Bach: Magnificat at Chateau de Versailles

演出简介

Experience classical music like never before in this astonishing performance of masterworks by Bach at Versailles's remarkable Versailles Palace.

About the Composer

The name Bach and the word musician had long been synonyms in Germany as the world saw 56 musicians from this kin. But it was Johann Sebastian Bach, a genius composer and virtuoso organ player, who shed lustre on his family name. He was born on th 31st of March 1685 in Eisenach, a small town in Thuringia. At the age of 10 he became an orphan and was brought up by his elder brother Johann Christoph, who was an organist in a neighbouring town. His brother was the one to teach music to the young Johann Sebastian. Later he moved to Luneburg where he attended a church school and mastered the techniques of playing violin, viola, piano and organ by the age of 17. Besides that, Bach was a choir singer and later after his voice broke he became a chanter’s assistant.
In 1703 Bach was hired as a court musician in the chapel of Duke Johann Ernst III. He earned such a good reputation there that he was later invited to Arnstadt to be an organist at the New Church, where he wrote his best organ works. In 1723 he moved to Leipzig to be a chantor at St. Thomas Church where he stayed until his death of a stroke in 1750. In the year of his death he had undergone unsuccessful eye surgery which lead him to lose his eyesight. During that strenuous time his second wife Anna Magdalena helped him to write his last musical pieces. Bach’s artistic legacy is vast. He created compositions in all genres of the time: oratorias, cantatas, masses, motets, music for organ, piano and violin.

About the Venue

Marvel at the lavish grandeur of the Palace of Versailles, a huge Baroque complex comprising a former royal residence, incredible gardens, spectacular fountains, and the Museum of the History of France. The complex stretches over 787 hectares and is a major UNESCO World Heritage Site. Restoration began in 1892, and although interrupted by both World Wars, among other cataclysmic events, continues today.
Visitors should devote a whole day to Versailles, with its abundance of attractions. Deservedly, the most famous room is the Hall of Mirrors — a 70 metre gallery decorated with 17 huge mirrors that reflect the opposite windows and their garden views. However, the Royal Opera of Versailles is another of the Palace's gems. Its' wooden interior painted to look like marble means that the opera house boasts superb acoustics, as well as the finest décor.

Treat yourself to the best of classical music amidst the opulence of this world‐famous palace!