That the view up above is exciting to this day is demonstrated in the phenomenon of the way of St James. Every year thousands of pilgrims walk through Spain to Santiago de Compostela in order to discover a way into the interior through the exterior path. Joby Talbot dedicates a massive choral work in four stations to the “path of miracles” – difficult to get into but worth the effort. In Leon, the third station, the choir, imitating the sound of bells, literally opens heaven for the pilgrims.

At the end of the 2026 Thuringia Bach Festival the choir of Tenebrae directed by Nigel Short dives into sounds which are partly modern, partly of the spheres – with a work which was written especially for this world class ensemble in 2005 and which has since counted as one of its greatest concert successes.