Berlin Bach Days St. Marien

St. Marienkirche — Heart of Old Berlin

The St. Marienkirche on Karl-Liebknecht-Straße is Berlin's second-oldest parish church after St. Nicholas' Church. Built from 1270 onwards, it is a Gothic hall church made of Brandenburg brick, with the famous Dance of Death fresco (around 1485) inside. It is one of the few medieval churches in Berlin that survived the bombing war. The church forms a contrasting anchor in the cityscape — a 750-year-old sacred building stands right next to the TV Tower at Alexanderplatz.

The Bach Days as a Tradition

The Berlin Bach Days have established themselves as an annual festival in the 2010s. They follow a clearly structured format: two weeks around the Passiontide (typically March), with a program of lectures on Bach's life and work, short organ recitals (often 20 minutes, free admission), longer organ concerts, and a central major work — usually one of the Passions or a cantata from the Bach repertoire. The spectrum ranges from Buxtehude to Krebs, from early Baroque to Bach's sons and relatives.

Marie-Louise Schneider and Aurum Vocale

The musical director is St. Marien's choirmaster Marie-Louise Schneider. She regularly works with the vocal ensemble Aurum Vocale, the MarienVokalensemble, the Aris et Aulis Baroque Orchestra, and various soloists. The concept focuses on historically informed performance practice with chamber music ensembles — not a monumental mass choir, but transparent, dense interpretations.

Program 2026 — St. Matthew Passion

The focus of the 2026 Bach Days is a performance of the St. Matthew Passion BWV 244, Bach's great Passion oratorio from 1727. The performance on Sunday, March 29, 2026, at 7 p.m. in St. Marienkirche uses a chamber music version by French conductor Dominique Sourisse, arranged for a small baroque ensemble — while fully preserving the liturgical and dramatic content. The day before, on Saturday, March 28, 2026, a parallel performance will take place at the Passionskirche Berlin-Kreuzberg.