Kreuzchor with commemorative concert on the destruction of Dresden in the war

The Dresden Kreuzchor commemorated the destruction of the city on the Elbe during the Second World War with a moving concert. A few days before the anniversary of the devastating bombings on February 13, 1945 and in the days that followed, the boys' choir under the direction of Kreuzkantor Martin Lehmann performed Johann Sebastian Bach's monumental Mass in B minor in the packed Kreuzkirche.

In addition to the Dresden Festival Orchestra, whose members played on period instruments, the soloist ensemble stood out with the Austrian soprano Miriam Feuersinger, her compatriot Daniel Johannsen (tenor), the German artists Hanna Zumsande (soprano) and Marie Henriette Reinhold (alto) and the bass Tobias Berndt.

Mauersberger's "Wie liegt die Stadt so wüst" kicks off the concert

The beginning of the concert already got under the skin. The Kreuzchor began with a section from the motet "Wie liegt die Stadt so wüst", which the former Kreuzkantor Rudolf Mauersberger (1889-1971) had written for his choir under the impression of the destruction of Dresden with texts from the Lamentations of Jeremiah.

On February 13, 1945 and the two days that followed, British and American bombers reduced the center of the city on the Elbe to rubble. Up to 25,000 people died. First, 773 British bombers dropped huge quantities of high-explosive bombs. This was followed by around 650,000 incendiary bombs, which ignited a firestorm.

Dresden city center resembled a desert of ruins

The city center already resembled a desert of ruins after the first wave of attacks. US bombing followed on February 14 and 15. The air raids are regularly exploited by right-wing extremists to relativize Germany's war guilt. Among international lawyers and historians, including in the UK, the bombings are controversial.

Experts agree, however, that the air raids on Dresden cannot be viewed without the context of the course of the war. The war triggered by Germany had also returned to Dresden in February 1945, they say again and again.

Many events on the anniversary of the destruction of Dresden

On the anniversary of the destruction of Dresden, many events will commemorate the victims of the war at that time, but also those suffering in today's wars. The Dresden orchestras play concerts after which the audience refrains from applauding and remains silent in a minute's silence at the end.