Regulations 2026
In 2026, the International Singing Competition for Sacred Music, cantateBach!, will take place in Greifswald for the eighth time. The Friends of Arts and Culture Association of the Hanseatic City of Greifswald decided to establish this competition, which focuses exclusively on singing, in 2010. Since 2011, it has been held every two years. All singers in the soprano, alto, tenor, and bass voice ranges, born between 1994 and 2008, are cordially invited to participate in the 8th competition. Prizewinners of previous cantateBach! International Singing Competitions in Greifswald are excluded. The singing competition is linked, both in terms of timing and content, to the 80th Greifswald Bach Week. The Greifswald Bach Week is the festival of sacred music in Northern Germany, which has been held annually in Greifswald since 1946. The two events are intended to mutually enrich each other. In agreement with the board of trustees of the Greifswald Bach Week, it is planned that the winners of the competition will participate as soloists at the opening of the Bach Week.
I. procedure
The contest consists of a preselection as well as of a main and a final round.
1. preselection
Together with the application form you must submit sound- and video material (no pure audio recording). As repertoire there will be expected one recitative and one aria of one’s own choice of Johann Sebastian Bach. An exception to this free choice are the pieces of the main and the final round. The application deadline (the date on which the recording including all of the application documents must be submitted to the organizer) is April 11th 2026.
The preselection-commission chooses the main round-participants of all applicants. You will be contacted until May 9th 2026 and invited to Greifswald.
2. main round
The main round takes place on May 30th 2026 10 a.m. in Greifswald. The venue is the church “Dom St. Nikolai”. The accreditation of the participants is planned for Friday the 29st of May 2026 between 9 a.m. and 12 a.m.
In the main round the following pieces need to be performed (modern tuning):
For all vocal ranges: from the hymnbook of Schemelli of Johann Sebastian Bach:
„Ich steh an deiner Krippen hier“ BWV 469 (verses 1 und 8 / Eins aber hoff ich)
From Christmas Oratorio BWV 248 by J. S. Bach:
Soprano: recitative No. 56 „Du Falscher, suche nur den Herrn zu fällen“ and aria No. 57 „Nur ein Wink von seinen Händen“
Alto: recitative No. 32 „Ja, ja, mein Herz soll es bewahren“ and aria No. 31 „Schließe, mein Herze“
Tenor: recitative No. 11 „Und es waren Hirten“ and aria No. 15 „Frohe Hirten“
Basso: recitative No. 18 „So geht denn hin“ and aria No. 47 „Erleucht auch meine finstre Sinnen“
From „Schöpfung“ Hob. XXI 2 (alto: Stabat mater, Hob. XXa) by Joseph Haydn:
Soprano: No. 15 „Auf starkem Fittiche“ (Gabriel)
Alto: No. 9 „fac me vere tecum flere“
Tenor: No. 24 „Mit Würd und Hoheit angetan“ (Uriel)
Basso: No. 22 „Nun scheint in vollem Glanze der Himmel“ (Raphael)
The contributions are accompanied by a répétiteur supplied by the organizer or the participants own répétiteur (in the latter case no payment by the organizer!).
3. Final
The finalists are announced from the jury on May 30th 2026 after the main round. The finale occurs on May 31th 2026 in “Dom St. Nikolai” in Greifswald. The event starts at 7 p.m. In this round the participants are going to be accompanied by the orchestra of the Greifswalder Bachwoche. The finalists have the opportunity to practice with the orchestra on the day of the event.
The repertoire of the final includes (modern tuning):
An Aria from a Solo-Cantata by J. S. Bach:
For soprano: BWV 84 „Ich esse mit Freuden“
For alto: BWV 169 „Gott soll allein mein Herze haben“ (No. 3)
For tenor: BWV 55 „Ich armer Mensch“
For basso: BWV 56 „Endlich“
The winners-ceremony follows afterwards on site.
