Choir "DeCoro" travelled to Leipzig to perform in Bachfest

In the second week of June, the choir "DeCoro" finally made their long-awaited journey to Leipzig, Germany, to participate in the Bachfest – an invitation they have received four years ago. Though the pandemic delayed their plans, the extra time allowed them to perfect the quite difficult compositions. And not without reason, because 300 years ago J. S. Bach started working in Leipzig.

Over 10 days, 157 cultural events took place across Leipzig and its surroundings, from early morning until late night. These events happened everywhere – on large and small stages, in churches, museums, cultural centers, and open-air venues. They all united in glorifying Bach's legacy and his timeless music.

"DeCoro" performed on the festival more than once. Their first concert was a solo a cappella performance during the Friedensgebet ("Prayer for Peace") on 10 June at St. Nicholas Church. Then, in the morning of 14 June, they presented a sacred music programme, Am Abend aber desselbigen Sabbats, at the Paula Gerhart Church, collaborating with German soloists and the Saxon Baroque Orchestra, conducted by Pēteris Vaickovskis, Conductor of the mixed choir "DeCoro". Between these two performances they had a few shorter programmes in the urban settings. 

One of the soloists the choir "Decoro" performed with on 14 June was German tenor Tobias Hunger. Reflecting on the experience, he shared: "I'm always fascinated to see how it [Bach's music] applies to other countries and people. Of course, there is a language barrier here, but music is also a language. And the language of music is incredibly powerful! I think it's wonderful to experience it and take it with you. I'm always happy to be able to play music with people who are not from this tradition, experience it together, and share my journey with them. It is a wonderful gift."

Kristiāna Vaickovska, artistic director and conductor of the choir "DeCoro," expressed her honor and joy in being selected as one of the Bach choirs for the festival. Pēteris Vaickovskis emphasised that each choir's presence at the festival was no coincidence – they have all worked tirelessly to master these challenging pieces. Their story is another inspiring testament that with hard work it is possible to achieve great heights and participate in large international cultural events.

As Mikael Maul, artistic director of the Bach Festival, said: "Bach – we are family!" We invite everyone to join cultural cooperation platform universities4culture.eu , where University of Latvia takes place too, and explore collaborations that can help artists, artistic groups, and representatives take bold steps forward and maybe possibly form another family with cultural ties!

To learn more about the choir's "DeCoro" journey, go to their Facebook page.

Learn more about the "Universities for Culture" here.