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
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On The Bach Hour, Rana describes the origin of her passion for Bach's music as she grew up in southern Italy, and Philippe Herreweghe conducts the Cantata No. 29, "Wir danken dir, Gott." -
On The Bach Hour, conductor Rinaldo Alessandrini leads his Italian ensemble in unique re-imaginings of Bach's music, and Konrad Junghänel conducts the Missa Brevis in F. -
In a conversation with host Brian McCreath on The Bach Hour, Hahn describes the endless creative possibilities in the composer's music for solo violin and plays the Sonata No. 2. -
On The Bach Hour, harmonic solidity and quicksilver brilliance come together in the hands of the German violinist, and Sigiswald Kuijken directs the Cantata No. 180, revealing a pathway from darkness to light. -
On The Bach Hour, Yoav Talmi leads the Quebec Symphony Orchestra in Walton's imaginative vision for a ballet based on Bach's music, and Thomas Quasthoff sings the heart-wrenching Cantata No. 56. -
On The Bach Hour, the Argentine mezzo-soprano is the soloist in music that opens a window to the composer's craft and life, with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra. -
On The Bach Hour, John Eliot Gardiner leads the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists in music that grapples with the challenges of everyday life, and Pieter-Jan Belder leads the exuberant Brandenburg Concerto No. 3. -
On The Bach Hour, the Principal Flutist of the Berlin Philharmonic is joined by his colleagues for one of Bach’s most virtuosic creations for his instrument. -
On The Bach Hour, the composer's Cantata No. 19, for St. Michael and All Angels, expresses a terrifying, visceral quality of battle, and a hope for protection and safety. -
On The Bach Hour, a prosaic name obscures the brilliance and emotional impact of the composer’s music, performed by one of today’s most thoughtful and dynamic pianists.
