Concert of the Handel Festival Göttingen: A Mighty Fortress

A Mighty Fortress: Music from the Time of the Thirty Years' War
European Hanse Ensemble
Musical Direction: Manfred Cordes
Works by Franz Tunder, Petrus Hasse, Thomas Baltzar, Nicolaus Bleyer, among others.

The time of the Thirty Years' War (1618 – 1648) is one of the darkest chapters in German history. The allure of art stood in stark contrast to the horrors of war and the rampant diseases, which claimed countless victims even in Münden. Meanwhile, the Hanseatic cities of Hamburg and Lübeck remained spared from the effects of the war thanks to their neutrality and elaborate defensive structures. Here, a rich musical life flourished. The European Hanse Ensemble, under the direction of Manfred Cordes, dedicates this concert to the string-dominated music production in Lübeck during that time. With a twelve-member ensemble, including Veronika Skuplik (violin) and Hille Perl (viola da gamba), virtuosic, highly expressive cantatas and instrumental pieces by lesser-known composers from the Hanseatic period await their revival.