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, Ton Koopman leads Amsterdam Baroque in a work that broke new ground for the composer, expressing a path from “anxious conscience” to an embrace of self-assurance. -
In a performance at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Germany, pianist Ramin Bahrami is the soloist in Bach's emotionally probing D minor concerto, and John Eliot Gardiner conducts the Cantata No. 45.
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On The Bach Hour, a masterpiece, ignored when it was new, reveals a revolutionary spirit in a vivid performance by harpsichordist John Butt and the Dunedin Consort in Scotland.
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On The Bach Hour, the Boston-based violist brings her penetrating insights to the composer's Cello Suites, describing their emotional power in a conversation with host Brian McCreath.
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An artist of uncommon insight interprets - and talks about - one of Bach's most imposing compositions, and Martin Pearlman leads Boston Baroque in Magnificat on The Bach Hour.
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The power of water - and its spiritual dimensions - lie at the heart of Bach's Cantata No. 7, and harpist Catrin Finch performs the Italian Concerto on The Bach Hour.
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Years of musical and life experience inform a rich interpretation of Bach's solo violin works, illuminated through both performance and conversation on The Bach Hour.
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Richard Egarr leads the Academy of Ancient Music in a vibrant account of one of Bach's most iconic works, and Craig Smith leads Emmanuel Music in the Cantata No. 2 on The Bach Hour.
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On The Bach Hour, one of Boston's cornerstone ensembles performs a piece that begins in weakness and frailty, transforming into a vigorous picture of strength.
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On The Bach Hour, Masaaki Suzuki leads Bach Collegium Japan in a short but critical chapter in the long narrative told by the composer through a series of works, and Alina Ibragimova performs the Violin Concerto in E.
