The Bach Hour | Classical New England
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The virtually limitless well of music by J.S. Bach has always had a prominent place on radio airwaves in Boston. Whether it’s an iconic work like the Toccata and Fugue in D minor or a rarely heard but emotionally riveting church cantata, Bach’s music is a touchstone, returning listeners to a foundation on which so much subsequent music has been built.
The Bach Hour grows out of a tradition begun in the early 1970's by Robert J. Lurtsema of WGBH 89.7 FM. As one of the earliest sets of the complete Bach cantatas on record (Leonhardt and Harnoncourt) was being released, they became a regular fixture on each Sunday's edition of Morning Pro Musica, Lurtsema's unique daily program. Now, on The Bach Hour, those cantatas, with the rich and diverse range of performances now available, are heard on the calendar days for which they were written. Combined with recent and classic recordings of Bach's instrumental masterpieces and occasional interviews with significant interpreters, each week's program offers a chance to connect more deeply with this bedrock composer.
More about The Bach Hour
For more Bach, visit our 2012 Bach Month celebration online, with Bach Minutes, video, and more.
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The virtually limitless well of music by J.S. Bach has always had a prominent place on radio airwaves in Boston. Whether it’s an iconic work like the Toccata and Fugue in D minor or a rarely heard but emotionally riveting church cantata, Bach’s music is a touchstone, returning listeners to a foundation on which so much subsequent music has been built.
The Bach Hour grows out of a tradition begun in the early 1970's by Robert J. Lurtsema of WGBH 89.7 FM. As one of the earliest sets of the complete Bach cantatas on record (Leonhardt and Harnoncourt) was being released, they became a regular fixture on each Sunday's edition of Morning Pro Musica, Lurtsema's unique daily program. Now, on The Bach Hour, those cantatas, with the rich and diverse range of performances now available, are heard on the calendar days for which they were written. Combined with recent and classic recordings of Bach's instrumental masterpieces and occasional interviews with significant interpreters, each week's program offers a chance to connect more deeply with this bedrock composer.
More about The Bach Hour
For more Bach, visit our 2012 Bach Month celebration online, with Bach Minutes, video, and more.
Trevor Pinnock in Boston
Brasil Guitar Duo's French Suite and the Cantata No. 166
Cantata No. 103 and the Triple Concerto
Cantata No. 85 & Solo Violin Partita No. 2
French Suite No. 1 with David Fray, and Cantata No. 6
The Easter Oratorio
Cello Suite No. 5 & Cantata No. 182
Harry Christophers on the St. Matthew Passion, Part Two
Harry Christophers on the St. Matthew Passion, Part One
Lara St. John and Marie-Pierre Langlamet
Violinist Anne Akiko Meyers, and Cantata No. 131
Simone Dinnerstein's "Something Almost Being Said"
Oboist Albrecht Mayer, and the Cantata No. 127
The Art of the Fugue, and Cantata No. 181
Erik Bosgraaf's Transcription and the Cantata No. 144
Countertenor Andreas Scholl Sings the Cantata No. 82
Salonen Conducts Schoenberg's Vision, and the Cantata No. 73
A Concerto with Murray Perahia, and the Cantata No. 155
Cantata No. 123 at St. Nicholas Church
Glenn Gould's Goldberg Variations
Cantata No. 63, for Christmas
Cantata No. 132 & Canonic Variations on Vom Himmel Hoch
Orchestral Suite No. 2 & Suzuki's Cantata No. 62
Harnoncourt's Cantata 61 & the Goldbergs on Harp
