Johannes Ein Oratorium – Premier : 24,September 2022
An oratorio by Thomas Strauss (Music) and Tilmann Krieg (Text and Image)
The musician Thomas Strauss and the artist Tilmann Krieg have been realising major artistic and musical projects together and individually for more than thirty years. This is particularly impressive whenever music and image complement one another and fill church spaces together.
From this fruitful collaboration and friendship arose the desire to create a magnum opus dedicated to one of the most remarkable figures who appears in the Holy Scriptures as a courageous visionary: John the Baptist.
John the Baptist is a figure of profound spiritual significance, renowned for his unwavering faith and his role as the herald of the Messiah. He lived a life of ascetic devotion in the wilderness, calling people to repentance and baptising them in the River Jordan. His fiery sermons and uncompromising moral stance challenged both common folk and rulers alike, ultimately leading to his martyrdom. John’s voice, crying out in the desert, represents courage, conviction, and the preparation of hearts for divine revelation.
This oratorio seeks to capture both the spiritual intensity and the human drama of John the Baptist’s life, weaving together music, text, and imagery to immerse audiences in his extraordinary journey of faith and sacrifice.
Visit the complete performance on YouTube
Thomas Strauß
Composer and Musical Director
Thomas Strauß studied church music at the State University of Music in Freiburg. Since 1993, he has been the full-time cantor in Oppenau. In 1997, he initiated the “Festival Week of Classical Music” there as its artistic director. He founded the Bach Choir Ortenau in 1995 and regularly performs worldwide as a conductor, soloist, and chamber musician.
In 2002, he was awarded the “Conservatory Medal of Excellence” by Shenandoah University in Winchester. Thomas Strauß frequently performs with Stuttgart trumpeter Prof. Wolfgang Bauer and is the harpsichordist in the “Wolfgang Bauer Consort.” He played the harpsichord on the 2009 ECHO Klassik award-winning CD recording of trumpet concertos by Johann Wilhelm Hertel.
Since 2004, he has regularly played harpsichord with the Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn and has been the regular accompanist of composer and recorder player Hans-Jürgen Hufeisen since 2006. In this context, he often appears on stage with Benedictine monk Anselm Grün, Margot Käßmann, or Jörg Zink.
He has participated in numerous radio and television recordings as well as live broadcasts with SWR, hr, and NDR. CD productions are also available with the “Wolfgang Bauer Consort,” the Datura Trombone Quartet, hr-brass, the Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn, and with recorder player Hans-Jürgen Hufeisen.