Schwetzingen SWR Festival: Carried by Joy

The Windsbacher Boys' Choir and Spark | The Classical Band present a program in the 350th anniversary year of the poet Paul Gerhardt's death. He survived the Thirty Years' War. He was already an orphan at the age of 14. He lost four of his five children shortly after their birth. He was dismissed from his position as a pastor because he refused to abandon his Lutheran beliefs. The theologian and poet Paul Gerhardt demonstrated integrity. He was also a colorful figure. When singing folk and spiritual songs, one cannot overlook his approximately 150 texts. How shall I receive you – Go forth, my heart, and seek joy – O head full of blood and wounds – My heart shall leap for joy: all of these are poems by Paul Gerhardt. Among the composers who set them to music, Johann Sebastian Bach was the most prominent. In the 350th anniversary year of the poet's death, the classical band Spark and the Windsbacher Boys' Choir dedicate a joint concert to Gerhardt, which is also intended to bridge to the present. Songs will be transformed here; recorders, melodica, strings, and piano will complement the boys' choir. The finale will feature the commissioned work "Carried by Joy" by the composing Munich multi-stylist David Reichelt. In cooperation with the city of Worms and with the kind support of the Rheinhessen Sparkasse and the family of Drs. Eva and Gregor M. Hess.