March 2017
The Wages of Sin
One of Bach’s rarer latin settings and a cry for Mercy sets the scene for the dissonant opening to Bach’s Cantata calling us to ‘Resist Sin’. Dating from Bach’s days as court composer at the Schlosskirche (court chapel) of Weimar this is one of the composer’s more unusual works for solo alto.
Find out more »April 2017
Passion
One of Bach’s best loved works, his extravagant St John Passion is presented by an ensemble of soloists, four-part choir and orchestra.
Find out more »Easter Oratorio
Bach’s colossal 1725 Easter Oratorio with its festive scoring is paired with Bach’s Easter Cantata and a new and haunting world premiere by Colin Riley.
Find out more »Edward Thomas: A Centenary Celebration in Words and Music
Oxford Bach Soloists perform Colin Riley's new and haunting work bringing together fragments of Thomas’ collected poetry.
Find out more »May 2017
Lutheran Vespers
The Orchestra of Oxford Bach Soloists and New College Choir present an authentic recreation of Lutheran Vespers, the context for which JS Bach was writing his cantatas.
Find out more »Reformation 500: Sun and Shield
Discover more about JS Bach's spectacular Cantata 79 ‘Gott der Herr ist Sonn und Schild’ (God the Lord is sun and shield) in this first event in the series celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.
Find out more »June 2017
Royal Wedding
An exploration of 'heavenly' Royal Weddings sets the theme for this concert dominated by Handel’s magnificent DIXIT DOMINUS.
Find out more »July 2017
Out of the Depths
Explore the fascinating and moving settings of the profound text ‘Out of the depths have I cried unto thee’ by JS Bach and his baroque contemporaries.
Find out more »August 2017
Actus Tragicus
Alongside one of Bach's most profoundly beautiful cantatas, this concert features instrumental music by Bach’s contemporary, Telemann in his 250th anniversary year.
Find out more »December 2017
Christmas Baroque
Oxford comes to Bath with an evening of festive baroque cheer in the beautiful setting of St Michael’s Without following its recent makeover making it the most comfortable church in the city!
Find out more »July 2020
Back to Bach: Rosie Moon & Jacob Garside
Our new series Back to Bach reveals how OBS musicians have returned to the works of JS Bach during lockdown. In this first episode, Rosie Moon (violone & double bass) and Jacob Garside (gamba & cello) explore the evolution of polyphony from Gibbons to Bach.
Find out more »August 2020
Back to Bach: Yu-Wei Hu & Johan Löfving
Back to Bach reveals how OBS musicians have returned to the works of JS Bach during lockdown. In this second episode, Yu-Wei Hu (flute) and Johan Löfving (theorbo) explore the Master of melody and harmony.
Find out more »April 2021
Virtual Easter Festival
We are delighted to present our inaugural Virtual Easter Festival this April.
Find out more »
St John Passion BWV 245
Welcome to the OBS Easter Festival. Join us in the extraordinary setting of Christ Church Cathedral for a brand new immersive production with staging by renowned Director Thomas Guthrie.
Find out more »
Christ lag in Todesbanden BWV 4
Day two of our online Easter Festival brings us Christ lag in Todesbanden (Christ lay in death's bonds) - BWV 4 - from the intimate setting of New College Chapel. This includes a special lecture from our longterm partner in research, German Mediaevalist Professor Henrike Lähnemann.
Find out more »
Easter Oratorio
We return to Christ Church Cathedral for day three of our Easter Festival, with the spectacular Easter Oratorio, BWV 249.
Find out more »
Der Himmel lacht! Die Erde jubilieret BWV 31
In the final part of our Easter Festival, join us for the peaceful beauty of our smallest piece of the weekend: Der Himmel lacht! Die Erde jubilieret (Heaven laughs! Earth exults) - BWV 31.
Find out more »October 2021
spirit: give
Committing acts of kindness increases wellbeing. The first musical track on “The Golden Record” onboard NASA’s two Voyager probes is Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2: a gift from planet Earth to the universe. J. S. Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 (chamber version for quintet), BWV 1047R Herr Christ, der einge Gottessohn (Lord Christ, the only son of God), BWV 96 Gott soll allein mein Herze haben (God alone shall have my heart), BWV 169 G. P. Telemann Herr Christ, der ein'ge Gottes…
Find out more »November 2021
mind: learn
Learning something new enhances self-esteem and helps us to feel balanced and connected. A sense of balance is inherent in the number three, as found in the “Trinity Knot” (Triquetra). Bach’s Third Brandenburg Concerto is unusual for its scoring and instrumentation: three violins, three violas, three cellos, and basso continuo. Could it be a depiction of the Trinity in music? Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, BWV 1048 Nur jedem das Seine! (To each his own!), BWV 163 Ich liebe den Höchsten von…
Find out more »January 2022
people: connect
Putting the wellbeing of others before ourselves is unconventional but enhances our own lives. Bach’s Fourth Brandenburg Concerto challenges commonly held social assumptions that some people are “better” than others. The young Prince elector of Saxony, Friederick Christian, expressed it well: “Princes exist for their subjects, not subjects for their princes.” Brandenburg Concerto No. 4, BWV 1049 Laßt uns sorgen, laßt uns wachen - ‘Herkules auf dem Scheidewege’ (Let us take care, let us watch over – ‘Hercules at the…
Find out more »