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.
Hear The Bach Hour each Sunday at 6am on 99.5 WCRB, as well as Mondays, midnight-2am. And listen on demand for two weeks after broadcast.
Resources consulted for production of The Bach Hour include many sites, books, and other media, but in particular, the following:
- program booklets of featured recordings, including those written by John Eliot Gardiner
- Emmanuel Music and Pamela Dellal
- The Cantatas of J.S. Bach, by Alfred Dürr
- Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician and Bach's Musical Universe, by Christoph Wolff
- Bach Cantatas Website
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On The Bach Hour, conductor Rinaldo Alessandrini leads his Italian ensemble in unique re-imaginings of the composer's music, and Konrad Junghänel conducts the Missa Brevis in F. -
On The Bach Hour, the composer's music for an ancient instrument is filtered through a modern sonic prism by guitarist Stephan Schmidt, and Christophe Coin leads the Cantata No. 115. -
On The Bach Hour, Masaaki Suzuki leads music rooted in a warm and inviting divine presence, and Seiji Ozawa conducts the Boston Symphony in an extroverted orchestration of the composer's "St. Anne" Prelude and Fugue. -
On The Bach Hour, Ton Koopman conducts music that reflects both the inspiration and defiance of the composer's community, and the American Bach Soloists perform the Brandenburg Concerto No. 1. -
On The Bach Hour, Bálint Karosi performs the composer's music on a masterpiece of an organ, and Sergey Schepkin is the pianist in the Partita No. 3, both recorded in landmark spaces in Boston's Back Bay. -
The mandolin virtuoso and MacArthur grant recipient reveals a deep history with Bach's music through conversation and performance on The Bach Hour. -
On The Bach Hour, Kristian Bezuidenhout is the harpsichordist in one of the masterpieces of the instrument, recorded in concert at the Boston Early Music Festival. -
On The Bach Hour, John Eliot Gardiner leads the Monteverdi Soloists and English Baroque Soloists in the composer's reflection on the Archangel's confrontation with the Dragon. -
On The Bach Hour, Petra Müllejans and Gottfried von der Goltz are the soloists in the composer's irresistible Concerto for Two Violins, and Ton Koopman conducts the Cantata No. 47. -
A performance at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition leads to a thriving concert career, and Philippe Herreweghe leads the Cantata No. 161 on The Bach Hour.
