Cappella Lacensis
The Cappella Lacensis was founded in 2008 as a mixed chamber choir of the Benedictine Abbey of Maria Laach by P. Philipp Meyer OSB. Young singers from all over Germany, most of them with a background in professional music studies, come together in Maria Laach in various formations, live in the guest wing of the abbey and sing a cappella works and oratorios with orchestra ranging from the Renaissance to modern times.
Concert tours have taken the choir to Jerusalem, Barcelona, Salzburg, Berlin and Trondheim, among other places. The Cappella Lacensis meets on a project basis for rehearsals in the guest wing of the abbey. The basic requirements for participation are
- Vocal confidence
- Independent preparation
- Enthusiasm to create music with other young adults in the monastic environment
Interested singers are very welcome.
An audition is obligatory, which can also be held online.
If you are interested, please send an e-mail to Father Philipp Meyer OSB at
Previous projects and concert highlights
- Cappella Lacensis’ first project was the production of the Laach Christmas CD “Wie schön singt uns der Engel Schar”, which has since been reissued several times.
- In Advent 2008, cantatas I-III of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio were performed as a benefit concert for the Association of Friends and Sponsors of Maria Laach Abbey.
- From this time onwards, the Cappella Lacensis regularly organizes solemn liturgies and concerts in the Benedictine abbey and has thus become a mainstay of the Laach Abbey Concerts.
- Particular highlights in recent years have been the complete performance of the six cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Christmas Oratorio on December 31, 2012 and January 1, 2013 with the Koblenz Baroque Orchestra Cappella Confluentes.
- In September 2014, the Cappella Lacensis was invited by the Spanish Benedictine Abbey of Montserrat to perform a major choral concert, which was broadcast live on the internet and Spanish radio. Three great motets by Johann Sebastian Bach were performed.
- In summer 2015, Joseph Haydn’s oratorio “The Creation” was performed in two “open air” concerts in front of the Laach Basilica. With these special concerts, the Cappella Lacensis was able to delight more than 1600 visitors in Maria Laach.
- The Cappella Lacensis regularly collaborates with orchestras such as the Cappella Confluentes, the Consortium Musica Sacra Köln and the Neues Rheinisches Kammerorchester Köln.
