It was with considerable sadness that, at the previous service of Bach Vespers, we learned of the death of Rev’d Ronald T. Englund. The news had been passed to the Pastor of St. Anne’s Lutheran Church by the former Kantor, Peter Lea-Cox.

None of us who perform in the City Bach Collective knew Rev’d Englund personally. Rather, we are aware of his importance in bringing J. S. Bach’s music in to church services – specifically Lutheran services – in the City of London. It was at his invitation that Peter Lea-Cox gave the first Bach Vespers in September 1982, from which the series as we now know it has continued, unbroken, for 37 years. It continues to be a liturgically and culturally significant legacy.

Rev’d Englund died in Falmouth, Massachusetts on 14 November. You can read a more complete obituary here. We would be glad of your recollection of his life and work: if you would like to, please write to us here at citybachcollective@gmail.com.

The final Bach Vespers of the year in which we perform is on 24 November at 6.30pm. We look forward to performing J. S. Bach’s sacred cantata Nur jedem das Seine BWV 163, as well as other German baroque and Lutheran sacred music.

More bittersweet for us is the news that Eliza Zikmane, Pastor of St. Anne’s Lutheran Church and Dean of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain will be leaving St. Anne’s at the end of the year. Eliza has been a great supporter and advocate of the Bach Vespers series, the lynchpin of our association with the church in continuing this much loved and admired tradition of Bach performed in its Lutheran context in the City of London. We wish Eliza success in her new position in Riga (and we’re happy that she will be returning regularly to London!).

Since our 40th anniversary concert in November 2016, supported by friends at the Tilford Bach Society, we have been planning to take some of the cantatas in our repertoire down to Surrey. The opportunity has now arrived. On 26 October we will take a programme of music familiar from the Bach Vespers series to Tilford, including J. S. Bach cantatas BWV 61, 84 and 166. All the details of the concert are available here on the TBS website. We hope that you can join us for an evening of concerted German baroque liturgical music!

Bach Vespers will return to St. Anne’s Lutheran Church, resident at St. Mary at Hill church in Eastcheap in the City of London, on 29 September.

We will perform J. S. Bach cantata BWV 99, Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan along with other German Baroque music on period instruments, in a service of Lutheran Vespers. The service is conducted in English with the cantata performed in German. The service is free to attend (you are welcome to make a donation to the expenses of the event).

The following month, on 27 October we will perform the great reformation cantata BWV 80, Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott. The final Bach Vespers of 2019 is on 24 November when we will perform BWV 163, Nur jedem das Seine.

All Bach Vespers are at 6.30pm. Visit St. Anne’s Lutheran Church’s website for more details of the service itself.

We’re very pleased to return to the Dutch Church in Austin Friars at the heart of the City of London. On 13 Oct at 3pm we will perform cantata BWV 47, Wer sich selbst erhöhet, der soll erniedriget werden, a compact, high-Baroque jewel of a work, in an afternoon service. David Titterington*, the organist of the church, will play music by JS Bach and the service will be conducted by Bertjan van de Lagemaat.

*update: we understand that Joseph Fort, director of music at the Chapel Choir of King’s College London will play at this service