‚The week before‘ Wittenberg Festival for the Anniversary of the Reformation and Renaissance Music Festival, 20–31 October 2017 In the days leading up to the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther nailing his 95 Theses to the door of Castle Church, outstanding events will be staged for visitors and residents of Lutherstadt Wittenberg. And with an extensive series of concerts, exhibitions, public talks and a medieval spectacle, there’s truly something for everyone! The festivities will culminate on 31 October with the 12th Wittenberg Renaissance Music Festival held under the banner of ‘Father of Songs – Martin Luther and his Music’. Featuring special church services, a state ceremony and celebratory concerts, the town will commemorate how the Reformation began in 1517 in Wittenberg – and changed the entire world. Information on all the concerts and events of the 12th Wittenberg Renaissance Music Festival www.wittenberger-renaissancemusik.de (subject to alteration) Date and time Place Event Fri 20 Oct All Saints’ Church ‘A Mighty Fortress Is Our God’ – opening concert of the Wittenberg 7pm (Castle Church) Renaissance Music Festival featuring Wittenberger Hofkapelle 25 €/20 € Fri 20 Oct Luther House ‘Martin Luther: Subject and Free Spirit – A Lutheran Reformation 8pm programme’ The play will show how the monk and son of a leaseholder of copper mines unintentionally divided the church and invented both High Ger- man (for the sake of general intelligibility) and self-determined faith. Play produced by Dein Theater; www.martinluther.de 10 €/8 € Sat 21 Oct Courtyard of ‘An Apple called Martin Luther’ – Presentation of 95 apple trees of the 2pm Leucorea variety named after Martin Luther to subscribers www.martin-luther-apfel.de Sat 21.10. All Saints’ Church Dance music from the Renaissance from Germany and Scotland 15:00 Uhr (Castle Church) featuring Praetorius Consort Wittenberg – Concert in the Wittenberg Renaissance Music Festival Admission free Date and time Place Event Sat 21 Oct St Mary’s Town ‘The Beast Can Swim – At Luther‘s Long Table’ – Premiere of the mu- 7pm Church sical theatre project by the Children’s Choir of Leipzig Opera and the Michael Praetorius Youth Orchestra, libretto by Tobias Rohe – Concert in the Wittenberg Renaissance Music Festival (For children aged 6+) 20 €/15 € Sat 21 Oct Art studio, ‘Network Reformation: The reformatory and religious language of 8pm Schlossstr. 1 Cranach’s studio’ – Public talk by Professor Josef Walch www.cranach-stiftung.de Sat 21 Oct Luther House ‘Katharina von Bora – The profession of Mrs Luther’ – 8pm Play by Dein Theater mit Gesine Keller www.martinluther.de 10 €/8 € Sat 21 Oct Tourist Information ‘Wittenberg Night Tales with Captain Johann’ – 9pm Centre A historical guided tour (booking advisable) on Schlossplatz www.lutherstadt-wittenberg.de 10 €/6 € Sun 22 Oct All Saints’ Church ‘In the Midst of Life’ – Concert in the Wittenberg Renaissance Music 5pm (Castle Church) Festival featuring Lautten Compagney and Calmus Ensemble 25 €/20 € Mon 23 Oct Luther House ‘Musica, for Pleasure and Joy’ – Concert in the Wittenberg Renais- 7pm sance Music Festival featuring the B-Five Recorder Consort 15 €/10 € Tue 24 Oct All Saints’ Church ‘OrgelPunkt12’ – 30 minutes of organ music 12 noon (Castle Church) featuring Steven Hoffmann, USA www.schlosskirche-wittenberg.de Admission free Tue 24 Oct Cranach-Hof ‘Schlag auf Schlag – In Quick Succession’ – 5pm Markt 4 and The adventures of the Abrafaxe with Luther and Cranach etc. Schlossstr. 1 Exhibition opening with original drawings www.cranach-stiftung.de Tue 24 Oct Luther House ‘The Printing of the 95 Theses in Leipzig in 1517’ – 6.30pm Public talk by Mirko Gutjahr www.martinluther.de Admission free Tue 24 Oct Catholic Church ‘Hildegard of Bingen’ – Concert in the Wittenberg Renaissance Music 7pm Festival featuring VocaMe Admission free Wed 25 Oct Melanchthon House ‘Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon: Scenes from a relationship’ – 7pm Melanchthon reading with musical accompaniment by Thomas Höhne and Christoph Sommer on Renaissance lutes 15 €/10 € Thu 26 October All Saints’ Church ‘OrgelPunkt12’ – 30 minutes of organ music 12 noon (Castle Church) featuring Steven Hoffmann, USA www.schlosskirche-wittenberg.de Admission free Fri 27 Oct Stadthaus ‘Dolcissima Speranza – A mystery play about music’s power of hope’ – 7pm Concert in the Wittenberg Renaissance Music Festival featuring I Confidenti from Potsdam 20 €/15 € Date and time Place Event Sat 28 Oct Old Town Hall Exhibition of musical instruments during the Wittenberg Renaissance From 1pm Music Festival Admission free Sat 28 Oct All Saints’ Church ‘Now shineth the sun with golden glow’ – Concert in the Wittenberg 3pm (Castle Church) Renaissance Music Festival featuring The