Tue 2 Apr 2019
Royal Festival Hall, London
Bach’s St John Passion
Bach St John Passion
Sir Simon Rattle conductor
Peter Sellars director
Camilla Tilling soprano
Magdalena Kožená mezzo-soprano
Mark Padmore tenor
Andrew Staples tenor
Roderick Williams baritone
Christian Gerhaher baritone
Choir of the Age of Enlightenment
A thrilling staging of the Easter story.
Sir Simon Rattle has assembled an extraordinary team for this definitive staging of one of Bach’s great masterpieces, the St John Passion.
Mark Padmore explores Bach’s St Matthew Passion
Mon 26 Mar 2018
“It’s designed to disturb. It should get under the skin and worry us.”
Mark Padmore explores Bach’s St Matthew Passion, and the advantages of performing it without a conductor.
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Performing the St Matthew Passion
Fri 23 Mar 2018
Leader Matthew Truscott tells us what it’s like to perform Bach’s St Matthew Passion without a conductor, but instead following the breathing of singer and director, Mark Padmore.
Read MoreBach’s B minor Mass (1748)
Following much-praised accounts of the St John Passion and Christmas Oratorio, conductor Stephen Layton now turns to Bach’s mighty B minor Mass.
Read MoreSymmetry in music: Particle physicist Tara Shears
Thu 4 Jan 2018
Professor Tara Shears came to talk to us about antimatter as part of our Bach, the Universe and Everything series at Kings Place. We learnt there is more connecting Bach and particle physics than you might imagine.
Read MoreWhat is a Cantata?
Fri 24 Nov 2017
What exactly is a Cantata?
Bach wrote over 200 of these mini-operas in his role as Cantor at various churches. Their sheer volume and unfamiliarity might seem overwhelming, but don’t let that put you off. Our co-principal keyboard Steven Devine explains all as he accompanies soprano Rowan Pierce in Bach’s Cantata Weichet nur, betrübte Schatten (Yield now, troubling shadows) BWV202.
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Introducing the Baroque Violin
Mon 5 Jun 2017
‘The gut strings make a more gutsy sound’
If you think a violin from the 18th Century is the same as one made yesterday, think again…
Violinist Huw Daniel reveals the differences between the baroque instrument and the modern one.
Read MoreBach Goes to Prague
Wed 31 May 2017
This week Emily and Alex from our Development team took a bunch of OAE Patrons, some of the Orchestra’s most loyal supporters, to Prague. They discovered castles, stag dos, and a little bit of Bach. Emily tells the story:
Read MoreIntroducing the Baroque Flute
Fri 12 May 2017
“The wood makes the sound gentler and more… woody”
Meet the flute that our principal Lisa Beznosiuk uses for playing Bach, Handel, Rameau and people like that.
Read MoreIntroducing the Baroque Horn
Wed 3 May 2017
‘It’s quite a direct, unfiltered sound.’
OAE Principal Horn Roger Montgomery takes us through the Baroque Horn and shows us how it differs from the modern instrument.
Read MoreMad skillz from footballer turned harpsichordist Ottavio Dantone
Fri 28 Oct 2016
Catch him doing the harpsichord thing (no football planned as yet) with the OAE on Sunday at St John’s Smith Square. More info and book tickets
Read MoreBach: A Family Affair concert programme
Thu 27 Oct 2016
Here’s the Bach: A Family Affair programme. You can also pick up a physical copy free of charge at the concert.
Read MoreIntroducing Turning Points
Wed 29 Jun 2016
We’re an orchestra, so we love concerts. But because the traditional concert format is great for some people and not for others, we often ask ourselves the question, “how could concerts be different?” Ten years ago, we looked at the informal ways people used to listen to classical music and created The Night Shift, our rule-breaking late night format.
Read MoreFrom deep within the OAE archive #1: Bach’s double violin concerto
Fri 20 Nov 2015
Margaret Faultless introduces a 1990 recording from BBC Scotland featuring the first movement of Bach’s double violin concerto.
Spot current OAE players Alison Bury (soloist), Cathy Weiss, Richard Tunnicliffe, Annette Isserlis, and Margaret Faultless.
We perform the same piece at St John’s Smith Square on 24 November (with Margaret) and the West London Synagogue on 22 November.
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Pre-concert talk: performing the St Matthew Passion without a conductor
Wed 8 Apr 2015
If you were at one of our recent performances of Bach’s St Matthew Passion you will have noted the absence of a usually ubiquitous figure – the conductor.
Read MoreThrough the grapevine: St Matthew Passion
Tue 7 Apr 2015
Pats on backs all round for last week’s St Matthew Passion in London.
Read MoreSpeed Interview: Robin Blaze
Fri 27 Mar 2015
In the run-up to our St Matthew Passion concert, we interview counter-tenor Robin Blaze.
Read MoreBach: Maybe not such a misery after all
Thu 19 Mar 2015
When asked to name their ideal dinner party guests, who would really say JS Bach?
Read MoreJohann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
composer
His times: In Bach’s Germany, music was centred on the church which was unfailingly where its finest practitioners were found.
Read MoreCurrent Distractions
Thu 29 May 2014
In this week’s Current Distractions – surreal dogs, fun chocolate and a dormant crust of planetary mass that hasn’t spewed out anything hot in years.
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