Debut 50 years in the making

June 25, 2004

By DAVID STABLER

The news from Eugene this summer is the appearance of a choir named for a village in a mountain chain of southwestern Germany. Not just any mountain chain, but the Swabian Alb, bounded by the Danube River and the Black Forest.

The Gachinger Kantorei Stuttgart is one of the most famous choirs in the world, and it celebrates 50 years with its first West Coast appearance at the Oregon Bach Festival. Forty singers will join the Festival Chorus and Orchestra in J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion on opening night, Friday, and then become the sole choir in Bach’s B Minor Mass on July 6. They’ll again join the other groups to close the festival with Felix Mendelssohn’s inspiring oratorio “Elijah” on July 11.

They know this music intimately. Continue story on Oregon live.com…