Bruder Martin

The composition is set for narrator, soloists, mixed choir, band and orchestra, and includes both Luther hymns and pop ballads.

Bruder Martin was premiered open air in Tecklenburg on 17 September 2017, with the performers dressed in period costumes.

The oratorio Bruder Martin was commissioned in 2014 for the regional Kirchentag of the districts Tecklenburg, Steinfurt-Coesfeld-Borken and Münster of the Protestant Church, to celebrate 500 years after Reformation, in 2017.

[1] The team of the Protestant pastor Eugen Eckert for the text and the Catholic church musician Thomas Gabriel for the music, who had collaborated on oratorios before, began in November 2014 to realize the ecumenical project.

[2] Episodes from the life of Martin Luther are presented in chronological order, with a focus on his intention to reform the church, not to split it.