Bach Around the Clock 2022 is coming! After two years of offering up online-only presentations of the great masterworks of Johann Sebastian Bach on the Saturday closest to the Baroque master’s birthday in March, we’re thrilled to be able to welcome Bach fans from all over to Christ Lutheran Church in Staunton for a day-long celebration of Bach from 9 am to 9 pm. Admission, as always, is free…and the range of Bach’s music on disply is nothing short of spectacular, from his solo Sonatas and Partitas for violin, his thunderous organ works, and the final “Cantata Hour” that will feature the Bach Around the Clock soloists, choir, and chamber orchestra, led by BATC Music Director Paul Weber.
So, while we busily prepare for our big Bach day in Staunton, we thought we’d share with you some Bach treasures that you might’ve missed from previous incarnations of BATC….Starting with our 2021 Heifetz Ensemble in Residence members Julia Angelov, Yezu Woo, Matt Cohen, and Coleman Itzkoff. For safety reasons, our 2021 Edition of Bach Around the Clock was virtual, but the performers were very much in evidence at Christ Lutheran, offering up a number of memorable performances of Bach’s works, both as soloists and as an ensemble. Here, oboist Jessica Warren and organist Florence Jowers join the HEIR members to perform the brooding opening Sinfonia from Bach’s Cantata No. 21 ” Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis (“I had much grief”.)
Next, Yezu Woo, a member of both the 2021 and 2022 HEIR groups, performs the third-movement Largo from the Violin Sonata No. 3 in C major, BWV 1005. PS: You can see the entire 12-hour 2021 edition of Bach Around The Clock, (including solo performances by all of the HEIR members) here: https://heifetz.institute/BATC2021
Finally, we’ll go back to Bach Around The Clock 2019 to hear tenor Brian Thorsett in the aria Ich traue seiner Gnaden (“I trust His grace,”) from the Cantata No. 97. The gorgeous violin obbligato is performed by our own Heifetz Institute Artistic Director Nicholas Kitchen, joined by cellist Yeesun Kim (Borromeo Quartet), and organist Florence Jowers. Paul Weber conducts. Text and translations may be found here.