TOUR 1 IN THE NORTH OF THE WESERFESTSPIELE:
BREMEN-BREMERHAVEN, 135 KM
Thursday, 19 May – Monday, 23 May 2022
Bach by Bike enjoys the fresh North Sea air: in cooperation with the WESERFESTSPIELE, we have extended our musical bike tour concept to include a region which Johann Sebastian Bach never visited, but which will be filled with music in these warm May days, and is thus an ideal destination for a musical bike tour. The North Sea landscape will be humming with the sounds of a range of different concerts, such as the traditional motet concerts in Bremen Cathedral and the organ tones in the dyke country of the North Sea coast.
The relationship between the region and Bach’s music will be explored throughout the tour as we take you on this exciting experience combining nature and culture surrounded by the beautiful landscape formed where the river Weser flows into the North Sea.
TOUR PROGRAMME
DAY 1, INDIVIDUAL ARRIVAL AND BREMEN
We will meet at 5 pm in our hotel located directly on the market square in Bremen. After an official greeting, we will attend the motet concert in Bremen Cathedral together, which will be performed by the tour leaders Mareike Neumann and Anna-Luise Oppelt along with the cathedral music director Tobias Gravenhorst, featuring North German music and works by Johann Sebastian Bach for voice, violin and organ. Following this musical introduction, we will gather strength for the bike tour stages with an evening meal together.
DAY 2, BREMEN-FARGE, 44 KM
During the morning, we will explore Bremen’s musical side with a tour through the city’s historic district. Around midday we start our first cycle tour stage along the Weser Bicycle Track as far as the northern city district of Farge. After checking into the hotel, we will cycle a few kilometres further along the river to the Valentin Submarine Bunker Museum. On this evening, the ruins of the U-boat dockyard belonging to the German Navy in the Second World War will become a sonorous place of remembrance. In a concert involving several different locations, the church music directors of the Protestant-Lutheran State Church of Hannover will lead more than 100 musicians performing works by Josquin des Préz, Johann Sebastian Bach, György Ligeti and a world premiere by Thomas Blomenkamp.
DAY 3 FARGE – BREMERHAVEN, 50 KM
On Saturday, we will continue along the Weser Bicycle Track heading north through the expansive marshlands of the lower Weser to the maritime city of Bremerhaven. After a break in our hotel, located right in the middle of the new harbour with a view of the mouth of the Weser and the North Sea, a shuttle bus will take us to a concert in the church of St. Urbanus in Dorum: here, Gregorian chant meets the traditional japanese Shakuhachi flute. This unusual combination is provided by the Schola Gregoriana Augustina and the flautist Dieter Weische. The shuttle bus will then bring us comfortably back to the hotel in Bremerhaven.
DAY 4 BREMERHAVEN-WREMEN-BREMERHAVEN, 40 KM
Today, we will undertake a round trip by bike along the Weser Bicycle Track through the harbour area and explore the landscape of the Wursten North Sea coast. Although flooding in this region has historically made life and work difficult, particularly in the period before the construction of the impressive dyke system, a rich cultural landscape has nevertheless arisen here. The district church music director Timo Corleis will provide a tour of the romantic Peternell organ in Wremen, and if the weather allows, we will spend the lunch break at the beach by the tidal mud flats, before cycling back to Bremerhaven. The musical finale of our tour will feature a concert in the Christuskirche as part of the festival „Tage alter Musik“ with works by J. Dowland, G. F. Händel and A. Corelli. We will end the tour with a concluding evening together.
DAY 5 DEPARTURE
Participants depart individually after breakfast.
INCLUDED IN THE PRICE TOUR 1 IN THE NORTH OF WESERFESTSPIELE:
- 4 nights at mid-range hotels incl. breakfast
- Lunch packs or picnics (on cycling days)
- Guided tour
- Luggage transport from first to last hotel
- City tour in Bremen
- Organ tour and organ concert at Peternell-Orgel in St. Willehadi, Wremen
- 4 concerts WESERFESTSPIELE:
- Thursday, May 19, 7 pm, St. Petri Dom: Motette with Bach by Bike Ensemble und Domcantor Tobias Gravenhorst
- Friday, May 20, 6 or 7 pm, „Wandelkonzert“ (changing positions) in Bunker Valentin
- Saturday, May 21,7 pm, Concert in St. Urbanus Dorum with Schola Gregoriana Augustina and Dieter Weische: “Medieval Europe meets Japan”
- Sunday, May 22, 7 pm, Christuskirche Bremerhaven, Concert „Days of ancient music“
- List of equipment
Changes reserved
PRICES:
Double room per Person: 950,- €
Single room supplement: 160,- €
Minimum number of participants: 15
Optional extras:
- Rental touring bike oder rental e-bike: 45,- / 75,- €
GROUP SIZE AND MINIMUM NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS:
The minimum number of participants for our tours is 15. If the minimum number is not reached, we reserve the right to withdraw from the tour contract. The corresponding declaration must be sent to you at least 29 days before the scheduled beginning of the tour.
The average group size is approximately 15 to 25 people.
