Bach Akademie Australia | Public figure
Bach Akademie Australia
Phone: +61 1300 785 377
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24.01.2022 TOGETHER WITH BACH - Sunday 27th September Happy Sunday everyone, and felicitations for the start of the school holidays here in New South Wales! Today I am posting the beautiful Toccata in E minor from Bach's Partita no.6 in E minor BWV 830. Many of us would be familiar with Bach's Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin, but are we so familiar with his 6 Partitas for Clavier BWV 825-830? ... The title page states Denen Liebhabern zur Gemüths Ergoetzung, meaning 'for the enjoyment of music lovers'. Interestingly, the six partitas gathered together form the first of four volumes that Bach called Clavier Übung published as Opus 1. This refers not to these being his first compositions (Bach was over 40 at the time) but to these being the first of his compositions to see publication. This Partita is particularly beautiful, and will be performed live this Friday 2nd Oct by the brilliant Neal Peres Da Costa as part of our Melbourne Digital Concert Hall performance. Enjoy this wonderful rendition by the world renowned harpsichordist and giant of the early music world, Trevor Pinnock. Tickets here: https://melbournedigitalconcerthall.com/sydney-spring-seas/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_Y66rynMnE .
24.01.2022 We are thrilled to have received this wonderful review from Manan Luthra and State Of The Art for our Melbourne Digitsl Concert Hall performance! Thank you so much... https://stateoftheart.net.au//faces-of-sydney-festival-ba/
23.01.2022 In her own words, how Australian soprano Susannah Lawergren feels about Bach's Cantata BWV 106 'Actus Tragicus'. "Our rehearsals this week with dear colleagues of Bach Akademie Australia was very special. The look in all our eyes seeing each other again, and then beginning playing is hard to put into words - we were all hungry for this music! Actus Tragicus is a phenomenal work. The beautiful opening sinfonia has a curious combination of innocence and maturity that characteri...ses the whole work. My role, not as big as our chocolate-voiced, show-stealing bass Andrew O'Connor, is the voice of redemption. At two points in the cantata, I lead a sudden transformation of music and meaning, a gear shift which requires nerves of steel and absolute conviction! Bach writes an almost ululating cry for the soprano that feels like something very ancient. This Melbourne Digital Concert Hall performance will mark 4 years since I began singing with Madeleine Easton and Bach Akademie Australia. I still pinch myself and count myself lucky to be able to sing with this incredible team of musicians." Join us in your homes tomorrow evening to hear the sublime voice of Susannah. Tickets here: https://melbournedigitalconcerthall.com/sydney-spring-seas/
23.01.2022 Join us tonight for 'Weihnachtsfreude!', Bach Akademie Australia's Christmas celebration featuring Cantata 133, Motet 'Lobet den Herrn' and Brandenburg 5th concerto featuring Neal Peres Da Costa. 8.30pm this evening online at the Melbourne Digital Concert Hall! Tickets here: https://watch.melbournedigitalconcerthall.com/
21.01.2022 Please join me in supporting these brilliant Australian artists and dear friends this Thursday evening when they perform some of the very best string quartets of Haydn for the Melbourne Digital Concert Hall. Cannot wait The Australian Haydn Ensemble!
20.01.2022 Ladies and Gentlemen.... Don’t miss the extraordinary Neal Peres Da Costa duetting with Tamara Anna Cislowska tomorrow at 3pm on ABC Classic FM! This is one not to miss. https://www.abc.net.au/classic/programs/duet/
19.01.2022 TOGETHER WITH BACH - Sunday 30th August Today I am posting a rare and interesting fragment from a mostly lost keyboard concerto of Bach's, BWV 1059. It is a glorious piece demonstrating Bach's genius in balancing the seriousness of a minor key whilst maintaining an overall uplifting feeling. What is most interesting is that Bach used this concerto as the opening sinfonia to his cantata BWV 35 'Geist und Seele wird verwirret'. Whilst this is the cantata written for this week ...according to the Lutheran church calendar of Bach's time, I felt just posting the cantata would be taking the easy way out. Why not draw attention to the wonderful concerto instead? Sadly the other movements were lost, as were much of Bach's instrumental music from his pre-Leipzig years, but we have this surviving fragment which is in my opinion, wonderful! Enjoy this reconstruction by one of the masters of Bach prformance and interpretation, Ton Koopman. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApgCxwAImCE Photo is of the Organ of the Nikolaikirche in Leipzig.
