On 29 March we present the five Passion Motets by Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672, pictured), from his Canciones Sacrae of 1625. This service takes place at 6.30pm at the church of St Mary at Hill in the City of London, hosted by St Anne’s Lutheran Church.

Intense and powerful, the Schütz Passion motets (SWV 56-60) are packed with emotion and rich harmonies, despite their early date. Their raw drama has been likened to that of Caravaggio’s paintings, and they are considered to be a highpoint of seventeenth-century repertoire. The motets will be interspersed with poignant instrumental music by Bach, to create a memorable event which perfectly sets the tone for the forthcoming Passion season.

Everyone is welcome (you don’t have to be religious), and attendance is free. Do come along and bring your friends. We look forward to seeing you there to share this moving music!

Our next Bach Cantata performance will be on 22 February, when we present one of Bach’s most spellbinding masterpieces, BWV 150, Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich. This Bach Vespers service takes place at 6.30pm at the church of St Mary at Hill in the City of London, hosted by St Anne’s Lutheran Church.

BWV 150 is one of Bach’s earliest extant cantatas, probably composed in 1707, when he was employed in Arnstadt, at the church pictured. Unusually for a Bach cantata, the chorus features in the majority of movements, and there are no recitatives, although there is an exquisite soprano aria as well as a vocal trio. The exact time of year for which it was composed is unknown, but the text, with its mixture of penitence and hope, makes it ideal for Lent. The name of one of Bach’s supporters, in whose honour it may have been composed, is cleverly incorporated into in the text as an acrostic. The piece opens with an instrumental sinfonia and closes with a chaconne, the bass of which was poached by Brahms and appears in his Fourth Symphony.

There will also be lots of other music in the service, both vocal and instrumental, by Bach and other German baroque composers, performed on period instruments.

Everyone is welcome (you don’t have to be religious), and attendance is free. Do come along and bring your friends. We look forward to seeing you there to share Bach’s wonderful music!

Following Vespers event: 29 March (Schütz, Passion motets).

Come and join us on 25 January as we perform Bach’s splendid cantata, BWV 111, Was mein Gott will, das g’scheh allzeit. This Bach Vespers service takes place at 6.30pm at the church of St Mary at Hill in the City of London, hosted by St Anne’s Lutheran Church. There will also be lots of other music too, both vocal and instrumental, by Bach and other German baroque composers, performed on period instruments.

This service marks the tenth anniversary of the City Bach Collective. The group was formed specifically to perform cantatas in Bach Vespers, after former cantor Martin Knizia left. We performed our first service under the name City Bach Collective in January 2016.

Everyone is welcome (you don’t have to be religious), and attendance is free. Do come along and bring your friends. We look forward to seeing you there to share Bach’s wonderful music!

Following Bach Vespers: 22 February (BWV 150).

Wishing all our friends and followers a very happy Christmas!

Thanks to you all for your support and for being there to share Bach’s wonderful music.

We’ll be back in the new year, with Bach Vespers on 25 January, featuring the cantata BWV 111, Was mein Gott will, das g’scheh allzeit, at the Church of St Mary-at-Hill, at 6.30pm.

At 7.30pm on 12 December the American International Church in Tottenham Court Road, London, is the venue of a Christmas concert where our instrumentalists join Eclectic Voices and the choir of the American International Church under the baton of Scott Stroman (pictured). The programme includes Charpentier’s Messe de Minuit, which sets the words of the Latin mass to the melodies of French Christmas carols, Vivaldi’s Magnificat, a concerto for two flutes by Vivaldi, and much-loved carols.

Next Bach Vespers: 25 January (BWV 111)