What is a “Church Music Seminar”?
For over 25 years we offered an annual course in Zurich on a musical topic related to church music. This course was aimed at anyone who enjoys music, but also at those who wish to relate to it but feel they don’t understand any of it. No previous knowledge was required. The presentations were designed in such a way that absolute laymen as well as connoisseurs of church music could have an enriching experience.
A big thank you goes to the renowned speakers who gave a “quality label” to the lecture series by their acceptance. –
1982: The chorale
– The German Protestant Hymn
– The significance of the chorale for the life of the congregation in the past and present
– History of the origin of the Psalms – Psalms in the history of music
Franz Rechsteiner
Jakob Kobelt
Conrad Zwicky
1983: The Sonata
– Sonatas of the Baroque
– Form and structure of the sonatas of the Classical and Romantic periods
– Sonatas of the Classical Period
– Sonatas of the Romantic Period
Conrad Zwicky
Dr. B. Billeter
Samuel Langmeier
1984: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
– Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: His life and work
– Mozart and a late admirer
– Mozart’s piano and violin sonatas
– Mozart’s church sonatas and sacred works
Rev. H.W. Maurer
Dr. B. Billeter
Conrad Zwicky
1985: Joh. Seb. Bach
– Joh. Sebastian Bach, his life and work
– Structure of the tonally ordered cycles, explained with reference to one of Bach’s models: “Ariadne musiva” by J.K.F. Fischer
– The two-part inventions
– Bach’s chorale preludes
Dr. B. Billeter
Conrad Zwicky
1986: G. F. Händel
– G.F. Händel: His life and work
– Chamber Music and Spiritual Arias
– The Messiah – a paradigm of the oratorios
– The Organ Concertos by G.F. Händel
Prof. U. Asper
Rev. U. Grässli
Conrad Zwicky
1987: The organ and its thousand faces
– Organs in Switzerland
– The organ in worship
– The organ as an entertainer
– The organ in concert
Jakob Kobelt, consultant for organ questions of the Federal Commission for the Preservation of Historical Monuments
Conrad Zwicky
1988: Spiritual music by Mendelssohn and Brahms
– Felix Mendelssohn: His life and work
– Organ music by Mendelssohn
– The Oratorio “Elijah
– Organ music by Brahms
Prof. U. Asper
Dr. B. Billeter
Conrad Zwicky
1989: Organs in Zurich
– Basic features of organ building
– The organs of the Predigerkirche and the Grossmünster
– The organ of the Johanneskirche and the new organ
in the Zwinglikirche
– History of the Organ in Zurich
Conrad Zwicky
Rudolf Scheidegger
Dr. F. Jakob
1990: The chorale
– On the history of the evangelical hymn and the vocal chorale arrangement
– The organ chorale
– The chorale in the congregation
– The chorale in concert literature
Prof. U. Asper
Conrad Zwicky
1991: A walk through music history
– A musical orienteering course
– The Awakening of the Musical Baroque
– From the High Baroque to the Classical Period
– From Romanticism to Modernism
Prof. U. Asper
Conrad Zwicky
1992: Ricercare, Passacaglia, Toccata and Fantasy
– Toccata
– Passacaglia
– Fantasia
– Ricercare
Prof. U. Asper
Conrad Zwicky
Werner Zumsteg
1993: Organ Sonatas
– Bach’s Trio Sonatas
– Classical organ sonatas
– Sonatas by Hindemith
Felix Pachlatko
Conrad Zwicky
1994: Secrets of organ building
– Introduction to organ building
– Tour of the organ building company Kuhn
– The organ in the monastery church of St. Urban
– The Haas organ in the ref. church of Thalwil
Conrad Zwicky
Dr. Fritz Jakob
Werner Endner
Monika Henking
1995: Interpretation, Composition, Improvisation
– Interpretation (Part 1)
– Interpretation (Part 2)
– Composition
– Improvisation
Prof. U. Asper
Conrad Zwicky
Anna Buczek
1996: Cross-connections
– Cross Connections?
