On 9 May the City Bach Collective will be taking part in a memorial concert for our much missed friend and colleague Philip Yeeles (pictured), who passed away at Christmas. The event takes place in the atmospheric space and beautiful acoustic of St Mary’s Old Church, Stoke Newington. Various groups and individual musicians who were closely associated with Philip will be performing, and we feel privileged to be taking part. Our contribution is J. S. Bach’s lovely Cantabile ma un poco adagio, BWV 120/ivR, which features oboe and strings, and J. C. Bach’s poignant ‘Mein Freund ist mein’, which sets a beautiful text from the Song of Songs over a chaconne bass. The event is invitation only for reasons of space (the venue will be packed), and guests are coming from all over the world to celebrate Philip’s memory.

Next Bach Vespers: 22 May at 6.30pm at St Mary at Hill, with BWV 37.

On 10 April the City Bach Collective instrumentalists will once again join forces with Eclectic Voices, directed by Scott Stroman, for an all-Bach Easter concert at St Paul’s, Covent Garden (the Actors’ Church), Bedford Street, London, at 8pm. The programme includes Bach’s well-known motet BWV 227, Jesu meine Freude, the Easter Cantata BWV 4, Christ lag in Todesbanden, and the dramatic Orchestral Suite in G minor, BWV 1070, once attributed to J. S. Bach, but now known to be by his eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach.

More information on the Eclectic Voices website.

On 3 April the City Bach Collective instrumentalists join musical director Scott Stroman, the AIC choir and Eclectic Voices for a performance of the great seasonal cantata BWV 4, Christ lag in Todesbanden. This is part of a morning service at the American International Church in Tottenham Court Road, London, which begins at 11am. All are welcome and admission is free.

We are delighted to be performing for the Tilford Bach Society  at the Spire Church (URC), South Street, Farnham, GU9 7QU on 2 April at 7.30pm.

This concert presents seasonal music from seventeenth and eighteenth-century Germany. The first half consists of poignant music for Passion-tide, including arias from the St John and St Matthew Passions. The second half represents a joyous celebration of Easter, and includes Bach’s magnificent Easter cantata BWV 4, Christ lag in Todesbanden.

For more information, see the Tilford Bach Society website.

Come and join us as we perform music for Lent on 27 March at 6.30pm, in the church of St Mary at Hill in the City of London. Bach wrote very few cantatas suitable for Lent, because in the run-up to Easter, Leipzig observed tempus clausam, when ornate church music was not permitted. However, one cantata dating from his earlier employment in Weimar sets a Lenten text. This is BWV 54, Widerstehe doch der Sünde which is for solo alto. It will be sung in our performance by countertenor Tristram Cooke (pictured). The rest of the service will feature other beautiful music from the pre-Easter period, performed by our singers and period instrumentalists. This service is hosted by St Anne’s Lutheran Church.

Everyone is welcome (you don’t need to be religious) and entrance is free with a voluntary collection. We look forward to seeing you and sharing Bach’s wonderful music.