Celebration Concert at Saint Michael's in Prague

This evening in Prague (27 September 2013), a Celebration Concert (or literally a "praise concert") was held at Saint Michael's Church. The "praise concert" consisted of songs by Charpentier, Bach, Vivaldi, Clarke, Dvorak, Brahms, Loeiller, Mozart, and Handel, not the typical music many Americans would associate with praise. The concert was set to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in the Czech Republic (ECAV v CR). The church has been affiliated with the Lutheran church for several hundred years. The columns of the building itself dates back to around 800 or 900 A.D. 

Pictured above are the musicians and a completely filled church to hear the concert. There were 11 songs from a variety of classical composers which lasted about 55 minutes. Afterwards there was a reception in the parish hall. Below is a recording of the concert. The Dvorak piece, "Hospodin jest mûj pastyr" (The Lord is my shepherd) brought many of the concert attendees to tears.

The Lutheran congregation in Prague has a history of music concerts. In 1922, Albert Schweitzer performed at an organ concert at Saint Michael's.

Tomorrow, the celebration continues with lectures sponsored by the Lutheran Academy.  The theme of the lectures are "Our Lutheran Heritage in Central Europe." On Sunday, the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels, a festival service will be held to celebrate the 20 years of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in the Czech Republic (ECAV v CR). 

-- Posted on 27 September 2013 by Rev. Dr. Albert Collver, Director of Church Relations