Hear, O shepherd of Israel BWV 104 is the cantata we will perfom at Bach Vespers with St. Anne’s Lutheran Church on 30 April (at 6.30pm). The music immediately conjures a pastoral scene with its three low oboes (two d’amore and the curved taille) all performing music in swung, compound time.

Also during the service, Emily Atkinson will sing Dietrich Buxtehude’s motet O fröhliche Stunden, BuxWV 84 and we plan to perform other short pieces of German baroque music suitable for the occasion.

Services of Lutheran Vespers last just over an hour. They are free to attend, though you may contribute to a collection during the service. Tea & coffee are available afterwards.

(The image above is from a photograph taken during the annual Sheep Drive, a pageantry event held in the City of London by the Livery Company of Woolmen, parading across London Bridge with small flocks of sheep.)