Georg Christoph Biller
Encyclopedia
Georg Christoph Biller is a German choral conductor, conducting the Thomanerchor
since 1992 as the sixteenth Thomaskantor
since Johann Sebastian Bach
. He is also a baritone, an academic and a composer.
, from 1965 to 1974 under Erhard Mauersberger
and Hans-Joachim Rotzsch
.
He studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater „Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy“ Leipzig from 1976 until 1981, orchestral conducting with Rolf Reuter and Kurt Masur
, and voice. He was a teacher for choral conducting at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold
in 1991.
In November 1992, George Christoph Biller was appointed Thomaskantor as the 16th successor of Bach in this position. The choir performs regularly three times a week in the St. Thomas Church, Leipzig, "Motette" every Friday evening at 6 and every Saturday afternoon at 3, typically including a Bach cantata
, and service on Sundays at 9 o'clock.
In January 1994 Biller was appointed professor of choral conducting at the Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Hochschule. In May 1996 he became a member of the Sächsische Akademie der Künste (Academy of Arts of Saxony).
of Bach's St Matthew Passion.
In 2009 he initiated that the cantatas of Bach's Christmas Oratorio
were performed in St. Thomas and St. Nicholas in services for the six feast days of the Christmas season as Bach had intended it 275 years earlier.
On Good Friday 2010 he conducted Bach's St Matthew Passion in the Thomaskirche with Martin Petzold as the Evangelist
, Klaus Mertens
(words of Jesus), Ute Selbig, Britta Schwarz, Martin Lattke, Thomas Laske, the Thomanerchor and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig.
Thomanerchor
The Thomanerchor is a boys' choir in Leipzig, Germany. The choir was founded in 1212. At present, the choir consists of 92 boys from 9 to 18 years of age...
since 1992 as the sixteenth Thomaskantor
Thomaskantor
The Thomaskantor is the musical director of the Thomanerchor in Leipzig, founded in 1212. He is appointed by Leipzig's city council and his duties are to lead the weekly services called Motette, Sunday services and other services in the Thomaskirche, also to conduct recordings and tours.Johann...
since Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
. He is also a baritone, an academic and a composer.
Biography
Georg Christoph Biller was a Thomaner, a member of the ThomanerchorThomanerchor
The Thomanerchor is a boys' choir in Leipzig, Germany. The choir was founded in 1212. At present, the choir consists of 92 boys from 9 to 18 years of age...
, from 1965 to 1974 under Erhard Mauersberger
Erhard Mauersberger
Erhard Mauersberger was a German choral conductor, conducting the Thomanerchor as the fourteenth Thomaskantor since Johann Sebastian Bach...
and Hans-Joachim Rotzsch
Hans-Joachim Rotzsch
Hans-Joachim Rotzsch is a German choral conductor, conducting the Thomanerchor from 1972 until 1991 as the fifteenth Thomaskantor since Johann Sebastian Bach. He is also a tenor and an academic.- Biography :...
.
He studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater „Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy“ Leipzig from 1976 until 1981, orchestral conducting with Rolf Reuter and Kurt Masur
Kurt Masur
Kurt Masur is a German conductor, particularly noted for his interpretation of German Romantic music.- Biography :Masur was born in Brieg, Lower Silesia, Germany and studied piano, composition and conducting in Leipzig, Saxony. Masur has been married three times...
, and voice. He was a teacher for choral conducting at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold
Hochschule für Musik Detmold
The University of Music Detmold is one of Germany's leading university-level schools of music, situated in Detmold, Germany.- Academics :...
in 1991.
In November 1992, George Christoph Biller was appointed Thomaskantor as the 16th successor of Bach in this position. The choir performs regularly three times a week in the St. Thomas Church, Leipzig, "Motette" every Friday evening at 6 and every Saturday afternoon at 3, typically including a Bach cantata
Bach cantata
Bach cantata became a term for a cantata of the German Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach who was a prolific writer of the genre. Although many of his works are lost, around 200 cantatas survived....
, and service on Sundays at 9 o'clock.
In January 1994 Biller was appointed professor of choral conducting at the Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Hochschule. In May 1996 he became a member of the Sächsische Akademie der Künste (Academy of Arts of Saxony).
Special projects
In 2000 he prepared the Thomanerchor for a collaboration with the Knabenchor Hannover for a recorded performance in HannoverHanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
of Bach's St Matthew Passion.
In 2009 he initiated that the cantatas of Bach's Christmas Oratorio
Christmas Oratorio
The Christmas Oratorio BWV 248, is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It was written for the Christmas season of 1734 incorporating music from earlier compositions, including three secular cantatas written during 1733 and 1734 and a...
were performed in St. Thomas and St. Nicholas in services for the six feast days of the Christmas season as Bach had intended it 275 years earlier.
On Good Friday 2010 he conducted Bach's St Matthew Passion in the Thomaskirche with Martin Petzold as the Evangelist
Evangelist (Bach)
The Evangelist in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach is the tenor part in his oratorios and Passions who narrates the exact words of the Bible, translated by Martin Luther, in recitative, namely in the works St John Passion, St Matthew Passion, and the Christmas Oratorio, also in the St Mark...
