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
-
On The Bach Hour, the Italian-born, U.S.-based pianist performs rich, deeply textured arrangements of works Bach originally wrote for single string instruments, created a century ago by the legendary Leopold Godowsky. -
On The Bach Hour, Marcel Ponseele leads the Belgian ensemble Il Gardellino in Bach's Cantata 154, an expression of the desperation of separation and the joy of reunion. -
On The Bach Hour, John Eliot Gardiner leads the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists in the Cantata 190, "Sing to the Lord a New Song," written for New Year's Day. -
On The Bach Hour, Philippe Herreweghe conducts the composer's Cantata No. 63, "Christians, etch this day in metal and marble," written for Christmas Day. -
On The Bach Hour, Gerhard Weinberger performs the composer's Canonic Variations on "Vom Himmel hoch" on an instrument Bach himself tested when it was new. -
On The Bach Hour, Philippe Herreweghe leads one of the composer's most exhilarating works, including its original music for the Christmas season. -
On The Bach Hour, one of the composer's crowning masterpieces is channeled through the intimate resonance of the harp, and Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducts the Cantata No. 61, for Advent. -
On The Bach Hour, Masaaki Suzuki leads music of excitement and meditation for the season, and the Academy for Ancient Music Berlin performs the Orchestral Suite No. 2. -
On The Bach Hour, the composer harnesses the mellow lyricism, the astonishing power, and even the historical roots of the horn in his Cantata 52, and horn soloist Radek Baborák brings the instrument's dynamism to a concerto originally for harpsichord. -
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.
