Thomas Gabriel (born 25 August 1957) is a German church musician, composer and arranger.

Career

Born in

Essen Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...

, Gabriel studied Catholic church music at the , organ with Sieglinde Ahrens and Josef Bucher. From 1983 to 1986 he served as

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...

at the in

Recklinghausen Recklinghausen (; ) is the northernmost city in the Ruhr-Area and the capital of the Recklinghausen district. It borders the rural Münsterland and is characterized by large fields and farms in the north and industry in the south. Recklinghaus ...

. He worked freelance from 1987 to 1988 for the West German Radio and the in Recklinghausen. From 1989 to 1991 he was district cantor at St. Martin, Idstein, where he founded a youth choir called Martinis in 1988. From 1992 to 1997 he was regional cantor in

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ''Sabrigge'' ; ; ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken has 181,959 inhabitants and is Saarland's administrative, commerci ...

. Since 1998, he has been cantor for the Regional Institute of Sacred Music in the Diocese of Mainz with a focus on (NGL, New sacred song), for the deaneries Offenbach, Rodgau and Seligenstadt, at the church ). Gabriel gives many concerts as an organist, harpsichordist and pianist, particularly as a member of the ''Thomas Gabriel Trio'', whose artistic focus is on jazz arrangements of the music of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

As a composer, Gabriel tries to combine traditional church music with elements from jazz and pop. He composed in 2005 ''Missa mundi'' (

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

of the world) for the final

mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

of the

World Youth Day World Youth Day (WYD) is an event for the youth organized by the Catholic Church that was initiated by Pope John Paul II in 1985. Its concept has been influenced by the Light-Life Movement that has existed in Poland since the 1960s, where dur ...

in Cologne on 21 August 2005, representing five continents in style and instrumentation: a European influenced by the style of Bach, a South American with guitars and

pan flute A pan flute (also known as panpipes or syrinx) is a musical instrument based on the principle of the closed tube, consisting of multiple pipes of gradually increasing length (and occasionally girth). Multiple varieties of pan flutes have been ...

s, an Asian with

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in 19th-century India. Khusrau K ...

, an African with drums, and an Australian with

didgeridoo The didgeridoo (;()), also spelt didjeridu, among other variants, is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous Drone (music), drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgerido ...

s. It was premiered by a project choir from the

Würzburg Cathedral Würzburg Cathedral () is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Würzburg in Bavaria, Germany, dedicated to Saint Kilian. It is the seat of the Bishop of Würzburg and has served as the burial place for the Prince-Bishops of Würzburg for hundreds of ye ...

, conducted by Martin Berger, with Gabriel at the keyboard. He participated in the project (Mass of the Diocese of Mainz), a collaboration of six regional cantors to create a mass in German for choir, a high voice (children's choir or soprano) and organ. Dan Zerfaß composed , Nicolo Sokoli , Thomas Gabriel , Andreas Boltz , Ralf Stiewe , and Ruben J. Sturm .

Compositions

* ''Daniel'', rock oratorio * (Mainz Mass), for three-part mixed choir, keyboard (organ, piano) and brass (trumpet, saxophon, trombone), text by Raymund Weber * ,

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

* 1999: ' (Martin in

Mainhattan Mainhattan is a term referring to Frankfurt's skyline, especially that of its central business district, the Bankenviertel. The word is a portmanteau of Main, the river on which Frankfurt lies, and Manhattan, a reference to the inner city area ...

– nickname of Frankfurt),

* 2002: ''Emmaus'',

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

, text by Eugen Eckert * for solo, four-part mixed choir and instruments, a mass of solidarity with Bolivia * 2003: compositions for the opening service of the at the Brandenburger Tor in Berlin * compositions for the closing service of the 95th Katholikentag in Ulm * 2004: ''Bonifatius'', oratorio, text by * 2005: (Mass of the world), final mass of the

on 21 August 2005 * 2006: (Towards the sun),

on the life of Saint

Edith Stein Edith Stein (; ; in religion Teresa Benedicta of the Cross; 12 October 1891 – 9 August 1942) was a German philosopher who converted to Catholic Church, Catholicism and became a Discalced Carmelites, Discalced Carmelite nun. Edith Stein was mu ...

, including texts by students of the * 2006: , oratorio * 2010: ''Junia'', oratorio, text by Eckert * 2017: '' Bruder Martin'', oratorio, text by Eckert

References

External links

label
www.engelsklang.de

basilika.de {{DEFAULTSORT:Gabriel, Thomas 1957 births German classical organists German harpsichordists German male composers German composers Living people Musicians from Essen Folkwang University of the Arts alumni 21st-century German organists 21st-century German male musicians German male classical organists