, Klaus Mertens
Klaus Mertens
Klaus Mertens is a German bass and bass-baritone singer who is known especially for his interpretation of the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach.-Professional career:Klaus Mertens took singing lessons while attending school...
(words of Jesus), Ute Selbig, Britta Schwarz, Martin Lattke, Thomas Laske, the Thomanerchor and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig.
Selected recordings
- J.S. Bach: Matthäus-Passion, Martin Petzold, Andreas SchmidtAndreas Schmidt (baritone)Andreas Schmidt is a German classical bass-baritone in opera and concert.- Professional career :Andreas Schmidt studied church music with his father Hartmut Schmidt and singing with Ingeborg Reichelt and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.His 1984 debut was in the part of Malatesta in Donizetti's Don...
, Monika FrimmerMonika Frimmer- Professional career :Monika Frimmer studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover in Hannover. She studied further in master-classes and worked with Birgit Nilsson, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Jörg Demus...
, Bogna BartoszBogna BartoszBogna Bartosz is a Polish classical mezzo-soprano and alto.- Biography :Bogna Bartosz studied voice at the Academy of Music in Gdansk and graduated with distinction...
, Olaf BärOlaf BärOlaf Bär is a German operatic baritone.- Life :Bär received his musical training in his home city of Dresden, studying at the city's Hochschule für Musik. His career has concentrated on lieder and on the lyric baritone roles of the operatic repertoire...
, ThomanerchorThomanerchorThe Thomanerchor is a boys' choir in Leipzig, Germany. The choir was founded in 1212. At present, the choir consists of 92 boys from 9 to 18 years of age...
& Gewandhaus Kinderchor, Gewandhausorchester LeipzigLeipzig Gewandhaus OrchestraThe Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra is one of the the oldest symphony orchestras in the world...
, conductor Georg Christoph Biller, Unitel 1998 - J.S. Bach: Johannes-Passion, Marcus UllmannMarcus Ullmann- Professional career :Marcus Ullmann received his first musical training as a choir boy in the Dresdner Kreuzchor. He studied at the Dresden Music Academy and graduated with honours in Lieder, Choral Work and Opera...
, Gotthold Schwarz, Ruth HoltonRuth Holton-Training:Holton won a choral exhibition at Clare College, Cambridge and studied music there. Her later musical studies were with Elizabeth Lane, Nancy Long and Julie Kennard.-Career:...
, Matthias Rexroth, Henryk Bö̈hm, ThomanerchorThomanerchorThe Thomanerchor is a boys' choir in Leipzig, Germany. The choir was founded in 1212. At present, the choir consists of 92 boys from 9 to 18 years of age...
, Gewandhausorchester LeipzigLeipzig Gewandhaus OrchestraThe Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra is one of the the oldest symphony orchestras in the world...
, conductor Georg Christoph Biller, Rondeau 2007
Selected compositions
- Der apostolische Segen (The apostolic blessing)
- Naunhofer Choralbuch (Naunhof book of chorales)
- Responsorien
- Gesänge nach Worten von Clemens Brentano (songs after Clemens BrentanoClemens BrentanoClemens Brentano, or Klemens Brentano was a German poet and novelist.-Overview:He was born in Ehrenbreitstein, near Koblenz, Germany. His sister was Bettina von Arnim, Goethe's correspondent. His father's family was of Italian descent. He studied in Halle and Jena, afterwards residing at...
) - 7 Lieder aus Stille (Seven songs from silence)
- Psalmen David (Psalms of DavidDavidDavid was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
) - Eine kleine Thomasmusik (alluding to Mozart's Eine kleine NachtmusikEine kleine NachtmusikThe Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major, K. 525 was written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1787. The work is more commonly known by the title Eine kleine Nachtmusik. The German title means "a little serenade", though it is often rendered more literally but less accurately as "a little night music"...
, 2000) - Der Nebraer Himmelspsalm (The Nebra heavenly psalm)
- Res severa verum gaudium (a round)
- Herr, tue meine Lippen auf (Lord, open my lips)
- Verleih uns Friede (Grant us peace)
- In einem Glauben (In one faith, 2009)
External links
- Georg Christoph Biller on the Thomanerchor website
- Georg Christoph Biller on the website of the Hochschule für Musik und Theater „Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy“ Leipzig
- Georg Christoph Biller on the website of the Sächsische Akademie der Künste
- Das Authentische an Bach ist seine geistliche Dimension (The authenticity of Bach is his spiritual dimension), Interview with Stefan Klöckner on 26 January 2000, in Musica Sacra, also short biography (in German)
- Georg Christoph Biller & Thomanerchor recordings of Bach's works on bach-cantatas
- Entries for Georg Christoph Biller on WorldCatWorldCatWorldCat is a union catalog which itemizes the collections of 72,000 libraries in 170 countries and territories which participate in the Online Computer Library Center global cooperative...