Come and join us on 26 July, for a performance of Bach’s impressive yet rarely performed cantata, BWV 186, Ärgre dich, o Seele, nicht. This Bach Vespers service takes place at 6.30pm at the church of St Mary at Hill in the City of London, hosted by St Anne’s Lutheran Church.

Bach first wrote the music for this cantata for Advent in 1716, when he was working in Weimar. In 1723, Bach adapted and expanded the cantata for the seventh Sunday after Trinity, because in Leipzig it was not permitted to perform cantatas in Advent. This later version, which we perform, relates to the Gospel reading of the miracle of the bread and fishes. BWV 173 is a substantial work in two parts, intended to be performed either side of the sermon in a service, as we shall do. This cantata particularly features double-reed instruments, with three oboes in different sizes and bassoon. The cantata consists of eleven highly varied movements, including striking choruses, an energetic bass aria, a chromatic and sublimely expressive soprano aria and an exquisite duet for soprano and alto. There will also be lots of other music in the service, both vocal and instrumental, by Bach and other German baroque composers, performed on period instruments. This will be the final Bach Vespers before the summer break.

Everyone is welcome (you don’t have to be religious), and attendance is free. Do come along and bring your friends. We look forward to seeing you there to share Bach’s wonderful music!

Come and join us for Bach Vespers on 28 June, 6.30pm, at the church of St Mary-at-Hill, where we will perform BWV 10, Meine Seel erhebt den Herren. Also known as Bach’s ‘German Magnificat’, this stunningly beautiful cantata was originally composed for the Feast of the Visitation in 1724. In format it is a typical chorale cantata, but instead of being based on a hymn tune, it is based on the chant melody traditionally used for the Magnificat with German text by Martin Luther. The service will also contain other music by German baroque composers, performed by our team of singers and period instrument specialists.

Everyone is welcome. Attendance is free and you don’t need to be religious, so do come along and bring a friend. We look forward to sharing Bach’s wonderful music with you.

Following Bach Vespers: 26 July (BWV 186).

Our next Bach Cantata performance will be on 31 May, when we present one of Bach’s most spellbinding masterpieces, BWV 173, Erhöhtes Fleisch und Blut. This Bach Vespers service takes place at 6.30pm at the church of St Mary at Hill in the City of London, hosted by St Anne’s Lutheran Church.

This cantata specifically features flutes, which add a flavour of elegance and delicacy. Bach took the music from a secular cantata composed in Köthen as a birthday tribute to his employer. In 1724, Bach adapted this music to a new text in exaltation of God, adding extra instruments and singers to create BWV 173. The secular origins of the music can be heard in the dance-style of many of the movements, not least the unusual and attractive duet for soprano and bass, which builds up in instrumentation from a modest opening to a glorious ending. This is an upbeat feel-good cantata celebrating God’s goodness towards mankind.

The service will also include other music, both vocal and instrumental, by Bach and other German baroque composers, performed on period instruments.

Everyone is welcome (you don’t have to be religious), and attendance is free. Do come along and bring your friends. We look forward to seeing you there to share Bach’s wonderful music!

Following Bach Vespers: 28 June (BWV 10).

Come and join us on 26 April, for a performance of Bach’s extraordinary cantata, BWV 12, Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen. This Bach Vespers service takes place at 6.30pm at the church of St Mary at Hill in the City of London, hosted by St Anne’s Lutheran Church.

Bach was aged only 29 in 1714, when he composed BWV 12, whilst he was employed at the court of Weimar. He performed it again in Leipzig in 1724, when the finest music was required to impress distinguished visitors to the Leipzig trade fair. The text of this highly expressive cantata reminds listeners that by remaining steadfast through suffering, sadness will be turned into joy. 

The cantata displays some of Bach’s earliest (and most beautiful) writing for the oboe. The poignant opening sinfonia is like the slow movement of an oboe concerto, and the alto aria features a glorious oboe obbligato melody. The dramatic opening chorus represents a complete outpouring of grief, with its falling chromatic bass line, drawn out suspensions, and sighing figures in the vocal parts. Over 30 years later, near the end of his life, Bach adapted this movement as the basis of the ‘Crucifixus’ in his B minor mass. The chorale melody ‘Jesu meine Freude’ appears as a cantus firmus in the tenor aria, with its metaphorical description of storms passing and blossom following rain. A bright and positive chorale brings the cantata to an uplifting end.

There will also be lots of other music in the service, both vocal and instrumental, by Bach and other German baroque composers, performed on period instruments.

Everyone is welcome (you don’t have to be religious), and attendance is free. Do come along and bring your friends. We look forward to seeing you there to share Bach’s wonderful music!

Following Bach Vespers: 31 May.

On 29 March we present the five Passion Motets by Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672, pictured), from his Canciones Sacrae of 1625. This service takes place at 6.30pm at the church of St Mary at Hill in the City of London, hosted by St Anne’s Lutheran Church.

Intense and powerful, the Schütz Passion motets (SWV 56-60) are packed with emotion and rich harmonies, despite their early date. Their raw drama has been likened to that of Caravaggio’s paintings, and they are considered to be a highpoint of seventeenth-century repertoire. The motets will be interspersed with poignant instrumental music by Bach, to create a memorable event which perfectly sets the tone for the forthcoming Passion season.

Everyone is welcome (you don’t have to be religious), and attendance is free. Do come along and bring your friends. We look forward to seeing you there to share this moving music!