Three concerts over one day at the opening weekend of Bachfest Leipzig combined Bach’s music with that of composers from Rachmaninov to Sibelius, but nothing matches the unrivalled bliss of Bach’s own music performed with total conviction.
Here's a winning formula to pack a concert hall for a Saturday night organ recital: book one of the country's best-known actor-managers to front the evening, invest in televisual effects, and write a good script.
Florilegium and tenor James Gilchrist give intelligent and engaging performances of music by Bach and his contemporaries including some repertoire unfairly neglected in today's concert halls.
The world’s largest gathering of early music artists and professionals, the Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht, marked its final concert on Sunday 2 September with a full-house performance by the Collegium Vocale Gent. Led by Philippe Herreweghe, the ensemble has been dedicated since the 1970s to the pursuit of Baroque sonorities and performance practice.
Jadis un projet dont les inspirateurs se demandaient s’ils réussiraient à toucher un large public, la Bach Académie est aujourd’hui un événement annuel dans le calendrier de concerts en Belgique. Le Collegium Vocale a refermé cette Bach Académie avec une série de cantates d’une qualité évidente.
