Johann Sebastian Bach Celebrated at St Nicholas Church and Museum

Text Susanna Poikela

Photo Endel Apsalon

This year marks the 275th anniversary of Johann Sebastian Bach’s death. In his honour, a series of concerts will take place at Tallinn’s St Nicholas Church and Museum, featuring some of Estonia’s most renowned musicians, along with American organist Don Verkuijlen, whose performance details can be found here.

The festival invites audiences to enjoy the timeless beauty of Bach’s music. And on 28 July, the anniversary of Bach’s death, another baroque master—Antonio Vivaldi—will also be remembered, as his compositions were a major influence on Bach’s own work.

The festival opens on Friday, 25 July, with the concert Rex Instrumentorum, featuring Don Verkuijlen on the organ. The programme includes works by Bach, Dietrich Buxtehude, Matthias Weckmann, and Charles-Marie Widor.

The festival programme also includes 30-minute organ sessions on Saturday and Sunday at 16:00. On Saturday, 26 July, the audience will hear Bach’s organ works along with selected movements from his cello suites. On Sunday, 27 July, the programme includes movements from Bach’s sonatas for solo violin.

The closing concert on 28 July features a performance of “Das Musikalische Opfer”—The Musical Offering—one of Bach’s most intricate and profound late works.

The full programme in Estonian is available here.

To learn more about this and similar topics
Bach Concert Events in Tallinn Niguliste organ St Nicholas Church