I have discovered a website that anyone who loves the music of Bach simply has to visit and keep track of.
It is called All of Bach, which is a very reasonable description of what they are setting out to do – i.e perform and record the entire works of Bach and to bung them onto the internet for us to enjoy.
So far they have finished about 55 of his works, ranging through massive choral works, such as the Mathew Passion, through pensive cello suites and splendid organ works and a range of his Cantatas, all performed with enormous love, pleasure and professionalism.
So, 55 done, only another 1030 to go, more or less.
Currently they are producing videos at the rate of one a week, bit occasionally they manage a couple more as well.
So who are these Bach Fiends?
Not surprisingly, they are in fact a group of musicians who specialise in the music of good old Bach, the Dutch Bach Society, and I can do no better then to quote fully from their given reasons for this epic undertaking, so here they go……..
Why All of Bach?
Because the Netherlands Bach Society is looking forward to celebrating its first 100 years in the 2021-2022 season, the idea emerged to perform all of Bach’s work. To stay close to Bach, we shall perform his music in hand-picked locations: cantatas in a church, chamber music in living rooms, and so on. In order to reach as many people as possible, we turned our eyes to the new media. “In this way we can involve people in the way we work and let them discover how you can make Bach sound. It’s a gift to the world. Because whether you live in South Korea and are practising the Minuet in G minor for the first time or you live in Appingedam and are fascinated by four-part fugues, you are just a few mouse clicks away from the information you are looking for,” says our artistic director Jos van Veldhoven.Netherlands Bach Society
The Netherlands Bach Society has figured prominently in Dutch cultural life for many years. It started out in 1921 with a plan for a performance of Bach’s St Matthew Passion in the Grote Kerk in Naarden. Our founders purposely chose a church as a pendant to Willem Mengelberg’s performances in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Our ensemble grew into a leading musical society with a flexible basis. We still perform the St Matthew Passion every year in the Grote Kerk in Naarden. In addition, each season we give around fifty concerts all over the Netherlands as well as abroad. Jos van Veldhoven has been the artistic director since 1983.
So that is what it is all about.
Having had a good wander through the videos they already have online, I can recommend this music to you with absolutely no hesitation, it is beautifully performed and superbly filmed in very high Res, but still seems to stream smoothly.
Being a dutch site, they have of course set it up in both Dutch (reasonably) and English, so easy to navigate around and to read the various essays and comments you will find attached to each performance.
So, if you love Bach, head on down to this place…… All Of Bach
Share with us:
Once you have had a look at this superb site, do drop by and let us know how you enjoyed it, and what specifically you listened to and why you chose that particular piece.
OZTHOUGHTS 