The Bach Hour
Sundays 6-7am, Mondays midnight-2am
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.
Latest Episodes
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On The Bach Hour, the first of the composer's six-part narrative for the season expresses joy, doubt, and wonder in a concert performance led by Nikolaus Harnoncourt. -
On The Bach Hour, the vast sonic landscape of Gustav Mahler's musical language transforms selections from Bach's Orchestral Suites in a performance by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and conductor Riccardo Chailly.
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The English pastoral tradition of Vaughan Williams, Walton, Bax, and others meets Bach's music through the interpretations of pianist Jonathan Plowright, and Ton Koopman leads the Cantata 116 on The Bach Hour.
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On The Bach Hour, the composer's Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 takes on new dimensions as part of the Cantata 52, and horn soloist Radek Baborák brings the instrument's dynamism to a concerto originally for harpsichord.
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When Martin Luther set out to change the world, in his toolkit was a song to get his point across, one that became the foundation of Bach's Cantata No. 80, this week on The Bach Hour.
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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.
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The mandolin virtuoso and MacArthur grant recipient reveals a deep history with Bach's music through conversation and performance on The Bach Hour.
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Yoav Talmi leads the Quebec Symphony Orchestra in the British composer'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.
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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.
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On The Bach Hour, John Eliot Gardiner leads the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists in a work of gripping emotional power, the Cantata No. 19, for St. Michael and All Angels.
