News & Features

The manner of Bach’s illness in his late years and his subsequent death has been a subject on which many music historians and Bach scholars have fiercely debated. This week is Diabetes Awareness Week (11 – 17 June), offering us the perfect opportunity to ask; did Bach...

“I appeared on soundtracks for most of the James Bond films (since Goldfinger), Pink Panther, Alien, the Harry Potters, and Lord of the Rings...” o Tell us a bit about yourself, and your training and career to date? I joined the London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO)...

Transformative imitation or just plain theft? Bach’s Cantata 21 Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis (I had much grief) is described as “one of the most extraordinary and inspired of Bach's vocal works” (John Eliot Gardiner). With eleven movements lasting about 40 minutes, it...

“Since moving to Oxford I have spent my time pursing singing as a profession, studying languages, and perfecting Mary Berry’s Banana Bread recipe for my bake-off CV...” o Tell us a bit about yourself, and your training and career to date? I’m currently a Lay Clerk at...

“I went to St Paul’s Girls’ School as a violinist and pianist, but found myself drawn to singing during my time at school. By the end of my three years as a choral scholar at Trinity College, Cambridge, I knew I wanted to pursue a career as a singer rather than a...

“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...

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…