LONDON BACH SOCIETY24th Bachfest 1-14 November 2014

at St. George’s Church Hanover Square, London W1 (Oxford Circus Tube)

WW1 Centenary Reflection Celebrating the Hanoverian Bach-Abel Concerts

CPE Bach’s 300th …and lots of J S Bach

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LBS Artistic Director Margaret Steinitz writes…

Welcome to our 24th series. The joy of planning it is to be repeatedly reminded of the richness of Bach’s music and on going musical influence that

spans nearly three centuries. None is more so apparent than in this Bachfest programme, one that contributes to national remembrance and celebration.

Bach’s youngest son Johann Christian and gamba player Carl Friedrich Abel founded the Bach-Abel subscription concerts in 1764. From 1775 the concerts originally took place in the (now demolished) Hanover Square Rooms a few yards from St. George’s Church Hanover Square, which is our ‘home’ for the Festival this year. They were forerunners of the public concerts we enjoy today and magnets for musicians in the glittering circles of mid-18th century Georgian London. No programmes survive, but chamber and instrumental music featured, as it does in our own tribute recitals to mark the Hanoverian Succession, and I can promise fabulous music performed by stellar artists to rival those in the Bach-Abel circle.

To open, we join the Royal College of Organists for a WW1 centenary reflection at their 12th London Organ Forum “Organ Music in Time of War”, linking the theme with the affects of conflict in Bach’s time, focussing upon three composers who each received RCO Hon. Membership in 1914 and were also influenced by Bach. The Silent Film showing to David Briggs’ sound-track accompaniment that follows the Forum will take us a step back in time while celebrating the 2012 inauguration of the new Richard, Fowkes & Co organ at St. George’s.

A warm welcome awaits you, as LBS unveils yet another chapter in the Bach story. I look forward to seeing you there.

BECOME A BACH FRIEND Bach’s music speaks to all humanity. LBS is dedicated to telling the composer’s story at the annual Bachfest and throughout the year, with new and exciting musical avenues to explore. With your help as a Bach Friend we can continue to create opportunities and shared experiences. You can be a Bach Friend for as little as £50+ to £1,000+. Young Bach Friends (18-30s) can join for just £20.

Every gift makes a real difference. To find out more, download a brochure from the Bach Friends page on our website www.bachlive.co.uk Bach Friends can join online, also by phone or at the Festival and Gift Aid may be applied by UK taxpayers. Call 01883 717372 to join us now.

Saturday 1 November St. George’s Church Hanover Square W1

12th RCO London Organ Forum

Forum 10.00am-5.00pm “Organ Music in Time of War” Karg-Elert, Max Reger & Charles Widor and the link to Bach

A day of recitals and talks featuring Graham Barber, Rupert Gough, The Gough Duo, Andrew McCrea, Simon Williams & Margaret Steinitz

Opening Recital given by Graham Barber

Widor Mattheus-Final from ‘Bach’s Memento’ Reger Trauerode, Op. 145, no 1 Karg-Elert Fugue from Introduction, Passacaglia &

Fugue on B-A-C-H, Op. 150

Lunchtime Recital given by The Gough Duo

Karg-Elert, Reger & Rheinberger

Talks interspersed

“The musical environment in 1914 & 17th/18th Century Germany” MS “The RCO in 1914” Andrew McCrea “How the organ came to be used in chamber music from Rheinberger to Karg-Elert” Rupert Gough “Reger, Bach and the Lutheran Chorale” Graham Barber “Karg-Elert and the BACH motif” Graham Barber

Closing Recital given by Graham Barber

Joh Seb Bach Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, BWV 720Karg-Elert Canzona (to the Prologus tragicus), Op. 46, IIBReger Chorale Fantasy on Ein feste Burg ist unser

Gott, Op. 27

Attendance charges:

RCO/LBS Members: Forum/Film £45, Forum only £35, Film only £15 Others: Forum/Film £50, Forum only £40, Film only £15 Full-time Students: Forum Free, Film £7.50 Details & Online Booking www.rco.org.uk or Call 01883 717372 Promoted by the Royal College of Organists in partnership with the London Bach Society

Film Showing 7.00pm-8.45pm “The Phantom of the Opera” (1925) starring Lon Chaney. David Briggs improvises a sound-track accompaniment to this iconic silent film to mark the 2nd anniversary of the Richards Fowkes & Co organ at St. George’s. Tickets (Film only) £15.00 (students £7.50) Early booking advised. In advance or at the door from 6.15pm Call 01883 717372 Cards accepted advanced bookings only (£1 Fee) Promoted by St. George’s Hanover Square in partnership with the London Bach Society

WW1 Centenary Reflection

Monday 3 November St. George’s Hanover Square London W1

At 1.00pm ends 2.00pm

“A journey to the edge of Reason” Lisete da Silva flute

Robin Walker organ

This hour of music for baroque flute and chamber organ celebrates the arrival of the enlightenment through the music of JS and CPE Bach. The Handel House Chamber Organ will be featured.

