conflicts. As a result, many talented musicians and composers sought refuge in northern Europe. This meant MON experience music of the same quality as in many of the major European cities MON the many towns along the Baltic Sea.
Johann S. Bach undertook his legendary walk in 1705 from Arnstadt in Thuringia to Lübeck in Holstein – almost 400 km – to experience Danish composer Dietrich Buxtehude's organ playing and famous Abendmusik. This just shows how magnetic the Baltic Sea area was at that time. Besides Buxtehude, there were tons of talented composers – celebrated in their time – but forgotten later on.
This concert brings some of them back into the spotlight. In addition to Buxtehude, we meet 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 staff musician and composer from Copenhagen, and finally Matthias Weckmann from Thuringia, associated with Christian IV and Crown Prince Christian's court at Nykøbing Falster.