Concert for handbell ensemble plus organ, recorder and vocals
23 June | 3 p.m.
Altar and choir room of the Wittenberg Castle Church
Free admission | Collection at the exit
On Sunday, June 23 at 3 p.m., the next concert in the Castle Music series will take place in the Wittenberg Castle Church with the motto "Ring Praise Plus!" Both handbell ensembles of the Castle Church, with a total of 16 people, will play music at the front of the chancel. Visitors to the concert are invited to sit in the church's choir room to not only enjoy an exciting sound experience of the bells, but also to make the playing styles and techniques of handbell playing visible (you can secure a good seat from 2.30 p.m.)!
In addition to works for handbell ensembles, the program also includes works combined with recorder, organ and vocals. There is also an opportunity to get active yourself and sing along to the accompaniment of the handbells and organ.
Handbells are bronze-cast instruments from the USA, where each player in the ensemble plays two to four bells in their hand using different techniques. The chimes, metal rods with a light, floating sound, complement and expand the sound space of the handbells in the concert. Since 2011 we have been happy to play these instruments in the ensemble at the castle church! The musical director is the castle church cantor Sarah Herzer.
According to tradition, on October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses in Latin on this door, inviting scholars to debate them. The purpose of this debate was to clarify whether the Church's practice of selling indulgences was in accordance with the teachings of Jesus. This marked the beginning of the Reformation. The original wooden "Thesis Door" was destroyed in the great fire that ravaged the church in 1760. In 1858, King Frederick William IV of Prussia donated the current bronze door, on the panels of which the Latin text of the theses is cast.