The Kantorei St. Katharinen is under the direction of Church Music Director Andreas Fischer an integral part of the communal life of the main church on the Hafen City and the church music life of the Hanseatic city of Hamburg. With approximately one hundred members, the choir involved in the organization of worship services as well as in hosting demanding oratorio and a cappella concerts.
In 2007, the Kantorei celebrated its 50th anniversary. After the reconstruction of the destroyed during World War II, St.-Katharinen-Kirche the newly appointed church musician Thomas Dittmann founded in 1957 again the Kantorei, whose direction Andreas Fischer took over in 1994. In addition to the concerts, travel to Germany and abroad, conviviality and volunteer work determine the life of the choir.
In addition to the Passions and Weihnachts-Oratorium (BWV 248) by J.S. Bach, the choir presents a major oratorio performance in the fall once a year, with mostly works from the 19th or 20th century on the program. The epertoire consists of well-known (W.A. Mozart's Requiem, Johannes Brahms' Deutsches Requiem, Felix Mendelssohn's Elias, Verdi's Requiem) and lesser-known works (Mauersberger's Dresdner Requiem, Rossini's Stabat mater, Ernst Pepping's Passionsbericht des Matthäus). In addition, they perform a cappella programs and regularly organize musically the larger church services at St. Katharinen with J.S. Bach's cantatas and masses. |