We had a near-capacity crowd for Tuesday’s Bach at Noon for a wonderful hour of music-making.  We were first treated to some excellent and succinct commentary about the esteem Mozart held for Bach, followed by an expressive and lyrical tour-de-force in the form of Greg Funfgeld’s and Tom Goeman’s performance of Mozart’s sonata for four… Continue Reading »

One of the most famous biblical passages, John 3:16, is given the Bach treatment in Cantata No. 68, Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt, the choral selection for tomorrow’s Bach at Noon.  I find the text setting of that passage a little strange – it happens in a lyrical siciliano, a baroque dance form in compound… Continue Reading »

It was a busy summer in Bachville  – we offered three Bach at Noons in Allentown, decamped to upstate New York for a wonderful benefit at the Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard, and kicked off the 2017-2018 season in Bethlehem with Bach at Noon this past Tuesday (not to mention the myriad planning meetings and legwork to prepare for the new season).  Auditions for The Choir are ongoing this weekend and the first rehearsal with the full ensemble is this coming Monday. Whew!  A quick recap of the summer’s events follows. Continue Reading »

The Bach Choir’s Lehigh Valley reach will continue to extend into our valley neighbors this year, beginning this coming Tuesday, with Bach at Noon in the glorious gothic confines of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Allentown.  These are packed affairs, as you can see from this older photograph from the two summers ago, so you’ll… Continue Reading »

I am writing my wrap-up of the second weekend of Festival before it’s officially over because I tarried too long, and didn’t secure our tickets for Zimmerman’s Coffee House before it sold out.  Dear reader, it’s probably for the best – I’m beat.  For Choir members, there’s what some affectionally call “Hell Week,” for some singers,… Continue Reading »