Cantata No. 115 and Prelude, Allegro, and Fugue
Cantata No. 109 and Violin Concerto in E
Violin Partita No. 3 with Isabelle Faust and the Cantata No. 180
Cantata No. 79 and Brandenburg Concerto No. 1
Cantata No. 169 and Harpsichord Concerto in E
Mark Padmore in the Cantata No. 114
Cantata No. 161 and Cello Suite No. 1 on Viola
Cantata No. 29 and Orchestral Suite No. 1
Pianist Jeremy Denk, and the Cantata No. 17
Ryan Turner On Cantata No. 12
Morimur
Cantata No. 46 and Suite for Lute
Cantata No. 105 and Concerto for Two Harpsichords
Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, Cantata No. 186
Cantata No. 9, Orchestral Suite No. 2, and Anderson & Roe
Cantata No. 93 & Keyboard Concerto in D minor
Cello Suite No. 6 & Cantata No. 135
Cantata No. 2, Orchestral Suite No. 3 from the Boston Early Music Festival
Cantata No. 39; Reconstructed Violin Concerto in D minor
Brandenburg Concerto No. 6, Cantata No. 129
Violin Sonata No. 3, Cantata No. 172
Cantata No. 43 for Ascension, and Orchestral Suite No. 1
Cantata No. 108, Keyboard Partita No. 4
The Trost Organ at Altenburg in Cantata No. 146
Mary Greer on The Bach Experience
Cantata No. 42 and the Triple Concerto
Cantata No. 31, for Easter
Seiji Ozawa Conducts Bach, and the Missa Brevis in G
Missa Brevis in G minor, and Jeremy Denk's Partita No. 3
Missa Brevis in A, and Gidon Kremer's Solo Violin Sonata No. 1
Richard Egarr on The Well-Tempered Clavier, and the Missa Brevis in F
The Mass in B Minor, with Conductor David Hoose
Coffee Cantata and Cantata No. 159
Maxim Rysanov's Cello Suites, and the Cantata No. 92
Cantata No. 81, Brazilian Guitar Quartet, & Borromeo String Quartet
Cantata No. 111, Flutist Joshua Smith, and German Brass
Cantata No. 13, and Simone Dinnerstein
Cantatas for Epiphany
Cantata No. 41 and English Suite No. 4
Cantata No. 110 and Orchestral Suite No. 4
Magnificat
Simone Dinnerstein's French Suite No. 5 & the Cantata No. 36
Cantatas Nos. 90 & 116, and British Transcriptions for Piano
Cantatas Nos. 60 & 26
Violinist Rachel Podger, and Masaaki Suzuki's Cantata No. 139
Cantata No. 80 on Reformation Sunday
Bach in the Back Bay and Cantata No. 38
Walton's The Wise Virgins & the Cantata No. 56
Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, Cantata No. 148
Interview with Ryan Turner, Cantata No. 95
Cantata 138, Mass in B minor (Gloria), Prelude and Fugue in E-flat, St. Anne
Cantata No. 78, Keyboard Partita No. 2
Cantata 77, Orchestral Suite No. 4, Italian Concerto
Cantata 137, Violin Sonata No. 1, Feinberg transcriptions
Cello Suite No. 3, Cantata No. 199
Cantata No. 101
Cantata No. 94, Masaaki Suzuki WTC II
Cantata No. 45, Richard Egarr WTC II
Violin Sonata No. 3, Cantata No. 187
Cantata No. 177, Horszowski, Lislevand
Cantata No. 21
Cantata No. 76, Trio Sonata in E minor, BWV 528
French Suite No. 5, Cantata BWV 20
Cantatas, BWV 68, 175, & 176
Cantata No. 59, Riccardo Chailly interview
Ascension Oratorio, Concerto for two harpsichords, BWV 1061a
Cantata No. 87, Cello Suite No. 2
Cantata No. 12 & Concerto in C, BWV 594, for organ
Cantatas, BWV 66 & 145
Bach's Birthday
John Harbison & Balint Karosi
John Harbison & Balint Karosi: complete interview
Jesu, meine Freude, BWV 227
Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf, BWV 226
Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 225
Cantata No. 18, Violin Concerto in E, BWV 1042
Cantata No. 84, Orchestral Suite No. 2
Cantata No. 111, Solo Violin Sonata No. 2
Cantata No. 3, Flute Sonata in B minor
Christmas Oratorio, Part 6
Christmas Oratorio, Part 5
Christmas Oratorio, Part 4
Christmas Oratorio, Part 3
Christmas Oratorio, Part 2
Christmas Oratorio, Part 1
