Festival opening

About the production

The opening of the 2026 Lausitz Festival will be dedicated to Johann Sebastian Bach, his Mass in B minor and a new »Credo«. The Mass in B minor is one of the most sublime works in the world of music. It will be performed in the parish church of St Peter and Paul in Görlitz by the British choir Tenebrae, from whose ranks the soloists will also emerge. The Basel Chamber Orchestra will provide the accompaniment, with Nigel Short conducting. The line-up guarantees a first-class musical experience.

In 1733, when Bach was 48 years old, he applied for the title of »Royal Polish and Electoral Saxon Court Composer« in Dresden with a »Missa brevis« (Short Mass). On 19 November 1736, he was awarded the title. The name »Missa brevis« stems from the fact that it consisted only of the »Kyrie« and the »Gloria«. Bach, however, continued to work on the mass until shortly before his death and eventually expanded it into a »Missa tota« – a complete mass, as celebrated in the Catholic rite.

The »Dresden Mass« of 1733 forms the core and starting point of the opening concert, as this work plays a prominent role in Johann Sebastian Bach’s »compositional science«. Over the centuries, the B minor Mass that grew out of it has influenced many other (mass) compositions.

As a vivid expression of the enduring connection between the past and the present, the Lausitz Festival has commissioned a new »Credo« – the part of the Mass that follows the »Kyrie« and »Gloria«. It is being written by the French composer and conductor Sylvain Cambreling, who is intended to build on Bach’s »Dresden Mass« and continue it in the spirit of »I believe in«.

As part of the festival opening, not only will the new »Credo« receive its world premiere, but the »Credo Prize« will also be awarded for the first time. This award from the Lausitz Festival honours a figure whose artistic or cultural work is motivated by a deep inner conviction and a firm belief in the social relevance of art.

 

Johann Sebastian Bach

Mass in B minor, BWV 232

Kyrie

Gloria

Credo – New composition by Sylvain Cambreling

Agnus Dei

Dona nobis pacem