Joh. Seb. Bach Sonata in B minor BWV 1030 Fantasia in C BWV 570 Sonata in E major BWV 1035

CPE Bach Sonata in D major Wq.83 Organ Sonata in F major Wq.70/3 Hamburger Sonate in G major Wq.133

Tickets: £10 in advance or at the door from 12.30pm Call 01883 717372. Cards accepted advance bookings only (£1 fee)

At 7.00pm ends 8.30pm

Mahan Esfahani harpsichord

Joh. Seb. Bach’s The Well-tempered Clavier/Das Wohltemperierte Klavier Book 1 (of the ‘48’) BWV 846-BWV 869 In this recital Mahan will play the Preludes & Fugues BWV 846-857. (BWV 858-BWV869 follow at 7.00pm on 4 Nov)

“…his (Mahan Esfahani) passionate engagement with the music was totally captivating. And in Bach’s great C sharp minor fugue from Book 1 of the Well-tempered Clavier he showed musical rhetoric can be grandly moving as well as exciting.” Daily Telegraph July 2014

Tickets £20, £15 (unreserved) (£25, £20 for both recitals) In advance or at the door from 6.15pm Call 01883 717372 Cards accepted advanced bookings only (£1 Fee)

Bach-Abel tributes

Tuesday 4 November Grosvenor Chapel, South Audley Street,

London W1 Please note venue

At 1.10pm ends 1.50pm

Robin Walker Organ Assistant Organist, St. George’s Church, Hanover Square

This programme creates the flavour of the musical scene in London at the time of the Bach-Abel concerts and celebrates Johann Christian Bach’s influence on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who became a lifelong friend.

T A. Arne Concerto 1, Introduction & Fugue CP. Bach Sonate in C minor, Op. XVII No.2 WA8a (1780) J. Keeble Voluntary 1 W.A. Mozart Fantasia in F minor (for mechanical organ) K.608 (1791)

Admission Free Retiring Collection Mayfair Organ Concerts

St. George’s Church Hanover Square, London W1 Please note venue

At 7.00pm ends 8.30pm

Mahan Esfahani harpsichord

Joh. Seb. Bach’s

The Well-tempered Clavier/Das Wohltemperierte Klavier Book 1 (of the ‘48’) BWV 846-BWV 869

In this recital, Mahan will complete Book 1 and play the Preludes & Fugues BWV 858-BWV 869. (Note: BWV 846-BWV 857 are performed on 3 November)

Tickets £20, £15 (unreserved) (£25, £20 for both recitals) In advance or at the door from 6.15pm Call 01883 717372 Cards accepted advance bookings only (£1 Fee)

“The earliest date inscribed by an English owner in an extant manuscript of the ‘48’ is 1772.” (Tomita)

Yo Tomita’s Chapter “The Dawn of the English Bach Awakening Manifested in Sources of the ‘48’ from “The English Bach Awakening” ed. Kassler, published by Ashgate (2004).

Bach-Abel tributes

Friday 7 November LBS Foundation Day

St. George’s Church Hanover Square, London W1

At 1.00pm ends 2.00pm

The Rautio Piano Trio

Jane Gordon violin

Adi Tal ‘cello

Jan Rautio piano

play

Joh. Christian Bach Trio in D Op.2/3 WB 45 Trio in A Op.15/2 WB 50

Felix Mendelssohn Piano Trio in C minor No.2. Op.66

Tickets: £10 in advance or at the door from 12.30pm. Call 01883 717372 Cards accepted advance bookings only (£1 Fee)

Bach’s youngest son lived in London from 1762-1782. Music Master to Queen Charlotte wife of George III and co-founder of the Bach-Abel subscription concerts, John Bach (as he was known here) was a prolific composer of operas, symphonies, chamber music and thrived in London’s sparkling musical circles. The Hanover Square Rooms were London’s premier concert halls. Mendelssohn conducted the first performance of his Scottish Symphony there in 1842, a year after reviving Bach’s Matthäus-Passion at Leipzig.

