Leipzig, Three Days In

Written on 1/13/15

We have now spent three full days in Leipzig and, in correspondence, I have taken about three hundred pictures. It looks like I have turned myself into some sort of unofficial trip photographer, which is not unexpected. So before I get into the bulk of my reflection on today's activities, I thought I would share a few of the highlights....

 Miranda Campos, Claire Rehmke, Annalise King, and Collin Ray waiting for our first fight at Seatac! 

 24 hours later and we had finally arrived at our hostel. This is the view outside.

First meal in Leipzig at the Kartoffelhaus (Potato House). Baked potato, smoked salmon, and creme fraiche. Delicious! 

 This coffee house was built in the 1700's. Bach, Mendelssohn, Schumann, and Telemann were all frequent visitors.

 Lyndi Knox in awe of the architecture. 

 Claire Rehmke, Ingrid Smith, Miranda Campos, Lyndi Knox, Jennifer Matson, and Torsen Necessary exploring on our first full day in Leipzig. 

 Nothing compares to the candy stores here! 

 Miranda Campos, Lyndi Knox, Jennifer Matson, Annalise King, Collin Ray, and Claire Rehmke getting ready for our walking tour 

 The architecture here is incredible! 

 Hanging out with Bach....

 ...And Goethe.

 Nerding out over an 18th century bassoon!

 Farmers market in the main square! The produce here sure beats the grocery stores back home.

 Outside the government building 

 We were treated to an incredible view of the city from the second highest tower in Leipzig

 The view came with a price though... it took many flights of stairs to get the the top.

 Germany does dessert right!

 At the Gewandhaus Brass Quintet concert. We were treated to a great atmosphere and amazing music!

Lyndi Knox and I enjoying the fancy ice cream sundaes that are served all over town here! 

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Now we've finally reached day three! For today's events, we started the afternoon by visiting two churches that Bach frequented...

 Claire, Lyndi, Jennifer, Ingrid, and I decided to run out to a local flower shop after breakfast to pick out flowers to lay on Bach's grave (more on that later)...

The first church we visited was Saint Nicholas, which I was unfortunately unable to take any pictures inside. Bach was not officially employed by this church but was said to have preferred the organ. I can definitely see why Bach would have liked it in Saint Nicholas. The church was absolutely breathtaking, with the flowered while ceiling almost appearing to grow out of the elaborate green and white pillars.

The next church we visited was Saint Thomas, where Bach was employed as Kapellmeister. The very architecture of this church pays homage to Bach. Check out this stained glass window inside the church that features him.

 While not quite as elaborate as Saint Nicholas, Saint Thomas was still very beautiful. There is something very humbling about being in a church that has stood there for hundreds of years. Saint Thomas felt very sacred. It is not hard to imagine Bach sitting at the organ during a service.

By far the most powerful experience I have had on this trip so far was getting to lay a flower on Johann Sebastian Bach's grave. You very rarely get an opportunity to say thank you, even in a small way, to a musical predecessor who left such a lasting impression. Without Bach, classical music as we know it today would be very different. Bach may have died many years ago, but his spirit felt very alive in this church.

 Next we visited the Bach museum, which is located in the home of Bach's neighbors and close friends, the Bose family.

 The museum was very cleverly constructed and provided many interactive ways to experience Bach's music. In this picture, electronic organ pipes play Bach's music when touched.

 While it took us a while to figure out how to use them, we loved these sound tubes and the many different opportunities to hear musical references throughout the museum.

Look, another 18th century bassoon! We loved getting to see and hear the baroque instruments that would have been used in Bach's orchestra.

The Bach museum was overall a very valuable experience. One thing I learned from going through the museum was how Johann Sebastian Bach was part of a huge musical lineage. Many of his predecessors were musical, as well as most of his twenty children. The museum featured not only Johann Sebastian's compositions but also the compositions of his ancestors and children as well, which I really appreciated.

Here, Ingrid enjoys the small garden attached to the museum that was meant to mimic the recreational garden that the Bose family would have had outside their home.

 For lunch we visited Germany's biggest department store, Karstadt. It has seven floors and features a big water show set to music every hour. It was a little cheesy (and we sat too close and got a little wet!) but still enjoyable.

Finally, the main event of the day was Kurt Weill's Threepenny Opera (Die Dreigroschenoper), . This "opera" was actually a "singspiel" or play with music. The production was strange but in the best way possible. The show opened with giant letters spelling out the German name of the play across the stage. Throughout the play, the letters were moved around and used as various set pieces. For example, the giant "C" was used as a bed and, at one point, one of the actresses rocked back and forth and tipped the C over while singing. The use of the letters was very creative. It was minimalistic but compelling to look at and definitely enhanced the performance for me. I also really appreciated the many theatrical aspects of the show as well. The actors were absolutely phenomenal. Even from the very beginning of the show, where the actors are just walking around the stage removing letters while the narrator sings, their movements were so purposeful and distinct that I already started to get a sense of the personality of each character before the play even started. Although we were really there to listen to the music, at many points throughout the performance I found myself wishing that my theater-major roommate was there watching along with me because of how incredible the actors were. It really says something that, even though the play was entirely in German without subtitles, I still felt like I got a good understanding of the plot and each character. Finally, the music in "The Threepenny Opera" was extraordinary. I felt like the instrumentalists really captured the gritty, abrasive quality of the show while still playing with effortless technique. I also thought it was interesting that the musicians were actually seated on the back of the stage. This was a very cool choice because it not only featured the musicians but also allowed the actors to interact with the orchestra. For example, at one point, one of actresses made her way through the orchestra, asking various musicians for a cigarette. The only problem I noticed with this setup is that there were a couple times where the singers were a few seconds off from the musicians. My only other complaint about the show was the actors smoking on stage. At first I thought this was a really cool way to add to the atmosphere of the play (and something you would never see in America!). However, I must admit that the smoke started to give me a bit of a headache by the end. Overall, I thought the Threepenny Opera was quirky and the production really captured the essence of the show. 

This is probably not worth noting, but I thought I would let everyone know that after the show, I ate one of the best pizzas of my life. An alternative title for this blog post could be "Megan Eats Her Way Through Germany." Stay tuned for my next post about the Gewandhaus Orchestra performance, which I am extremely excited for.

Tschüss!

Megan Cummings