The November program is shaped by the 50th anniversary of the Community of the Cross of Nails and Mendelssohn's "Hymn of Praise" with over 130 participants
The City Church of Darmstadt will focus its program in November 2026 on peace, reconciliation, and choral music. The occasion is the 50th anniversary of its membership in the International Community of the Cross of Nails. The anniversary will be celebrated with several musical events on November 7th and 8th. A further highlight will follow on November 22nd with works by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and Leonard Bernstein.
50 years of the Nail Cross Community in Darmstadt
The Community of the Cross of Nails originated from the reconciliation work of Coventry Cathedral in England, which was destroyed in 1940 during the Second World War. The Cross of Nails, formed from carpenter's nails salvaged from the destroyed roof structure, became an international symbol of peace and reconciliation.
The city church of Darmstadt has been a member of this community for 50 years. To mark the anniversary, it will host the Southwest Regional Conference of the German Community of the Cross of Nails on November 7th and 8th.
The musical program begins on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. with an organ matinee by Cantor Christian Roß. At 5:00 p.m., the Darmstadt Cantorei Chamber Choir will perform works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, and Caroline Shaw.
On Sunday, November 8th, at 6 pm, the youth choir of the Darmstadt Singing School, members of the Darmstadt Choir and the Darmstadt Baroque Soloists will perform a Choral Evensong based on the Anglican model.
Mendelssohn's "Hymn of Praise" with over 130 performers
On Sunday, November 22nd, at 4 pm, the Darmstadt Kantorei and the Freiberg Cathedral Choir, together with the German Philharmonic Merck, will perform Mendelssohn's Symphony-Cantata "Lobgesang" and Bernstein's "Chichester Psalms".
More than 130 singers and orchestral musicians are participating in the concert. The two works combine Jewish and Christian traditions and explore themes of hope and humanity through music.
The solo parts will be sung by Sonja Grevenbrock, Annekathrin Laabs, and Theodore Browne. Christian Roß will conduct.
Conclusion of the Reformation anniversary
The sermon series commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in Darmstadt concludes on Sunday, November 1st. At 10:00 a.m., Ulrike Scherf, Vice President of the Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau (EKHN), will speak about the significance of the Reformation for a shrinking church.
Overview of dates
| Date | time | Event |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday, November 1st | 10 O `clock | Sermon on the Reformation anniversary with Ulrike Scherf |
| Saturday, November 7 | 11:30 a.m | Organ matinee “Music for Peace & Reconciliation” |
| Saturday, November 7 | 5 p.m | Choir concert “… where justice and peace …” |
| Sunday, November 8 | 6 p.m | Choral Evensong |
| Sunday, November 22 | 4 p.m | Mendelssohn's "Lobgesang" and Bernstein's "Chichester Psalms" |
Admission: The organ matinee and the choir concert on November 7th are free of charge; donations or a collection will be gratefully accepted. Ticket information for the other events is available on the website.
Further information and maps: www.stadtkirche-darmstadt.de, also via ztix.
(DARMSTADT – RED/PM/Andreas Blauert | Prof. Dr. Ralf Köbler)