Muses’ Fellows Admission free Sat 28 Oct Old Town Hall Historical ball featuring all’improvviso 8pm 30 €/25 € Sun 29 Oct Tourist Information ‘Nocturnal Eroticism – The art of culinary seduction’ (booking required) 6pm Centre www.lutherstadt-wittenberg.de on Schlossplatz 46 € Sun 29 Oct Art studio at Cra- ‘Lute Music from the Renaissance to Baroque’ – Concert in the Wit- 7pm nach-Hof tenberg Renaissance Music Festival featuring Rolf Lislevand 15 €/10 € Sun/ 29/30 Oct Protestant Academy ‘2017: The Beginning, not the End’ – Mon Luther seminar by Dr Alf Christophersen www.ev-akademie-wittenberg.de Mon/ 30/31 Oct Market Square Market spectacle celebrating the Reformation Tue Unique historical atmosphere conjured up on and around the Market Square by stalls featuring craftsmen, merchants and purveyors of food and drink as well as plenty of musicians and jugglers www.wittenberger-reformationsfest.de Mon 30 Oct Luther House ‘The Night Before: A musical journey through 1517 in Wittenberg’ – 10pm Featuring Wittenberger Hofkapelle and Dr Stefan Rhein www.wittenberger-renaissancemusik.de 30 €/25 € Mon/ 30/31 Oct Schlossplatz and ‘luthERleuchtet 2017’ Tue 6pm Market Square Light installation and concert performance by Ingo Bracke Tue 31 Oct All Saints’ Church Church service in English 7.30am (Castle Church) conducted by Reverend Dr Robert Moore and with a sermon by Reverend Dr Rafael Malpica-Padilla (both from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) Tue 31 Oct St Mary’s Town Church services marking Reformation Day – 10am Church and All With Bishop Ilse Junkermann and Dr Johannes Block (Town Church), 10.15am Saints’ Church Dr Margot Kässmann, ambassador of the Reformation anniversary (Castle Church) (All Saints’ Church), and Pastor Friedrich Schorlemmer (courtyard of Courtyard of Leucorea) Leucorea, Collegienstr. 62 www.stadtkirchengemeinde-wittenberg.de www.schlosskirche-wittenberg.de Tue 31 Oct Tourist Information Public guided tours – special times 11am Centre on A walk through the historical old town from All Saints’ Church (Castle 12 noon Schlossplatz Church) via the two Cranach-Hofs, the Market Square and St Mary’s 1pm Town Church to Melanchthon House. The tour will end after 90 minu- 2pm tes at Luther House (outdoor tour only) – Booking required 3pm www.lutherstadt-wittenberg.de 7 €/4 € Tue 31 Oct Cranach House Cranach’s World – Tour of the exhibition and the Cranach-Hofs 12 noon Markt 4 www.cranach-stiftung.de Date and time Place Event Tue 31 Oct Art studio at ‘Luther the Man – Hey, Luther, the Reformation’s still underway!’ – 12.30pm Cranach-Hof Public talk marking Reformation Day by Dr Friedrich Schorlemmer www.cranach-stiftung.de 8 € Tue 31 Oct Bugenhagen Hall ‘Luther’s Top 5 Ideas – The essential truths of the Reformation you 1pm, need to know’ 2.30pm Public talks by the Lutheran World Federation: Andrew Wilson, Minneapolis: ‘Luther the Hiker: The real story of Luther’s longest walk to Rome (and a 21st century couple who set out to re-create it)’ www.lwb-zentrum-wittenberg.de Admission free Tue 31 Oct Exerzierhalle TV screening of the commemorative service from All Saints’ Church 2.30–6pm (Castle Church) and the ceremony at Stadthaus in Exerzierhalle (next to the New Town Hall) 2.30pm Prelude with choir and wind instruments 3–4pm Church service with live transmission from Castle Church 4–5pm Reformation coffee time and conclusion of the campaign ‘Theses for 2017’ 5–6pmr Live transmission of the ceremony from Stadthaus Admission free. Doors open at 2pm www.luther2017.de, www.evangelische-wittenbergstiftung.de Tue 31 Oct Catholic Church Concert in the Wittenberg Renaissance Music Festival featuring Lo- 3pm renz Duftschmid and Rolf Lislevand 5pm Admission free Tue 31 Oct Bugenhagen Hall ‘Luther for Beginners’ – Public talk by Dr Johannes Block, the pastor of St 4pm Mary’s Town Church www.stadtkirchengemeinde-wittenberg.de Admission free Tue 31 Oct All Saints’ Church ‘Festival of Hymns’ – Hymns from 500 years since the Reformation – 5.30pm (Castle Church) Listen and join in! – Featuring Valparaiso University Chorale (USA) and various wind players from the Protestant Church of Central Germany www.schlosskirche-wittenberg.de Admission free Tue 31 Oct St Mary’s Town ‘Here I Stand and Sing’! – Concert marking Reformation Day in- 6.30pm Church cluding compositions by Bach and Mendelssohn – Performed by Wittenberg Choir, soloists and orchestra – Conductor: Cantor Heike Mross-Lamberti www.stadtkirchengemeinde-wittenberg.de 28 €/ 14 €/ 9 €, concessions 5 € (+49 (0)3491 404415) Sun 5 Nov All Saints’ Church Final concert of the Wittenberg Renaissance Music Festival featuring 3pm (Castle Church) Valparaiso University Chorale and Leipzig Baroque Orchestra www.wittenberger-renaissancemusik.de 25 €/20 € Guided tours of Lutherstadt Wittenberg