Violinist Mareike Neumann and singer Anna-Luise Oppelt lead musical bicycle tours along the places where Johann Sebastian Bach worked. The two musicians are also committed to an official Johann Sebastian Bach cycle route.
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750) lived in the region that is now the federal states of Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony. Unusual for a world-class composer, he moved almost exclusively within this limited area. His life can be “experienced” by bicycle from his birthplace in Eisenach to the place where he died in Leipzig, providing a unique approach to this great artist of the Baroque era.
ORIGINAL SITES
Other stops – depending on the tour variant – are Mühlhausen, Gotha, Wechmar as the ancestral home of the Bach family of musicians, Ohrdruf, Arnstadt, Dornheim, Erfurt, Weimar, Naumburg, Weißenfels, Halle and Köthen. The tours lead along scenic long-distance cycle routes through the Thuringian Forest, the Ilm Valley, along the wine-growing region of Unstrut/Saale and through Burgenland. Museums, monuments and originally preserved places such as Bach’s wedding church in Dornheim are visited.
BACH CHORALES IN THE COUNTRYSIDE
Exclusive concerts, top-class guided tours and musical examples can be experienced at the original locations. On request, the musicians will sing Bach chorales in churches or during breaks in the countryside. The Bach festivals in the region are visited and the duo give concerts themselves together with the Bach by Bike Ensemble.
THE IDEA
The idea for Bach by Bike was born during the last months of their joint studies at the Detmold Conservatoire, where the two musicians were often out and about on their bikes. When Anna-Luise Oppelt then moved to Weimar to study singing, the two met during their summer holiday to cycle around the places where Johann Sebastian Bach lived. Both musicians have been familiar with Bach’s music since their earliest childhood; both come from families of church musicians.
BACH AT STAGECOACH SPEED
A glance at the map made it clear to them that the places where Bach lived and worked are almost without exception in central Germany. By bicycle, they can even be connected almost chronologically. On their exploratory tour, the two Bach by Bike founders could hardly believe what a treasure they discovered: tracing Bach’s biography at stagecoach speed and finding the churches and castles where he had performed his works. They were thrilled, by Bach’s music anyway, and because it became possible to get tangibly close to Bach as a person. They did not want to keep this treasure to themselves. Their project was born. And it began with the commitment to official signposting and marketing of the cycle path through the three federal states.
MUSIC, HISTORY, NATURE
They could not find a local promoter, so they decided to take matters into their own hands and offer personal guided tours along this trail. One summer later, they tested the bike stages and the extensive cultural programme with their first group. Since 2014, they have been leading the Bach by Bike tours several times a year. Their tours thrive on personal contacts on the ground, with whom they share an enthusiasm for Bach and music. The tours always offer surprises, opening a new door here or telling an unknown story there.
MUSIC, HISTORY, NATURE
They could not find a local promoter, so they decided to take matters into their own hands and offer personal guided tours along this trail. One summer later, they tested the bike stages and the extensive cultural programme with their first group. Since 2014, they have been leading the Bach by Bike tours several times a year. Their tours thrive on personal contacts on the ground, with whom they share an enthusiasm for Bach and music. The tours always offer surprises, opening a new door here or telling an unknown story there.
SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL
The travel package includes luggage transport, packed lunches and bicycle-friendly hotels. Trekking bikes or e-bikes can be rented. Because a sustainable travel concept is important to them, they are testing a low-package lunch concept with the hotels and cover the entire distance by bicycle, or if necessary, by train.
MUSIC CITIES AWARD
In autumn 2021, the musicians were awarded the international Music Cities Award in the category “Best Use of Music to Drive Tourism” – an award that honours projects that bring the value of music into the world.
Text Bach by Bike