Sanctus
New College Chapel Holywell Street, OxfordA stirring Sanctus in C major, and three cantatas with big statements: BWV 179 preaches against hypocrisy with marvelous directness; BWV 77 illustrates the second of Jesus’ two commandments recounted in the gospel narratives; and BWV 69a enjoins us to praise the Lord and ‘do not forget what good He has done for you!’
Sound In My Body
New College Chapel Holywell Street, OxfordThroughout the long summer and autumn Trinitarian period, the Lutheran lectionary’s emphasis on sin and sickness in mind and body reaches full tilt in expressions such as ‘The whole world is but a hospital’ in Cantata 25. But Bach’s music is the ‘balm of Gilead’ that heals all, above the ceaseless lament.
Help My Unbelief
New College Chapel Holywell Street, OxfordThe cantatas Bach was writing at this time deal with the theme of Christians rejecting the material world and its temptations so as not to risk losing union with God. Cantata 162 relates to the parable of the royal wedding feast to which ‘many are called but few are chosen’.
Lutheran Vespers
New College Chapel Holywell Street, OxfordA service of Lutheran Vespers featuring Bach’s Cantata 115 Mache dich, mein Geist, bereit. Performed by New College Choir, conducted by Robert Quinney, with the orchestra of the Oxford Bach Soloists.
Macmillan: A Celebration of Christmas
Recorded at Christ Church Cathedral St. Aldates, OxfordThe Oxford Bach Soloists will be performing for the second year at the 'A Celebration of Christmas' concert as part of Macmillan Cancer Support's fund-raising activities.
Bath Recitals: A Baroque Christmas
St Michael's Church Broad Street, BathOxford Bach Soloists welcomed as guests of the Bath Recitals: 'A Baroque Christmas' which brings the Bath Recitals 2019 programme to a seasonal close.
Magnificat: Cantatas for Christmas
New College Chapel Holywell Street, Oxford** SOLD OUT ** Please contact info@oxfordbachsoloists.com to be put on the waiting list.** Bach’s first Christmas in Leipzig comes with an explosion of festive music. After Advent’s ‘tempus clausum’ (closed period), Bach laid on nine major pieces for his singers and instrumentalists to master, including the Magnificat in E flat major, more commonly heard in its later D major version.
The Magi
New College Chapel Holywell Street, OxfordHot off the heels of his first Christmas in Leipzig, Bach presents us with a vibrant set of Cantatas for the New Year and Epiphany. Cantata 190 is a paean heralding the New Year, and Cantata 153 takes the dramatic story of Herod and the Massacre of the Innocents as its inspiration. Epiphany is ushered in as a pair of horns brings the wise men with their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh in Cantata 65.
Calm the Storm
New College Chapel Holywell Street, OxfordCantata 155 displays the 31-year-old Bach’s enchanting innovation in his younger days with one of the finest bassoon obbligati ever written. Cantatas 73 and 81 take as their starting point two of Christ’s miracles: the healing of the leper, and the calming of the storm. The joyful Cantata 83 is possibly Bach’s first Cantata for the feast of the Purification of Mary and the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple (Candlemas) in which Simeon sings his famous Nunc dimittis.
Pantomime Villains
New College Chapel Holywell Street, OxfordIn the lead up to Lent, three cantatas based on parables: Cantata 144, based on the parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, reveals an alto aria with a sustained melody of great beauty; and Cantatas 181 and 18, both based on the Parable of the Sower, projecting dramatic scenes of spasmodic birds pecking at the scattered seed, and a furious litany in which Bach rains fire and brimstone on the ‘pantomime villains, the Turks and the Papists’.
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.
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.
Oxford Lieder Festival: Bach and Britten with Ian Bostridge and Saskia Giorgini
New College Chapel Holywell Street, OxfordOxford Lieder Festival: Bach and Britten with Ian Bostridge and Saskia Giorgini. This is the first event of four in a day that broadly explores the intersection of sacred and secular in song across the ages. Ian Bostridge’s residency at the Oxford Lieder Festival draws to a close with this wonderful programme, juxtaposing and joining Bach and Britten. Broadcast live from Merton College Chapel.
Macmillan: Follow the Stars – A Celebration of Christmas
Recorded at Christ Church Cathedral St. Aldates, OxfordCelebrate the festive season with the Oxford Bach Soloists and a stellar cast of renowned musicians and A-list celebrities for a Carol Concert, re-imagined for 2020, which is being streamed online free to all and can be enjoyed from the comfort of your own home.
Christmas Baroque at Tilford Bach Society
Spire Church (URC) South Street, Farnham, United KingdomCorelli, Handel, J S Bach, Purcell. A special feast of Baroque Christmas music, performed in Farnham for the Tilford Bach Society. The Oxford Bach Soloists are joined by Angela Hicks (soprano), William Purefoy (countertenor), Nick Pritchard (tenor), Ben Davies (baritone) in an evening of favourite Christmas highlights.
Macmillan: Follow the Stars 2021
Christ Church Cathedral St. Aldates, Oxford, United KingdomThe Oxford Bach Soloists will be performing for the second year at the 'A Celebration of Christmas' concert as part of Macmillan Cancer Support's fund-raising activities.
Continuo Workshop
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Easter Festival: St John Passion
New College Chapel Holywell Street, OxfordOne of Bach’s best-loved works, the St John Passion was first performed on Good Friday of 1724 in St. Nicholas Church, Leipzig. ‘More daring, forceful and poetic’ than the St Matthew Passion, according to Robert Schumann, this operatic work is presented by an Evangelist, ensemble of soloists, four-part choir, strings and basso continuo together with […]
Easter Festival: Easter Oratorio
New College Chapel Holywell Street, OxfordTwo of Bach’s earliest cantatas for Easter Day, Christ lag in Todesbanden and Der Himmel lacht! Die Erde jubiliert are performed here in their revived Leipzig versions. The story takes us from darkness to blazing light, from grief to joy, echoed in the dramatic Easter Oratorio. Told by four characters Mary Magdalene, Mary Jacobe, Simon […]
Easter Festival: Rejoice You Hearts
New College Chapel Holywell Street, OxfordAbundant joy, rushing swirling scales, and fanfare-like arpeggios set the scene for the Resurrection in Bach’s Cantatas for Easter Monday, Easter Tuesday, and Quasimodogeniti (‘Low’ Sunday). Join our virtuoso soloists as they lead us through Bach’s panoply of pastoral colours, brilliant coloratura, and triumphant pageantry. BWV 66 Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen (Rejoice, you hearts) BWV 134 Ein […]
