Seelenbräutigam: The Drese Effect

Before “Bach” was synonymous with “musician” in the German state of Thuringia, the name “Drese” was already associated with the musical leadership of this region. Adam Drese and his cousin Johann Samuel Drese helped shaped the musical landscape that Johann Sebastian Bach entered into—Johann Samuel was even Kapellmeister in Weimar during Bach’s tenure in the city. While much of their repertoire has been lost to history, the Drese cousins were hugely influential, including on the young Bach. A mainstay of our June Festivals since 2019, the American chamber ensemble ACRONYM débuts on our annual concert series in a program that assembles for the first time nearly all of the extant works by the Drese cousins, along with several of Bach’s arrangements of them. Comprised of some of North America’s finest young Early Music specialists, ACRONYM is joined by an all-star roster of guest artists, including historical brass players, for the modern premiere of Adam Drese’s funeral motet, Wie selig sind die Toten, the earliest-known work written for slide trumpet.