L nach L

It's tough getting used to German keyboards. The last few days I've been to Lübeck and Leipzig. Both have been great experiences, but in completely contrasting ways. Lübeck is rich, conservative, upper-middle class, but in spite of these contingencies I was immensely moved by the experience of going to the towering, ethereal Marienkirche and hearing the organ played. This is the 300th anniversary of Dietrich Buxtehude's death, and Buxtehude, one of the great composers for organ, was organist at the Marienkirche for many years. The experience was a bit like time travel: Buxtehude's music still rings out there, clearer than ever now, amplified by the old stones (still in place, in spite of their destruction in World War Two. The destruction is referenced only euphemistically: there was a "great fire" in 1942, apparently). Here in Leipzig, things are much more down to earth. The terrible communist tenements are still being demolished (as many people in the street look on with glee), but people are more light-hearted, they think nothing of crossing the road on a red Ampelmensch, and talk to you freely in the street. I suppose living under forty years of repression makes you value the opportunity to speak like that. Today I walked around the Thomaskirche and expected to feel something of the same time-travelling ethereality as in Lu¨beck. But there is nothing of the kind there. Although more austere, the Thomaskirche (J.S. Bach's place of employment for many years) is a great deal more honest. It feels like the experience of communism has reconciled this place with change, and with the value of championing and challenging change in different contexts. Moreover, Leipzig seems to recognize, as a civic place, that an honest account of history - a history whose traces remain visible in the built environment - is central to a healthy and happy outlook on life.

Labels: germany, music