An emperor of song

To mark the 350th anniversary of Reinhard Keiser's birth, a concert with vocal soloists, baroque dance and the Baroque Orchestra of the University of the Arts (HfK) Bremen under the direction of Prof. Mechthild Karkow will take place on Friday, November 8, 2024, 7:30 pm, in the HfK Gallery at Dechanatstraße 13-15. admission is free

Reinhard Keiser, the important Baroque composer (1674-1739), left behind an extensive oeuvre that includes sacred and secular works These include passions, oratorios, psalm settings, cantatas and masses as well as special serenatas as festive music, which, like the magnificent opera compositions (over 60 works have been documented), can almost all be attributed to the Hanseatic and imperial city of Hamburg The so-called Hamburg Opera on Gänsemarkt, the first German standing opera stage, existed there from 1679 to 1738. Keiser played a decisive role in the house for decades, he was the main composer and at times even a tenant, and the institution's weal and woe was closely linked to his person

The concert by the HfK Baroque Orchestra provides a multi-layered impression of Reinhard Keiser's work, with particular emphasis on compositional characteristics. These include both ingratiating and furious passages, a fine feel for the use of speech settings and a cornucopia of special instrumentation. Not only arias and recitatives from the operas “Orpheus”, “Claudius”, “Adonis”, “Desiderius”, “Pomona”, “Fredegunda”, “Masagniello”, “Arsinoe”, “Janus” from the years 1697 to 1715 and a complete cantata can be heard, but also instrumental interludes in the sense of a Gesamtkunstwerk, which are used here more for variety and also for visual edification with the performance of baroque dance. In France, this was an art in the sense of ballet, detached from the social function in the ballroom and clearly a means in the hands of the king to demonstrate power and wealth - the etiquette also had an inspiring effect throughout Europe.

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