Abendmusik is an evening concert, usually performed in a church.

Specifically, this designation refers to a series of performances at the Marienkirche of Lübeck

Lübeck

The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, begun in the 17th century and lasting until 1810. Paid for by local businessmen and therefore with free admission for the public, Franz Tunder

Franz Tunder

Franz Tunder was a German composer and organist of the early to middle Baroque era. He was an important link between the early German Baroque style which was based on Venetian models, and the later Baroque style which culminated in the music of J.S...

 (organist at the Marienkirche from 1641 to 1667) was the first to perform the Abendmusiken with organ

Pipe organ

The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...

 music and a variety of vocal music. Under his successor Dieterich Buxtehude

Dieterich Buxtehude

Dieterich Buxtehude was a German-Danish organist and composer of the Baroque period. His organ works represent a central part of the standard organ repertoire and are frequently performed at recitals and in church services...

 (organist at Lübeck from 1668 until 1707), these concerts came to prominence and were established on the five Sundays preceding Christmas

Christmas

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

. Buxtehude and his successors even composed five-part oratorios to be performed over the course of the five Sundays.

Organist

Organist

An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...

 Walter Kraft

Walter Kraft

Walter Kraft was a German organist and composer, best known for his remarkably long tenure at the Marienkirche, Lübeck....

(1905-1977) renewed this Lübeck tradition in St. Mary's in 1926.