Dear Members of the International Heinrich Schütz Society,
who amongst us would have thought a year ago that a small virus would come to dominate our lives to such an extent today and would bring cultural life to an almost complete standstill in such a short time span in many parts of the world?
The Covid-19 pandemic has not left our Society unscathed, of course. Given the lack of planning security and in order to avert any financial damage to our Society, the Board and Council decided unanimously back in May to cancel the International Heinrich Schütz Festival in Lemgo that had been planned for September 2020. We would like to thank all the people and institutions that were involved in the preparations for the International Heinrich Schütz Festival 2020, in particular our cooperation partners in Lemgo, and we hope that we can reschedule the International Heinrich Schütz Fest in Lemgo in the coming years. In light of the current Covid-19 protection regulations of the State of Hesse, our general meeting that had been scheduled for 14 December 2020 in Kassel likewise could not take place. The completion of the current Schütz-Jahrbuch was also delayed as a result of the pandemic. If the latter has not yet reached you, it should do so soon, since it has been mailed out to you. I very much hope that you find the new layout agreeable. Despite the adverse circumstances, we are continuing to work on the realisation of the next International Heinrich Schütz Festival, which is scheduled to take place from 1 to 4 July 2021 in Wolfenbüttel. You will receive some initial information about this together with the current Schütz-Jahrbuch. The detailed programme will be available on the Society’s website in early 2021, and the customary brochure will be sent out together with the next Schütz-Jahrbuch in spring 2021. Our cooperation partners in Wolfenbüttel have put together an impressive programme for the year celebrating the 400th anniversary of Michael Pratorius’s death. You can access its contents on the website www.michael-praetorius-2021.de.
In spite of these difficult times I wish you all a restful Advent season, a peaceful Christmas and all the best for the coming year 2021.
Arno Paduch
Präsident
