Come and join us for our next Bach Vespers on 27 July at 6.30pm! It takes place at St Mary at Hill in the City of London, hosted by St Anne’s Lutheran Church. We’ll be performing Bach’s little-known cantata BWV 45, Es ist dir gesagt, Mensch, was gut ist, which was written in 1726. This powerful declamatory work exhorts the listener to lead a good and humble life in order to gain redemption. It is in two parts, intended to be performed on either side of the sermon. Two flutes are included in the scoring, which combine with the usual strings and oboes to create a special colour. The magnificent opening chorale fantasia represents a merging of the old motet vocal style and the new instrumental concertante style, to create a movement of epic proportions, including a majestic fugue. The second part of the cantata opens with a virtuosic bass aria in which evil-doers are condemned with operatic aplomb, to the accompaniment of energetic strings. The mellow sound of the flute in the following alto aria provides a stark contrast, before a simple final chorale. The service will include other music from the German Baroque performed by our specialist team of voices and period instruments.

Everyone is welcome, so do come along and bring a friend. You don’t need to be religious, you can just come to enjoy the music. Entrance is free (with a voluntary collection). We look forward to seeing you and sharing Bach’s wonderful music.