Performance with carved figures: Jakobus is staged in Lenggries

Created: 04/10/2022 17:01

The story covers the life stages of James the Greater and John from their childhood when they hear about the ministry of Jesus.

Here is the scene with Jesus on the bank when he calls on the fishermen's sons James and John to follow him ("The Calling").

Father Zebedee is left alone.

Lake Starnberg serves as the backdrop for the Sea of ​​Galilee.

© Veronica Brown

Georg Willibald has caused a stir several times with unusual performances with carved figures, live readings and music.

Now he devotes himself to the story of Saint James.

Lenggries

– carver Georg Willibald gets creative again with figures: This time the focus is on the life story of James the Elder.

Together with 15 lay speakers, it will be performed on October 14 in front of a special backdrop in the Lenggries parish church.

The Bible says a lot about James the Elder: He is one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ and, together with his brother John, one of the first called disciples whom Jesus allows to participate in special events in his life.

It is also recorded that James and John were nicknamed “the sons of thunder” by Jesus because of their impetuous and impulsive nature.

Performance on the life of James and John in Lenggries

Above all, the person of James, one of the most well-known saints of all, aroused the interest of Georg Willibald from Lenggries a long time ago.

The descriptions in the Bible and some legends that have formed around the extraordinary life of James, Willibald could not let go - he dealt more intensively with this topic.

After all, Jakobus is also the Lenggrieser church patron.

And because the "Aschenloher Schorsch", as he is called in his environment, likes to be creative, he has scenically retraced the career of his protagonist using hand-carved figures and a corresponding text he wrote himself.

The story covers the stages of James and John's life from their childhood, when they heard about the ministry of the preacher, until their mission, except for the Stations of the Cross and the crucifixion of Jesus.

A total of 50 figures, each 25 centimeters tall, were created over a period of a few years in Willibald's carving workshop.

Starnberger See as a backdrop for the Sea of ​​Galilee

In order to make them look as authentic as possible, they were colored by Hubert Demmel.

The scenes depicted with the figures should also appear true to life, which is why, depending on the plot, suitable outdoor locations were sought as a backdrop for the optical fixation by camera.

"It's not that easy to find them," says Willibald.

Together with photographer Vroni Braun, he had been to a wide variety of places.

The traditional events at the Sea of ​​Galilee, for example - Jakobus and Johannes were fishermen's sons - were re-enacted at Lake Starnberg.

On Friday, October 14th, the sequence of images and the text will be followed by a performance of the "life story of James the Elder" in the Lenggries parish church.

So that the content, written "just like in real life" and in Bavarian dialect, can also stand up to theological knowledge, it was very important to the author to have his work "sanctioned" professionally.

Of course, the 15 amateur speakers who give the characters their voices and bring the presentations to life are indispensable for the presentation, in which the photos are projected onto a large screen.

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Lay speakers have been rehearsing since mid-August

The speakers have been rehearsing inserts and rhetoric since mid-August.

They will not be seen during the performance in the church: their place is up there in the gallery, where the necessary microphones are set up.

Alexander Pointner will provide the background music on the organ.

For Willibald it is not the first game of this kind: in the past he has shown the legend of the Holy Night, a great cattle drive and the animal story of Brownelle and Browneye in front of a large audience in a similar way (we reported).

His current topic goes well with the 300-year celebration of the Lenggrieser church, which he therefore asked to be the venue.

According to Willibald, the visitors do not need to have any special knowledge of the Bible.

He would also like to invite young people.

He is particularly pleased about the great motivation of his "fellow players" and helpers: "Without them the whole thing would not have been possible anyway."

Further information

The performance in the Lenggrieser parish church on Friday, October 14, begins at 8 p.m. and lasts until around 9:30 p.m.

Admission is free.

Donations for the renovation of the parish church are welcome.

By the way: Everything from the region is now also available in our regular Bad Tölz newsletter.

By Rosie Bauer