All of the contest rounds are public. The participants will have the on-site-possibility to practice and warm up before singing. The jury reserves the right to interrupt the performances due to time limits. The organizer furthermore reserves the right to make appropriate changes of the program and the schedule. The decision of the jury is binding and not reviewable. There is no right of appeal.
4. Performance of the awardee
On Monday, June 1st 2026 will be performed an awardee’s concert during the Bachwoche with pieces of the final round. The concert starts at 8 p.m. The awardees have the right but they’re also committed to take part in the concert and the appropriate rehearsals as soloists. The payment is settled with the prize money.
II. Prices
There’re four main prizes for the contest. It’s a matter of prize money as followed:
1st prize € 4.000
2nd prize € 3000
3rd prize € 2000
4th prize € 1000
Furthermore there will be given away the prize of the audience for one of the finalists.
III. Conditions of the contest
The participants declare their agreement with the conditions of the contest and accept them as binding with their signature on the application form.
1. Application
The application including all required documents need to be addressed to the:
Organisationsbüro cantateBach!
c/o Greifswalder Bachwoche
Bahnhofsstraße 48/49
D - 17489 Greifswald
Germany
The application fee is € 40. The application will be confirmed once the complete documents, the recording and the application fee arrived. Incomplete applications or wrong data can lead to the exclusion of the contest. The application fee is to be paid without any charges for the receiver until the application deadline to the following account:
cantateBach!
Volksbank Vorpommern
IBAN DE56 1309 1054 0104 8320 35
BIC GENODEF1HST
The application deadline is April 11th 2026. Relevant is the receipt in the organization office. There’s no refund of the application fee for non-attendance.
2. preselection
With the application the participants hand in a personal recording. A commission decides about the admission to the main round of the contest. The participants will be informed about the commission’s decision until May 9th 2026. Comments or explanations won’t be given. The submitted material cannot be claimed back.
3. main round
The order for the performances of the participants will be determined on the first day of the event.
The participants won’t get any support for travel expenses.
For all participants of the main round there will be a cost free accommodation from May 28th 2026 until May 31st 2026.
The finalists will get free accommodation until June first 2026, the awardees up to June second 2026. The accommodations will be provided by the organizer (private housing possible).
4. Assessment in the main round and the final
The following abilities will be rated:
- technical skills
- musical formation (rhythm, phrasing, expression)
- voice quality
- artistic personality / presence
Every ability will be rated with 0 to 25 points. The sum of all categories will form the overall result. In case of level scores the jury will decide about the ranking. If requested the participants can be informed about their final score after the contest.
IV. general conditions of the contest
1. The organizers of the contest are entitled to refuse applications without further explanation.
2. Absence from the rehearsals and / or the concert will result in the loss of the price money.
3. The jury reserves their right not to adjudge a prize or to share a prize. If one of the participants is related to one of the members of the jury or is involved to one of them or is/ was a disciple of one of them the person concerned will be abstained from the assessment. Participants trying to get in touch with one of the members of the jury personally or through a third person will be disqualified. The organizers of the contest can’t guarantee that all of the contributions will be attended by the whole jury. The jury has the right to listen only to sections of the performances.
4. The organizer reserve their right to record or broadcast the whole contest or parts of it as well as the concert of the awardees by radio- and TV stations. The same applies for film, audio and video recordings, as well as for recordings for the archive of the Greifswalder Bachwoche or the organizing club. The participants won’t receive a fee for that. The same accounts for a potential live recording or other broadcasts through the internet. Also time-displaced replays or repeats of the broadcasts are included.
With the application the participants declare their agreement to all of the mentioned measures and they entitle all of their accruing rights regarding the contest (e. g. copyright, ancillary copyright, personal rights and other rights) exclusively and absolutely to the organizing club and the Greifswalder Bachwoche for use and application in any kind of media. There’s no claim for further salary. The rights for pictures and photos are exclusive to the organizing club. In cases of doubt only the German version of the conditions of the contest are binding. The organizer reserves the right to make appropriate changes of the program and the schedule.