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By John Abberger, Artistic Director
Few chorales have provided as much musical inspiration historically as Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern (How beautifully shines the morning star).
Discover Bach - Episode Three: Sonata in C major for solo violin, Movement Two
Get to know the Toronto Bach Festival. Our Festival trailer offers a glimpse at who we are, what we do, and why we feel it’s important.
A look back at this past year and our artistic and financial accomplishments.
One of Canada’s foremost organists, Matthew Larkin, gives insight and interpretations on some of Bach's best organ works over the course of nine episodes. Here is Episode Eight: O Lamm Gottes unschuldig.
One of Canada’s foremost organists, Matthew Larkin, gives insight and interpretations on some of Bach's best organ works over the course of nine episodes. Here is Episode Eight: Herr Jesu.
One of Canada’s foremost organists, Matthew Larkin, gives insight and interpretations on some of Bach's best organ works over the course of nine episodes. Here is Episode Seven: Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält.
One of Canada’s foremost organists, Matthew Larkin, gives insight and interpretations on some of Bach's best organ works over the course of nine episodes. Here is Episode Six: Contrapunctus 11.
One of Canada’s foremost organists, Matthew Larkin, gives insight and interpretations on some of Bach's best organ works over the course of nine episodes. Here is Episode Five: Contrapunctus 8.
Enjoy these summer sounds on the patio while sampling this dish recommendation.
One of Canada’s foremost organists, Matthew Larkin, gives insight and interpretations on some of Bach's best organ works over the course of nine episodes. Here is Episode Four: Contrapunctus 5.
A reflection on Jeanne Lamon’s life, career, and influence on the creation of the Toronto Bach Festival.
One of Canada’s foremost organists, Matthew Larkin, gives insight and interpretations on some of Bach's best organ works over the course of nine episodes. Watch Episode Three: Allein Gott.
One of Canada’s foremost organists, Matthew Larkin, gives insight and interpretations on some of Bach's best organ works over the course of nine episodes. Enjoy Episode Two: Contrapunctus 1.
One of Canada’s foremost organists, Matthew Larkin, gives insight and interpretations on some of Bach's best organ works over the course of nine episodes. Here’s Episode One: Prelude and Fugue in B Minor.
Few chorales have provided as much musical inspiration, historically, as Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern. Bach-lovers will be interested to learn that the composer of this much-loved hymn, Philip Nicholai, also composed the chorale Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme. Both of these hymns captured the imagination of Bach, as well as that of many other composers before and after him.
We are delighted to announce the receipt of Ontario Trillium Foundation Resilient Communities grant.
The second event in our online season was a live discussion panel, eloquently titled by our moderator Natasha Gauthier as “The Gates of Brass.” The title speaks powerfully of overcoming barriers to participation and inclusion.
I have often written about the universal nature of Bach’s music. Listening to his music seems to hold out the promise that order still exists in the world, and its joyousness reassures us that one day things will return to a semblance of normality. I have designed the 2020–21 season to provide the joy and reassurance that we all need, and to connect us when we cannot experience live concerts together.
Artistic Director John Abberger and writer and concert host Rick Phillips dive into period performance practice: what is H.I.P, what does it mean, and why does it matter.
For our fifth anniversary celebration I had planned to end the festival with a performance of what has become perhaps Bach’s most iconic and famous work, the great Mass in B minor.
Our third concert in the 2020 festival was one that we were particularly excited about: a presentation of all of the Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin.
The aim of the Toronto Bach Festival is to share the creative genius of the work of J.S. Bach, and to present his magnificent music to a diverse audience. We have always believed that the beauty of Bach’s music transcends differences among peoples and cultures.
I will continue to lead you through the 2020 Toronto Bach Festival with a discussion of each of the concerts that had been planned, together with some suggested listening links to YouTube. This week we will take a brief look at the rich repertory of organ works, as we imagine the organ recital that John Butt was preparing for us.
This will be the first of several blog posts presenting the concerts of the 2020 festival to you with suggested recordings of the music we would have been performing. Today I’ll take you through the music in the opening concert.
It won’t surprise you to learn that Bach’s music is often running through my mind, or “playing in my head”. When we arrived at the painful decision to cancel the 2020 festival, I found the beautiful and poignant strains of Bach's chorale prelude An Wasserflüssen Babylon running through my head. They represent the pinnacle of his art in this fascinating form, and probably the pinnacle of the sophisticated use of this form (like so much of Bach’s music!) that has ever been known.