19.01.2022 Today is a good day- any day when we get to rehearse Bach for a live performance is a very good day! 4 days until we give our first live performance of 2020 at Christ Church St Laurence!
19.01.2022 Bach Akademie Australia performs once again for the Melbourne Digital Concert Hall on Friday 2nd Oct. To sing Bach's ethereal cantata BWV 106 'Actus Tragicus', we have 4 of Australia's finest voices: Susannah Lawergren, Tobias Cole, Richard Butler and Andrew O'Connor. Join us online next Friday to hear these amazing musicians perform! Buy tickets here:... https://melbournedigitalconcerthall.com/sydney-spring-seas/ See more
18.01.2022 The state of historical performance practice in Australia is thankfully alive and well, despite the pandemic, as is wonderfully evident in the release of this wonderful recording released by our friends Ironwood. I have bought it and am enjoying it every day, and I highly recommend it!
17.01.2022 For those of you trying to purchase tickets for our Melbourne Digital Concert hall concert tomorrow night, we have been experiencing some issues with the booking website. Here is a link where you can purchase tickets! https://watch.melbournedigitalconcerthall.com/#item/62454... We very much look forward to seeing you online tomorrow night!
17.01.2022 90 minutes to curtains up! Get your tickets here: https://watch.melbournedigitalconcerthall.com/#/item/58898
17.01.2022 We're very excited to be going digital with our Weihnachtsfreude program that sold out recently at Christ Church St Laurence. Join us online on Wednesday December 16 at 8.30pm via the Melbourne Digital Concert Hall for an unforgettable experience of joyful Christmas music by J.S. Bach. Click the link below to secure your tickets to this incredible online event that you can enjoy from the comfort of your home. Tickets are available for $24. https://melbournedigitalconcerthall.com/bach-akademie-aust/
15.01.2022 In his own words, what BWV 106 'Actus Tragicus' means to our dear friend and brilliant tenor, Richard Butler: "There is no more appropriate Bach Cantata to perform in these uncertain times than 'Actus Tragicus' which reminds us of our fragile mortality but ultimately uplifts us with the promise of eternal life in paradise for the faithful. The Melbourne Digital Concert Hall is a precious lifeline to musicians during this awful time, particularly when the government and key a...rts organisations offer little concern or support for the livelihoods of our artists. I personally relish the opportunity to sing in my first concert since March. It will be a truly magical experience." Please join us tomorrow evening at 7pm AEST online for the https://melbournedigitalconcerthall.com/sydney-spring-seas/
15.01.2022 TOGETHER WITH BACH - Sunday 20th September 2020. As we collectively glance outside our windows in the hope of warmer days, and the scent of wattle and jasmine wafting our way, I feel a sense of reflection on that fact that this year is flying past all too quick. Some might argue they would like to see the back of 2020, and I empathise very much. We must however try if we can to live in the moment and reflect on what we have all been through this year. Today I am posting Bach...'s early cantata BWV 106 'Actus Tragicus', in memorium for 2020 if you will. Some cantatas, indeed many some would argue, one comes back to time and time again as a source of joy and comfort. This is one of them. It allows us to reflect, digest and hopefully accept what we have all lived through this year, but also leaves us with an incredible sense of hope, as is demonstrated in Bachs' final allegro "Amen". Enjoy this beautiful performance by the The Netherlands Bach Society, directed by Jos van Veldhoven. If you would like to hear us perform this cantata live, tune in to the Melbourne Digital Concert Hall on October 2nd, 7pm AEST. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXMUpqSyJJo
14.01.2022 Rehearsals are well underway for our Sydney Spring Season Bach Akademie Australia performance for the Melbourne Digital Concert Hall this Friday 2nd Oct @7pmAEST. Here are some shots of us in full flight rehearsing Bach's magical cantata BWV 106 'Actus Tragicus'. Tickets: https://melbournedigitalconcerthall.com/sydney-spring-seas/
12.01.2022 We are overwhelmed by receiving a 5 star review for our only concert of 2020, which now feels all the more memorable and meaningful. It was tough due to the many Covid restrictions we had to navigate, but SO worth it! Thank you classikON!! https://www.classikon.com/ambassa/review-weichnachtsfreude/