At 7.00pm ends 9.00pm

The Bach Club For 18-30s

Founded in 2009, the Bach Club is inspired by the weekly meetings of Bach’s Leipzig Collegium Musicum held on Friday evenings during the winter at Zimmermann’s Coffee House. The programmes performed were forerunners of public concerts that flourished at Leipzig in 19th century; Bach’s audiences were students and townsfolk. This year’s meeting is mainly an open platform for new performing groups.Participation by Invitation.

Following in Bach’s footsteps, the programme will be announced on our website nearer the date…watch this space

Tickets: £15 (general public) 18-30s Free In advance or at the door from 6.15pm Call 01883 717372Cards accepted advanced bookings only (£1 Fee)

Bach-Abel tributes

Tuesday 11 November St. George’s Church Hanover Square, London W1

At 1.10pm ends 1.50pm Richard Pinel Organ Assistant Organist, St. George’s Chapel Windsor

An Organ Recital for Armistice Day “Look up and swear by the green of the spring that you will never forget” from ‘Aftermath’ by Siegfried Sassoon.

Joh. Seb. Bach Fantasia in G minor (The Great) BWV 542 Joh. Seb. Bach Pastorale from Bach’s Memento arr. Widor Edward Elgar Solemn Prelude For the Fallen from “The Spirit

of England” Max Reger Invokation (Sonata II) Herbert Howells Psalm Prelude Set 1, No 1 Joh. Seb. Bach Fugue in G minor (The Great) BWV 542

Admission Free Retiring Collection Mayfair Organ Concerts

Friday 14 November St. George’s Church Hanover Square, London W1

At 6.30pm ends 7.00pm

Professor Simon McVeigh tells us about Concert Life in 18th Century London and assesses the importance and significance of the Bach-Abel subscription concerts. Admission Free with concert ticket

At 7.30pm ends c. 9.15pm Towards Leipzig Steinitz Bach Players Rodolfo Richter director/solo violin Julia Doyle soprano Rachel Beckett flute Anthony Robson oboe d’amore

Telemann Concerto in E for flute, oboe d’amore, viola d’amore TWV53E1

Bach Solo Cantata “O holder Tag, erwünschte Zeit” BWV 210 (Leipzig 1738-41, composed for a Wedding)

Brandenburg Concerto No 5 in D BWV 1050

Tickets £25, £20, £15, £10 In advance or at the door from 6.00pm. Call 01883 717372 Cards accepted in advance only (£1 fee). This programme brings the Festival to a joyous close, completes our Bach-Abel tributes and looks forward to the 25th anniversary Bachfest’s inspiration for 2015 – Leipzig’s 1000th

In Memory of Margaret Messenger, former LBS Choir Member.

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LONDON BACH SOCIETY24th Bachfest 1-14 November 2014

at St. George’s Church Hanover Square, London W1 (Oxford Circus Tube)

WW1 Centenary Reflection Celebrating the Hanoverian Bach-Abel Concerts

CPE Bach’s 300th …and lots of J S Bach

Follow us on Facebook & Twitter www.bachlive.co.uk

ABOUT USUnder the Patronage of

H E The German Ambassador, Dr. Peter Ammon

PRESIDENT & PATRONSPresident Sir David Tang KBE Vice Presidents Lord Avebury, Rupert Fraser

Hon Patrons Dame Janet Baker CH DBE Timothy Brown Dr. Peter Hurford OBE Michael Laird Ian Partridge CBE Simon Standage Jennifer Ward Clarke

Patrons Lord Armstrong of Ilminster GCB Sir David Lumsden Tess Miller

Council Members Richard Jones (Chairman) Rupert Fraser Shaun Glanville Margit Hosseini Inge-Lise Mackaay

Artistic Director Margaret Steinitz

Orchestra Manager Philippa Brownsword

Access for the disabled at all venues

Registered Office: LBS, 73 High Street, Old Oxted, Surrey RH8 9LN Telephone +44 (0)1883 717372

E-mail: lbs@lonbachsoc.demon.co.uk www.bachlive.co.uk

The Management reserves the right to change artists and alter programmes as necessary. LBS Box Office will not exchange or give refunds in respect of any tickets.

Latecomers will not be admitted until a suitable break in the concert. The scheduled end timings are given for guidance only.

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FounderDr. Paul Steinitz†