Cothen...and Leipzig: The Beginning

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Thursday was Cothen (or Kothen...depending on what part of the world you are from) day. It was our final performance with the Leipzig Baroque Orchestra in concert and really our last concert of the tour, as Leipzig is a series of Church Services (granted, very large and elaborate Church services...with lots of singing). We began the day in Cothen with a tour of St. Agnus's Church (which is where our concert was) and the castle. We had dinner at a local place and then it was already time to get ready for the concert! St. Agnus's is a really interesting place. The Church itself was absolutely gorgeous and the sound was wonderful. The concert wasn't our best, but it went well and was well received. St. Agnus's is also where the Bach family lived while they were in Cothen and the Pastor brought out the original chalice and Communion Book with Bach's signature for us to see. No glass casing, no protectors...it was just sitting in front of us. Very cool. Apparently, museums keep trying to get a hold of it, but he won't sell it. Friday was the beginning of Leipzig. We spent the morning in the Bach Archive, where we received a tour by Peter Wollny, a well known Bach scholar. The museum was pretty cool. We had some free time, so we did a little shopping and then we moved on to rehearsal for the evening service. It has been strange to try to get used to people watching us rehearse. Everything we have done here has been so public. Even when we performed in Bernberg and Cothen, there were pictures being taken by the newspapers left and right, with flash, during the performance. Same in Leipzig. Hard to get used to. The evening motette went well and we were left with some time for relaxation in the evening. Very exciting to just walk around Bach's Church much as he did in his time here. It brings a new connection to the music.

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