…not even a power outage! We had a fantastic Bach Vespers this evening, despite the fact that a power cut in the church threatened to spoil everything. Bach didn’t have electricity and it didn’t cramp his style, so we rose to the challenge and continued undaunted. No organ, no problem – we changed to a harpsichord instead. No heating? That’s what coats are for. No light? Torches and clip-on lights did the trick (safer than candles). The picture shows our wonderful team of singers rehearsing in the dark. It was interesting making music without being able to see our colleagues. The sheer relief when the power came back in time for the service added an extra celebratory touch to our performance of Bach’s amazing BWV 80 to a full house on this Reformation Sunday. This will be a Bach Vespers to remember!

Don’t miss us on 27 October as we perform Bach’s magnificent and ever popular Reformation cantata, BWV 80, Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott. 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 features a team of three oboes of different sizes and bassoon, playing with and in contrast to the strings to create fabulous textural colours. There will also be lots of other music too, 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!

The following Bach Vespers will be on 24 November (BWV 61).

Come and join us on 29 September for our first Bach Vespers after the summer break. It takes place at 6.30pm at the church of St Mary-at-Hill in the City of London. We’ll be performing Bach’s rarely heard cantata BWV 8, Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben. This features a beautiful and virtuosic flute part, played by flautist extraordinaire, Lisete da Silva (pictured). We’re delighted to have Lisete with us again. There will also be music by Schütz and J. C. Bach, performed by our splendid team of singers and period instrumentalists.

Entry is free and all are welcome (you don’t have 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: 27 October.

Great to see such an impressive turnout for Bach Vespers tonight, on the anniversary of Bach’s death, to hear the superb cantata BWV 168. A fitting finale for the season, as that was our last event before the summer break.

There is no Bach Vespers in August. We’ll be back on 29 September for the next one, which features BWV 8, Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben?

We wish all our friends and supporters a fantastic summer holiday and look forward to seeing you again in September!

Our next Bach Vespers is on 28 July at 6.30pm at the church of St Mary at Hill in the City of London. This date is the anniversary of Bach’s death in 1750. We perform Bach’s powerful cantata BWV 168, Tue Rechnung! Donnerwort. Composed in 1725, this cantata, based on the concept of being accountable for one’s actions, contains a number of surprises. The operatic drama of the opening movement depicts the ‘Word of Thunder’ on Judgement Day, which rends the rocks and makes one’s blood run cold. Money metaphors are used throughout the work to describe spiritual debt, with rather worldly references to payment, business calculations, capital investment and interest in extraordinary detail – not something we would necessarily expect to find in a sacred work! All is explained by the fact that Salomo Franck, Bach’s librettist in this cantata, was director of the Weimar mint. After a splendid showpiece duet for soprano and alto over a repeated bass, the cantata ends with a serenely lyrical chorale. The service will also include music from the German Baroque for 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.