12.01.2022 In his own words, what BWV 106 'Actus Tragicus' means to Australian baritone Andrew O'Connor: "As a baritone, this work is also very much a vocal journey - from the earthly and human role in the wonderful choruses to the heavenly heights of the Bass Arioso singing Jesus' words from the cross as told in Luke's Gospel. It's a real privilege to be singing for the Melbourne Digital Concert Hall which will mark my first performance for a 'live' audience since March 14 when Covid-...19 rendered live performance impossible. I know I speak for everyone at Bach Akademie Australia when I express my gratitude for everyone who has made this performance possible." Join us in your homes tomorrow evening when we present 'Bach's Universal Light' for the Melbourne Digital Concert Hall's Sydney Spring Season. https://melbournedigitalconcerthall.com/sydney-spring-seas/
11.01.2022 TOGETHER WITH BACH - Sunday 23rd August Well this year continues to surprise us in so many ways, not many very pleasant sadly. This week I have decided to post this very intimate, but still punchy cantata BWV 179 'Siehe zu, dass deine Gottesfurcht nicht Heuchelei sei', which translates as 'See that your fear of God is not hypocrisy'. It matters not if you believe in a God or not, what I feel Bach has done wonderfully here is shine a spotlight on the merits of being the kind o...f person who is as true on the inside as they appear on the outside. It is undoubtedly true that striving to stay true to yourself, and not indulge in hypocrisy will get us all further in life, and in a more fulfilling way. So with this in mind, enjoy this fabulous performance of 20 years ago from Sir John Eliot Gardiner, the EBS and Monteverdi Choir & Orchestras featuring the incredible Magdalena Kožená, Mark Padmore and Stephan Loges. It does not get better than this!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hP5zWviUyjM Painting is: Church interior with the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican by Dutch painters Dirck van Delen (church interior) and Cornelis van Poelenburch (figures), 1653. Oil on panel. The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA, USA
10.01.2022 Internationally recognised as one of the world's great exponents of the Viola da Gamba, Danny Yeadon shares his thoughts on Bach's Cantata BWV 106. "Actus Tragicus is one of Bach’s most heavenly cantatas. The word ‘paradisum’ immediately springs to mind. Beautiful vocal lines & divine musical motifs in the recorders and gambas all weave their magic above a majestic bass line. Actus Tragicus contains exceptionally beautiful melodic lines for the two gamba players. It’s a reall...y visceral experience, rather like the Buxtehude sonatas, which is ironic because the musical material is so heavenly!" Hear Danny Yeadon perform 'Actus Tragicus' with Bach Akademie Australia this Friday 2nd Oct, 7pm as part of the Melbourne Digital Concert Hall's Sydney Spring Season. Tickets: https://melbournedigitalconcerthall.com/sydney-spring-seas/
10.01.2022 Bach Akademie Australia returns to the Melbourne Digital Concert Hall as part of their Sydney Spring Season! We present Bach's ethereal early cantata BWV 106 'Actus Tragicus' and his Brandenburg Concerto no.4 Friday 2nd October, 7pm AEST... Tickets: https://melbournedigitalconcerthall.com/sydney-spring-seas/ #melbournedigitalconcerthall #williambarton #australianromanticclassicalorchestra #elenakatschernin #goldnerstringquartet #kathrynselby #janerutterflute #gerardwillems #sydneyartscene #cellblocktheatre #nationalartschool #bach #bachrocks #bachcantata #bachcantatas #johneliotgardiner #cantatas #actustragicus #baroqueflute #recorders #violadagamba #violadagambalove #brandenburgconcertos #brandenburgconcertono4
09.01.2022 Time for another wonderful concert from the Melbourne Digital Concert Hall, this time from our very dear friends the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra! All the way from the UK, the extremely talented Australian flautist Georgia Browne joins the ensemble for a program of Mozart and Abel chamber music. It is a given that most of us have heard of Mozart and his music, but perhaps not Abel. He is also a true great of the Classical period. Don‘t miss this chance to discover his music as well! Join them live from the historic Cell Block Theatre in the National Arts School for their performance this Friday evening, 23rd October at 7pm AEST. https://watch.melbournedigitalconcerthall.com/#/item/58930
07.01.2022 We are so thrilled to announce that we will be back performing live on Friday 13th November 2020 in the beautiful Christ Church St Laurence! Please join us for 'WEIHNACHTSFREUDE', a program of J.S. Bach to celebrate the coming Christmas season which will be all the more meaningful for us all after the events of 2020. 4 of our wonderful vocalists will feature in Bach's motet 'Lobet den Herrn', and his ebulliant cantata for Christmas, 'Ich freue mich in dir'.... Neal Peres Da Costa will shine in the fiendishly difficult but joyful Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, as will tenor Richard Butler and alto Hannah Fraser in two beautiful arias from Part II of Bach's Christmas Oratorio. Due to limited numbers of patrons, we will perform this program twice that evening. Performance #1 - 6:15PM Performance #2 - 8.15PM Tickets here: https://www.bachakademieaustralia.com.au/events Ph: 1300 785 377 We can't wait to see you there!
