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, 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 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.
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On The Bach Hour, the Dutch violinist performs Bach's music with her father, Jan Jansen, and Masaaki Suzuki leads Bach Collegium Japan through the kinetic, quicksilver energy of the Cantata No. 26.
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On The Bach Hour, Seiji Ozawa leads the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Hideo Saito's riveting arrangement of the Chaconne from the composer's Violin Partita No. 2.
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On The Bach Hour, the composer harnesses the mellow lyricism, the astonishing power, and even the historical roots of the horn in his Cantata 52, and horn soloist Radek Baborák brings the instrument's dynamism to a concerto originally for harpsichord.
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On The Bach Hour, a song by Martin Luther that helped change the world is the foundation of Bach's Cantata No. 80, and the Dunedin Consort performs the Brandenburg Concerto No. 6.
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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.
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On The Bach Hour, Yoav Talmi leads the Quebec Symphony Orchestra in the Walton's imaginative vision for a ballet based on Bach's music, and Thomas Quasthoff sings the heart-wrenching Cantata No. 56.
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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 music that grapples with the challenges of everyday life, and Pieter-Jan Belder leads the exuberant Brandenburg Concerto No. 3.
