Features
Performer Focus: Alexander Chance
“I was born in London, but lived in Norfolk for most of my childhood. Though never a Chorister, I sang as a treble in school choirs until the age of about 14, when I convinced myself and others that my voice was breaking (it wasn’t), and pretended to be a...
Music for the Dukes
Oxford Bach Soloists brings to life two of Bach’s earliest cantatas on 4 March composed during his time in service to the Weimar Dukes – but it’s not as simple as it sounds…
Performer Focus: George Robarts
Baritone George Robarts first sang with Oxford Bach Soloists in January 2015 during his second year at Oxford. Since then he has performed regularly as a soloist and chorus member. We find our more about his career as a singer… Tell us a bit about yourself, your...
Performer Focus: Simon Desbruslais
Trumpeter Simon Desbruslais will be one of the soloists in the next Oxford Bach Soloists concert on 10 December Wake Up! Simon studied at King’s College London, before specialising in both solo and baroque performance at the Royal College of Music, followed by a doctorate at Christ Church, Oxford. We find out more about his career…
Bach, Vivaldi and Mozart
The next concert from Oxford Bach Soloists on 19 November features music by Vivaldi, Bach and Mozart – three of the greatest composers in the world of classical music. We find out a bit more about the background to these famous composers…
Performer Focus: Noel Rainbird
In this edition we meet bassoonist Noel Rainbird who at York University did a module on music and poetry and wrote a thesis on Music in the Third Reich. So how did you find yourself specialising in period music? I was studying modern bassoon with Martin Gatt,...
What to expect at our Magnificat concert
Coming up in November from the Oxford Bach Soloists is a concert featuring music by Vivaldi, Bach and Mozart. One of the highlights will be Vivaldi’s glorious setting of the Magnificat. We find out more…
Bach Cantata: Gelobet sei der Herr, mein Gott (BWV 129)
The date of composition of this cantata is uncertain. It seems probable that Bach first performed it either during the 1726 Reformation Festival, which was always celebrated in Leipzig on 31st October, or on Trinity Sunday in the following year. Thereafter the piece took its place among the great chorale-based works of his 1724-25 cycle, where it replaced a non-chorale-based cantata, BWV 176.
Gelobet sei der Herr (Singing the Creed Joyfully)
Johann Olearius’ (1611-1684) hymn ‘Gelobet sei der Herr’ is a quintessential Lutheran chorale.
Celebrate the Reformation with Oxford Bach Soloists
It’s the 500th anniversary of the Reformation and the Oxford Bach Soloists are marking this historic event with a sequence of exciting events towards the end of October…