Thüringer Bach Collegium

The Thüringer Bach Collegium is based in Arnstadt. In its position as Thuringian cultural ambassador, the ensemble considers it its task to rediscover the musical treasures written by composers who worked at the Thuringian courts; treasures currently slumbering in the archives. By performing in concerts and making guest appearances at numerous festivals, the ensemble carries Thuringian music out into the world. The Thüringer Bach Collegium was founded by two experienced orchestral musicians from the Thuringian cultural scene, and is led by Gernot Süßmuth, following in the footsteps of Johann Sebastian Bach as concert master of the Staatskapelle Weimar, formerly the Hofkapelle Weimar. Christian Bergmann, the managing director and double bass player, has played with the Staatskapelle Weimar since 2001. Both have had a connection with Bach’s music since their earliest childhood; Christian Bergmann was born in Arnstadt and was actually baptized in the Bach Church. In the four years of its existence, the Thüringer Bach Collegium has already recorded some Thuringian musical gems. Their highly acclaimed debut recording ‘Concerti’ is the first complete recording of the works of Prince Johann Ernst IV of Saxe- Weimar (1696–1715). The four orchestral suites by Johann Bernhard Bach were recorded in the Georgenkirche in Eisenach – the church where Johann Sebastian Bach was baptized. In the Arnstadt Oberkirche the ensemble recorded all of Anton Schweitzer’s surviving sacred works. In autumn 2020 they devoted themselves to arrangements of instrumental concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach, and the organ arrangements for this recording were played by Jörg Reddin on the Wender organ in the Bach Church.