The Bach Hour

Sundays 6-7am, Mondays midnight-2am

Hosted by Brian McCreath

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.

Godowsky's Vision of Bach, with Alessio Bax

On The Bach Hour, rich Twentieth Century piano textures transform sounds originally conceived for solo violin, and John Eliot Gardiner leads the Cantata No. 3.

Lost and Found in Bach's Cantata 154

Marcel Ponseele and Il Gardellino — Tim Heirman

On The Bach Hour, the Cantata 154 traverses the emotions brought on by a missing child, the frantic search of the parents, and the joyful resolution, all in a performance by Il Gardellino.

Bach's New Song for a New Year

St. Bartholomew's Church, New York — xave / Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

John Eliot Gardiner leads a festive and contemplative performance of Bach's Cantata No. 190, "Sing to the Lord a New Song," on The Bach Hour.

Bach in the Public Square

Frauenkirche, Dresden — Kausalkette / Wikimedia Commons

On the program:

Lobe den Herren, BWV 137-2 - Ludwig Güttler, corno da caccia; Friedrich Kircheis, organ (Kern organ, 2005, at the Frauenkirche in Dresden, Germany)

Cantata BWV 191 Gloria in excelsis Deo (translation) - Christiane Oelze, soprano; Hans Peter Blochwitz, tenor; Vienna Concentus Vocalis and Virtuosi Saxoniae, Ludwig Güttler, director

Cello Suite No. 1 in G, BWV 1007 - Yo-Yo Ma, cello

An Advent Masterpiece, on a Legendary Organ

Hildebrandt organ at St. Wenceslas Church, Naumburg, German — Rabanus Flavus / Wikimedia Commons

On the program:

Sleepers Wake!, from Cantata BWV 140 - Empire Brass; Douglas Major, organ (National Cathedral)

Cantata BWV 132 Bereitet die Wege, bereitet die Bahn! (translation) - Brigitte Geller, soprano; Michael Chance, countertenor; Jan Kobow, tenor; Dietrich Henschel, bass; Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner, conductor

Canonic Variations on Vom Himmel hoch da komm' ich her, BWV 769a - Gerhard Weinberger, organ (Zacharias Hildebrandt Organ at St. Wenceslas [St Wenzel] Church, Naumburg, Germany)

Concerto in C minor for Violin and Oboe after BWV 1060 - Jeanne Lamon, violin and director; John Abberger, oboe; Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra