“But it is Bach, making music in the Castle of Heaven, who gives us the voice of God – in human form. He is the one who blazes a trail, showing us how to overcome our imperfections through the perfections of his music: to make divine things human and human things divine.”
MUSIC IN THE CASTLE OF HEAVEN
– Sir John Eliot Gardiner
“With thoughtful, well-researched performances and an elegantly constructed program, Easton and Bach Akademie Australia offered an opportunity to really dig down deep into Bach’s words and music – a profound and rewarding experience.”
“This was an evening of inspiration and revelation. Madeleine Easton’s delicate but firm and scholarly leadership brought to the stage, a superlative performance of matchless repertoire.”
This year marks eight years since I imagined bringing together Australia’s finest instrumentalists and singers to share with all Australians the profound joy and inspiration found in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. We have four programs rich and diverse in repertoire for you, all with Bach’s music at the centre as our inspiration and guide.
In April Bach Akademie Australia presents our first international soloist, the acclaimed Grammy nominated American countertenor Reginald Mobley, in our first national tour. Reginald will perform some of Bach’s most beloved cantatas for alto, showcasing his sublime voice and unique artistry, in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and regional NSW.
Our second program of the year, ‘The Class of ’85’ celebrates music of the three great composers born in 1685, Bach, Handel and Scarlatti and features soprano Susannah Lawergren in Bach’s secular cantata BWV 209 and mezzo soprano Hannah Fraser in Domenico Scarlatti’s ‘Salve Regina’.
For lovers of the violin, our third program of the year is for you. In ‘The Art of Violin’, the genre of the baroque violin concerto is explored, featuring concertos by Bach, Vivaldi, Telemann, Handel and Leclair performed by Artistic Director Madeleine Easton, Rafael Font and Simone Slattery.
Ending the year, Bach Akademie Australia presents Bach’s masterful complete Brandenburg Concertos. Written for a diverse, demanding and sometimes daring combination of instruments, these pieces represent some of Bach’s finest instrumental writing and are now widely regarded as masterpieces in Western music and human civilisation.
The musicians and I cannot wait to share this rich, life affirming music with you over the next year.
Madeleine Easton
Artistic Director
CANTATA BWV 34 & MAGNIFICAT
Bach Akademie Australia Choir and Orchestra
Director - Madeleine Easton
26/11/2021 performed live at Christ Church St Laurence, Sydney
