The unspecified occasion may have been a wedding as the chorale upon which it is based was a well-known wedding song in the city. The result is a work in which Bach challenges his singers and instrumentalists: the opening fantasia is followed unusually by no less than four arias (and no recitatives) for the quartet of vocal soloists with impressive solos for flute and oboe d’amore.
Our guest speaker is Simon Brett, the producer of the original pilot episode for The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy for BBC Radio 4, who will look back on working with its wildly brilliant creator in a special edition to mark the 25th anniversary of Douglas Adams’ death. He will consider how this unconventional intergalactic comedy adventure became so influential and why space made an ideal canvas for exploring the meaning of human life, the universe and… everything.
Simon Brett is the writer of the Charles Paris and Mrs Pargeter crime novel series, as well as several plays and radio sitcoms.
