Visiting the Grave of CPE Bach – St. Michael Church, Hamburg

I was traveling from Berlin to London on a Sunday and had Saturday free, so I went to visit the grave of my beloved CPE Bach.

His grave is in St. Michael's Church, where he served as music director.Michaeliskirche)is.

The exterior of the church is made of brick and looks rather modest, but the interior is in Baroque style with extensive use of curves, making it feel more luxurious than the exterior.

When I went inside, the orchestra was rehearsing. The sound was so smooth that I wanted to hear the live performance. Of course, I couldn't.

The oratorio "Israel in the Wilderness" (Wq.1768, H.238) was written by CPE Bach when he became the music director of the city of Hamburg in 775. It was composed between the latter half of 1768 and 1769. It has a certain romantic flavor, and is a work that is similar to Mendelssohn's "Elijah".¹This song is also said to have had an influence on.

Now, CPE Bach's grave is located in the basement of the church.

There should also be the grave of Telemann, CPE Bach's godfather and the previous Hamburg Music Director, but I had trouble finding it.

You can take an elevator to the top of the church tower. When you reach the top, you can see the whole of Hamburg. If you have a Hamburg Card (9.90€), you can go up for 4€.

This church has been burned down many times and much of it has been rebuilt, including the upper part of the tower (which was made of wood). Perhaps the black molten bricks are remnants of those fires.

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1. It's not played much in Japan, but it's a really good song. I've played it before.