The Thomaskirche (Leipzig, Germany) - Choir Tour Day 6

Day 5 was a very long day of travel between Venice and Leipzig. We left at 10 am and it took us a boat, two planes, and a bus to finally get here after nearly 12 hours.

I went to find the Thomaskirche (St. Thomas Church) the next morning, the church where Bach was choir director from 1723 until his death in 1750.  Bach’s grave has also been located in the Thomaskirche since 1950, after the church he was originally buried at was destroyed in World War II.  He lived and worked in this place for twenty-seven years, and somehow found the time to compose all of the incredible music that he did.

As I walked down the cobblestone streets and saw all the tall, old buildings, I had this vague sense that I’d been here before – something about all of it just seemed familiar somehow.  As I approached the church I felt a curious sense of presence, as if I could already feel that something important was inside.

Thomaskirche, Leipzig, Germany

Feelings like this are interesting, because on the one hand, the spiritual/emotional side of me has all kinds of interpretations it could give these feelings, and on the other, the scientist in me wants to decipher the logical origin of these feelings.  These two sides of me come up against each other so often that what I end up doing is just deciding to be in the mystery of it, instead of trying to ascribe meaning.

***

I came at classical music late in the game. I wasn’t exposed to much music growing up, besides whatever I sang in the choir at elementary school and then later high school.  My first love was Vivaldi, as I felt the thrill of singing his “Gloria” at Massey hall with a group of over ten choirs in high school.

Bach watching over us in the stained glass window

Bach statue outside the church

When I got to university and wanted to continue singing, I was offered the choice of a classical or jazz stream.  I didn’t really know much about either but I chose classical as I was told I would learn more technique that way.  At first I only liked the pieces that I was working on – translating the different languages of what I was singing and writing out the phonetics and biographies of composers helped me grasp a greater depth behind these “classical” songs and I liked singing them and hearing others sing them. But if it was an unfamiliar song I still didn’t have the ear or the knowledge to appreciate it.

Over the years, however, I quickly fell in love with so many different composers and musical periods, finally settling into a strong preference of all music from the baroque period (approximately 1600 – 1750). 

I fell in love with Bach first through his echoes in other composers. Whenever we would sing certain things in choir, our conductor would always point out something like “this passage over here is written in the style of Bach” (with the strong implication that this made it better and more wonderful than music that wasn’t!).   

Towards the altar

Finally I had the chance to sing some actual Bach, and it was instant love with the music... often when I am learning a new piece of music, it takes at least several run-throughs or listenings before it starts to get into my head and I start to like it. But there’s something about the incredible intricacy, depth, beauty, and almost scientific approach that Bach has to composing that I can pick up any CD of his music, go to any concert and hear something I’ve never heard before that he composed, and I instantly fall in love with it the very first time.

***

So there I was, just outside the Thomaskirche, in the mystery of it.  As I walked into the dimly lit and quiet church, I could feel emotion coming to the surface, something I hadn’t really been expecting. I knew I would feel moved and sense the importance of being here, but was not prepared for the overwhelming yet intimate reaction I had at walking into the church. I don’t even know what to compare this feeling to; I have no metaphor. As I stepped quietly and slowly around the church and towards the front, taking it all in, I suddenly saw his grave. I hadn’t been expecting it to be just... right there.  I could sense the weight of his presence even stronger now and I had to sit down for a while, just quietly feeling and processing and blinking away a few tears.

Bach's grave
(photo source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eymen/1343916434/ )
(... I was too overwhelmed by the experience to even think about taking my own photos at the time!)