Main menu

Search

Bach, the Universe & Everything: First Light

London, King's Place

Sunday 24 January 2027, 11:30

Book now

Music

PACHELBEL Vater under in Himmelreich
DERING Ave virgo gloriosa
JS BACH Nimm von uns, Herr, du treuer Gott, BWV 101
(Take away from us, Lord, faithful God)
JS BACH (attrib.) Cappricio from Suite in G minor, BWV 1070
Performers

Steven Devine series music director/organ

with
Stephen Wilkins guest speaker

Duration

75 minutes

Price

£22 + fees

Everything begins in darkness. “Protect us against war and precarious times” pleads a cantata haunted by suffering and hope. Then we discover how the first light emerged from primordial darkness to shape the universe we inhabit today.

We begin the new year with one of Bach’s most dramatic cantatas from 1724, his first year in Leipzig. Drawing on themes of destruction, suffering and deliverance, an expansive orchestral palette features four trombones (including the rare soprano instrument) who innovatively develop their own independent voices beyond their traditional role of doubling the choir. At its heart are three arias, culinating in a profoundly soul-searching duet for the soprano and alto soloists.

Stephen Wilkins traces back 14 billion years to uncover how the first stars, black holes and galaxies emerged from the cosmic dark ages when space was filled with gas and dark matter. This distant epoch has long been out of reach, but the James Webb Space Telescope is now beginning to reveal it in unprecedented detail. Stephen Wilkins is Professor of Astronomy and Public Understanding of Science at the University of Sussex.

Richard Dering

This season features motets by the English composer Richard Dering (c.1580–1630). A Catholic convert, he spent much of his career working in continental Europe before returning to England in 1625 to serve in the court of Queen Henrietta Maria. Dering’s music bridged the Renaissance and Baroque styles.

Expect awe, beauty and big ideas

Bach, the Universe and Everything returns with a new season of adventures.

Inspired by the music of JS Bach, composer and intergalactic genius, this is a concert season with a difference.

This season, Bach, the Universe and Everything chronicles humanity’s quest to understand the cosmos. From the revolutionary instruments that opened our ancestors’ eyes to the night sky to the giant telescopes now peering deeper into space than ever before, we chart the breakthroughs that changed everything. We’ll unravel the force that binds the universe together, witness humanity’s determination to explore further from our planet than we’ve gone before, and discover how the atmosphere that sustains life on Earth is created.

Across six concerts, music and science combine to tell the story of humanity’s enduring search to understand the universe and our place within it.

Violinist Julia Kuhn and bass player Cecelia Bryggemyer playing in the playground at Acland burghley School

Japanese conductor Masaaki Suzuki conducts the OAE with singer Florian Stortz

OAE musicians run a workshop in a school classroom

Did you know you can support the OAE?

We are redefining what it means to be an orchestra in the 2020s. Support the OAE today.

£20

£60

£180

Support us

Be part of our story

Main menu

Support us

Our Mission

Support us

Be part of our story

Search

Support us

Be part of our story

Bach, the Universe & Everything: First Light

London, King's Place

Sunday 24 January 2027, 11:30

Event detail

Everything begins in darkness. “Protect us against war and precarious times” pleads a cantata haunted by suffering and hope. Then we discover how the first light emerged from primordial darkness to shape the universe we inhabit today.

Richard Dering

Expect awe, beauty and big ideas

Did you know you can support the OAE?

Hear it first

Sign up to our newsletter

Everything begins in darkness. “Protect us against war and precarious times” pleads a cantata haunted by suffering and hope. Then we discover how the first light emerged from primordial darkness to shape the universe we inhabit today.

Richard Dering

Expect awe, beauty and big ideas

Did you know you can support the OAE?

You might also be interested in...

A Viennese House Party

Bach, the Universe & Everything: We Will Explore

Bach, the Universe & Everything: How to Build an Atmosphere

Hear it first

Sign up to our newsletter