– Norwegian Organ Music
– Polish organ music
– “Dance and Slumber of the Scottish”
Conrad Zwicky
Brita Falch Leutert
Anna Buczek
Hannes Meyer
1997: The organ of the Bühlkirche is 100 years old!
– Organ building at the turn of the century
– Fine arts at the turn of the century
– Literature around the turn of the century
– Two related: Organ and Harmonium
Conrad Zwicky
Dr. H. Bryner
Ulrich Frei
Mark Richli
1998: Society and Music
– Zwingli’s inverted Catholicism
– Baroque Language in Word and Music
– Society – Music – Politics – Heroic Poem?
– Censorship, Persecution and Resistance in Music
Rev. Dr. theol. Ulrich Knellwolf
Conrad Zwicky
Dominik Sackmann
Werner Zumsteg
1999: Church and Music
– Music in the Lutheran Church
– Music in the Catholic Church
– Music in the evang.-ref. church
– Music in the Bühlkirche
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Asper
Dr. phil. Herbert Ulrich
Rev. Hans-Jürg Stefan,
Conrad Zwicky
2000: Joh. Seb. Bach
– Function and significance of J.S. Bach’s cantatas in the worship of his time
– The late Bach: Clavierübung III, Canonical changes on “Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her”, Credo of the B minor Mass
– Symbolisms in Bach’s work, allegories – number symbolism – cryptograms
– Bach and his arrangers
Prof. U. Asper
Dr. B. Billeter
Werner Zumsteg
Conrad Zwicky
2001: Church Music of the 20th Century
– The “rebirth” of Protestant church music in the 20th century.
– The Requiem by Frank Martin. His confrontation with death
– Vocal music for church services by Swiss composers of the 20th century
– Organ music from the 20th century
Prof. U. Asper
Dr. B. Billeter
Beat Schäfer
Conrad Zwicky
2002: Christmas music
– “The Christmas Oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach”.
– “D’Zäller Wiehnacht” Nativity play by Paul Burkhard
– “The Christmas Oratorio by Camille Saint-Saëns”
– Noëls and Christmas pieces for organ
– “How did the Star of Bethlehem come into being?”
Conrad Zwicky
Rev. M. Rey
Christof Brunner
Benjamin Zwicky
2003: Organ miracle – miracle organ
– “Getting to know an old acquaintance”
– “The choir organ and its big sister”
– “Organ music and other delicacies – with a difference”
– “What you always wanted to know…”
Conrad Zwicky
Felix Gubser
Oleg Lips-Roumantsiev
Jackie Rubi
2004: Bible in music and sacropop
– “Bis orat qui cantat” (Twofold pray who sings).
– “Pop music in church?”
– Biblical statements in the organ booklet
– The musical “Jesus Christ Superstar
Prof. U. Asper
Conrad Zwicky
2005: Romanticism
– “From the Classical to the Romantic Period”
– Sacred Choral Music of the Romantic Period
– Romanticism in Poetry
– Romanticism in organ music and organ building”.
Prof. Ulrich Asper, Strasbourg
Ursina Caflisch
Andreas Müller-Crépon
Jakob Knaus
Conrad Zwicky
2006: Organist’s life
– “Court organist in the age of the religious wars:
Samuel Scheidt”
– “Between Commonplace and Art:
Johann Sebastian Bach”
– “The beginning of church music renewal:
Max Reger”
-Between Arbitrariness and Musical Ambition: Being an Organist Today”.
Prof. Ulrich Asper, Strasbourg
Conrad Zwicky
2007: “Music in the Church – Music for the Church?
Music for the Church?”
– Church music: Music in the church… for the church?
– New services are needed –
by whom? for whom?
-Singing congregation today? And back then?
Zurich’s way: Musicless church service?
Four-part church singing?
Pluralism today
– Organ yes, but concertante church music?
– Choral music
and free musical works:
Pluralism or ingratiation?
Prof. Ulrich Asper, Strasbourg
Rev. Hans-Jürg Stefan
Prof. Ralph Kunz, Theol. Fak. Zurich
Conrad Zwicky, Organist of the Bühlkirche