Eisenach (dpa/th) – The Bach Festival in Eisenach will open on Thursday with a free opening concert. “Thanks to the generous donation of a friend and supporter of church music in Eisenach, we can offer this concert with free admission,” said the Eisenach cantor, Christian Stötzner.

The Bach Festival opens with a concert by the Amarcord Ensemble and the Thuringian Bach Collegium under Gernot Süssmuth in the Georgenkirche. Cantatas are to be played that were composed during Bach’s tenure in Mühlhausen or even before that in Arnstadt.

Bach (1685-1750) is an important personality for the city since the baroque musician was born in Eisenach. The October 27-31 festival is the sixth. This year it is entitled “The Cantor and Kapellmeister Johann Sebastian Bach”.