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
To hear Ryan Turner conduct Bach's Mass in B minor on Saturday, May 3rd, 2025, visit Emmanuel Music.
-
On The Bach Hour, the enigmatic Canadian pianist dispatches one of Bach's greatest masterpieces in an interpretation for the ages. -
On The Bach Hour, the warmth and intimacy of the late Brazilian pianist's artistry illuminate the English Suite No. 3. -
On The Bach Hour, David Fray is the pianist in the composer's Partita No. 4, a piece that reflects the multiple roles Bach fulfilled on a daily basis. -
On The Bach Hour, a legendary instrument at Schlosskirche Altenburg - played when it was new by the composer himself - transmits an astonishing range of sonic color in the Passacaglia in C minor and Cantata 146. -
On The Bach Hour, the British cellist describes the genius behind music originally written by the composer for the viola da gamba, which he recorded with harpsichordist Richard Egarr. -
On The Bach Hour, the Artistic Director of one of Boston's cornerstone music ensembles offers a guided tour of the composer's most elaborate and ambitious choral work. -
On The Bach Hour, Ton Koopman leads Amsterdam Baroque in music that reflects the complexity of belief through one of the composer's most brilliant works, written for Easter. -
On The Bach Hour, John Eliot Gardiner leads the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists in the composer's Cantata 182, and Pieter Wispelwey performs the Suite No. 5 for solo cello. -
On The Bach Hour, the Los Angeles-based violinist performs both parts - each on a different Stradivarius instrument - of one of the composer’s most dramatic concertos. -
On The Bach Hour, organist Balint Karosi joins host Brian McCreath with rich context for his performance of the composer's magisterial collection called Clavierübung, Part III.
