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, in the final part of the composer's narrative for the season, a clever deception heads off a potential disaster, laying the groundwork for a promising future. -
On The Bach Hour, Murray Perahia is the soloist in the composer's Concerto in D, and Ton Koopman leads a cantata inspired by the transformation of water into wine.
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On The Bach Hour, cellist Pieter Wispelwey reveals the mysterious qualities that make the composer's Cello Suite No. 4 unique, and Il Gardelino performs the Cantata No. 32, an expression of longing and resolution.
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On The Bach Hour, the fifth of the composer's six-part narrative for the season reveals a fearsome terror and the calm radiance that counters that threat.
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On The Bach Hour, the simple act of naming unlocks a transformation in the fourth of the composer's six-part narrative for the season.
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On the Bach Hour, the unprecedented, world-changing events of the Christmas story are filtered through one central character in the third of the composer's six-part narrative for the season.
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On the Bach Hour, angels bring shepherds through the night to a scene of peaceful warmth in the second of the composer's six-part narrative for the season, in a concert performance led by Nikolaus Harnoncourt.
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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.
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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 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.