07.01.2022 In his own words, what BWV 106 'Actus Tragicus' means to Australia's own Tobias Cole - Countertenor: "We are in weird times as fear, uncertainty and government doctrine pervade our lives. We can either exist in that frequency or make a choice to strive for a higher consciousness encompassing love, joy and kindness. Now, more than ever, is the time for music to step up. The Melbourne Digital Concert Hall has been a magic balm in recent months for Australian classical musicians... and lovers.I am deeply honoured to be invited to perform as part of the Sydney Spring Season with Madeleine Easton's splendid Bach Akademie Australia. The work I'll be singing, Actus Tragicus, is beautifully appropriate at this time as it reminds us of the higher spiritual laws of hope, redemption, kindness, love and ultimately, joy." Enjoy Tobias' beautiful singing tomorrow evening @7pm Oct 2nd online at https://melbournedigitalconcerthall.com/sydney-spring-seas/
06.01.2022 This week at the Melbourne Digital Concert Hall!
06.01.2022 Thank you so much to all who attended our two Weihnachtsfreude concerts on November 13th in the beautiful surrounds of Christ Church St Laurence. They were our first and sadly last pubic performances for this year. As sad as that is, we were greeted on stage so warmly and appreciatively that the memory will sustain us into next year when we will resume public performances, all being well! For those of you who missed out on seeing the performance live, do not worry! We will pe...rform our Weihnachtsfreude program for the Melbourne Digital Concert Hall which will be broadcast on December 16th at 8:30pm AEST around the world! For those of you who cannot be there live at the time, you can now watch the concert on demand at your convenience. All you have to do is purchase a ticket in advance. Please do join us then for some Christmas Joy in the way only J.S. Bach can provide. Tickets: https://melbournedigitalconcerthall.com/bach-akademie-aust/
03.01.2022 TOGETHER WITH BACH - Sunday 16th August It has to be said I never thought we would still be experiencing the ongoing effects of this virus this far into the year. The loss of live performance is starting to affect as all in ways we could not have imagined, both physically and psychologically. With this in mind, I am going to continue my 'Together With Bach' posts, incase my listening suggestions help even one person out there to get through their day with a bit more joy & mea...ning. The global upheaval of the past 6 months has called into question almost every kind of security we once had. Political leadership and financial markets change by the day, while the right to live, work, and travel freely where we choose have ceased to be certainties. We don't have an end in sight, but I hope you will join with me in taking solace in Bach's timeless comfort and genius. Today is the 10th Sunday after Trinity. The cantatas Bach wrote for today are BWV 46, 101 and 102, all extraordinary works. I could not choose between them, so lucky for me Sir John Eliot Gardiner recorded all three on one incredible recording, posted here. These are dark cantatas, concerned with the false collection of wealth, and the realisation that true wealth lies in the kingdom of the spirit. This is for you Sandy Belford... Happy Sunday! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f87nR7QjU Monteverdi Choir & Orchestras
01.01.2022 We are at the end of the first week of the Melbourne Digital Concert Hall's Sydney Spring Season having seen some wonderful concerts thus far! Congratulations to the Nexas Saxophone Quartet for an amazing concert last night! Tonight, the Australian pianist Ian Munro performs some of Beethoven's timeless piano sonatas including the Moonlight. Keep tuning in to these amazing concerts where every ticket bought supports the artists themselves, and don't miss us performing this F...riday 2nd October! William BartonGerard Willems The Sydney Art Quartet Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra The Song Company Simon Tedeschi Australian Haydn Ensemble | Haydn's Dream & Bach's Goldberg | Melbourne Digital Concert Hall Jane Rutter Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) Goldner String Quartet Claire Edwardes @Kathryn Selby
