Happy New Year to all our friends and supporters!

Come and join us on 29 January at the church of St Mary-at-Hill in the City of London, 6.30pm for the first Bach Vespers 2023. We will perform Bach’s splendid cantata BWV 14, Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit, which was first performed in 1735. There will also be other music by German baroque composers.

Everyone is welcome (no need to be religious), and entrance is free, with a voluntary donation. We look forward to seeing you there and sharing Bach’s wonderful music.

Following Bach Vespers: 26 February (BWV 82)

We’ve just done our last Bach Vespers for this year, a wonderfully jubilant occasion with BWV 132. Thanks to all our listeners and everyone who has been involved and supported us during 2022!

Do join us in the New Year for Bach Vespers (St Mary at Hill, 6.30pm) on the following dates:

29 January, BWV 14, ‘Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit’.

26 February, BWV 82, ‘Ich habe genug’.

Wishing everyone a peaceful and happy Christmas from the City Bach Collective!

Bach celebrated Advent with the joyful cantata BWV 132, Bereitet die Wege, bereitet die Bahn.  Come and join us for a performance of this sublime work on 27 November at 6.30pm at the church of St Mary at Hill in the City of London, hosted by St Anne’s Lutheran Church. This uplifting work is one of Bach’s early cantatas, written whilst he was working in Weimar. Full of musical contrasts from its dance-like opening to the poignantly beautiful alto aria with obbligato violin, this is a real ‘feel-good’ piece, perfectly designed to get everyone in good spirits before Christmas. Our team of singers and instrumentalists will also present other seasonal music by German baroque composers.

Come and enjoy it, and bring your friends along! Everyone is welcome (you don’t have to be religious), and attendance is free. We look forward to seeing you and sharing Bach’s wonderful music!

Don’t miss us on 30 October as we perform Bach’s magnificent and ever popular Reformation cantata, BWV 80, Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott. This special Bach Vespers service for Reformation Sunday 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 festive music for the occasion, 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 27 November (BWV 132 for Advent Sunday).

Come and join us on 25 September at the church of St Mary-at-Hill in the City of London, 6.30pm. We’ll be performing Bach’s splendidly rich cantata BWV 17, Wer Dank opfert, der preiset mich, which celebrates gratitude in all its forms. A feast of counterpoint, this cantata contains some memorable moments, such as the toe-tapping tenor aria ‘Welch Übermaß’ and the opening chorus, one of Bach’s most brilliant choral fugues. Bach liked this movement so much, he reused it in his Missa in G (BWV 236). The service also includes a striking sonata for strings by Fasch, and vocal and organ music by other Bach contemporaries.

Everyone is welcome (no need to be religious), and entrance is free, with a voluntary donation. We look forward to seeing you there and sharing Bach’s wonderful music.

Future Bach Vespers dates: 30 November (BWV 80), 27 November (BWV 132).