At first glance, Dresden as an important center of Catholic church music seems like a misunderstanding, but it is one of the far-reaching consequences of the change of denomination that the Saxon Elector Augustus the Strong undertook in 1697 for his election as King of Poland. Even after the end of the Saxon-Polish union, the Wettin dynasty remained Catholic, and the music for the services in the court church took on a central role among the tasks of the famous court chapel. For a century and a half, the works performed came almost exclusively from the chapel masters and composers employed at the court and could only be heard in exceptional cases. Today, there is growing interest in the music of the Dresden court church, which is not limited to individual composers. The guide presented here explains important features of this music from a historical perspective and offers guidance across different eras.
