Podcasts about St Matthew Passion

Actor Sir Simon Russell Beale is widely acclaimed as one of the greatest actors of his generation. He has played many leading roles at National Theatre and RSC, including Hamlet, Macbeth and King Lear. He is currently starring in Titus Andronicus at the RSC. His awards include three Olivier Awards, two BAFTAs, and a Tony Award in 2022 for his leading role in The Lehman Trilogy, which had transferred from London. Simon Russell Beale was knighted in 2019 for services to drama. Simon tells John Wilson about his childhood and his visits to his family in the boarding school holidays at their home in Penang and Singapore. Trained as a chorister from an early age, he reveals how J.S. Bach's St Matthew Passion evokes the thrill of singing at his choir school. Simon very nearly embarked on a career in music before switching to drama and tells John about the significance of the Macbeth soliloquy that began a lifetime love of Shakespeare. He also reveals the central role that pubs play in the learning of his lines.Producer: Edwina Pitman

Soprano Anna Dennis joins Netty for tea and a chat in the latest episode. While backstage at the St Matthew Passion concert in London, Anna shared her insights on the various spectrums of music, including baroque and modern styles. She also gives us a glimpse into her love of thrifting!Anna Dennis shares her experiences of discovering the potential of her charismatic voice through others, her perspective on various musical styles, and her upbringing in a household filled with music enthusiasts. Anna also expresses the relatable feeling of returning home after being away on tour— there's truly nothing like it! --Tea with Netty is the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment's podcast hosted by viola player Annette Isserlis (Netty). Over a cuppa (or something a little stronger…), Netty chats with a variety of conductors, players and other guests as she ‘spills the tea' on the side of classical music you don't normally hear. Available as Apple podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, TuneIn+Alexa

DescriptionThe Soulful Majesty of St. Matthew Passion in 60 Seconds. Take a minute to get the scoop!Fun FactBach's St. Matthew Passion premiered on Good Friday, April 11, 1727, at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig. Performed as part of the church service, its emotional depth and intricate structure made a lasting impression. Though initially modest in reception, it later gained recognition as one of Bach's greatest masterpieces.__________________________________________________________________About Steven, HostSteven is a Canadian composer & actor living in Toronto. Through his music, he creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his music website for more. Member of the Canadian League Of Composers.__________________________________________________________________You can FOLLOW ME on Instagram.

Warwick Fyfe is an Australian opera singer, considered to be one of Australia's leading exponents of the Wagnerian repertoire and is the recipient of Helpmann and Green Room awards.Warwick has performed throughout Australasia and internationally. Most recently, he has sung the rôles of Wotan / Wanderer (MO, OMM and Alberich, OA). Other Wagner rôles include Heerrufer (OA); Beckmesser (OA); Klingsor (OA); Hunding (WASO); Dutchman (OA), Daland (VO); Wolfram (OA); Fasolt (SOSA).Other major work encompasses Amonasro (Aida-FNO, OA); Pizarro (Fidelio-MO, OA,WASO); Athanaël (Thaïs-FNO); Peter (Hansel and Gretel- OA),OMM); Four Villains (Tales of Hoffmann-ETO); Falstaff (OA); Rigoletto (OA, NZO); Sancho Panza (Don Quichotte- OA); Paolo (Simon Boccanegra- OA); Leporello (NZO) (OA); Fra Melitone (Forza del Destino- OA); Scarpia (WAO, OA); Tonio (I Pagliacci- NZO); Faninal (Der Rosenkavalier- OA); Schaunard (La Boheme- OA); Dr Schon /Jack the Ripper (Lulu- OA); Germont (La Traviata- OA); Mandryka (Arabella-OA). Warwick has delighted audiences in comedic rôles, such as Bottom (Midsummer Night's Dream, Adelaide Festival); Barone di Trombonok (Viaggio a Rheims - OA); Geronio (Il Turco in Italia- OA); Dr Bartolo (Barber of Seville- WAO) (VOC); Pooh Bah (OA); Taddeo (Italian Girl in Algiers- NZO); Papageno (OA).Concert work includes: Gurrelieder, (SSO); Carmina Burana (MSO, QSO, Adelaide Philharmonia Chorus); Beethoven 9 (MSO), (Orchestra Wellington); The Bells, WASO; Stabat Mater (Rossini, SSO); Viva Verdi (TYO); St Matthew Passion, St John Passion (Melbourne Bach Choir); Bluebeard's Castle (Monash Academy Orchestra); Mahler 8 (OMM); Stabat Mater (Szymanowski), (Melbourne Bach Choir); Ein Deutsches Requiem (OA), (Melbourne Bach Choir); Messiah (State Symphony Orchestras).Warwick performs the role of Scarpia in Puccini's TOSCA from July 31st to August 16th, for Opera Australia at the Sydney Opera House.The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).www.stagespodcast.com.au

Send us a Text Message.In today's episode, Bryan talks about J.S. Bach's St. Matthew PassionIf you want to support the show you can sign up to our patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/PrinciplesofMusicPodcastYou'll get Episodes in Video FormEarly Episode AccessExclusive Transcriptions and Other Bonus ContentAccess to Patron only Live Events

References J Lipid Res. 2022 Dec; 63(12): 100298. Mol Cells. 2020 Aug 31; 43(8): 749–762. Bach J.S. 1727. St Matthew Passion, BWV 244. https://www.youtube.com/live/3fP-rET0kFI?si=ZX-edMPg1wBA_5mh Squire, Chris. 1978. "You Can Be Saved" Yes. https://youtu.be/0TNzPHoVlz8?si=bFMp6w4T2SL6XxS4 --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dr-daniel-j-guerra/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dr-daniel-j-guerra/support

Easter eggs, Easter bonnets and the enduring appeal of Bach's 300 year old masterpiece, with Olivia O'Leary, Paul Johnston, Aidan Mathews, Margaret Hickey, Enda Wyley and John F Deane

Here we do a full "Bach-n-talk" runthrough of the famous "O Mensch, bewein" chorale fantasia which ends the first half of the St. Matthew Passion, which happens to end on Alex's favorite moment.  Join us as we unpack a moment of mode mixture here, at the choir's closing cadence.  The borrowed minor modality gives the necessary spice to give a more complex flavor to the otherwise light and airy music.  But don't be fooled, listener, into thinking the woodwind parts are all just fluff.  They carry a darker undertone in the meaning of this music.  Remember: the flute's not cute. "O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß" from St. Matthew Passion performed by the Netherlands Bach Society Different version of "O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß" as mentioned in this episode; from the 1725 revision of St. John Passion, also performed by Netherlands Bach Society

John Huston, Hedy Lamarr, the Good Friday Agreement at 25 and Bach's St Matthew Passion in Leipzig, with Maria Hayden, John McDonald, Hester Scott, John F Deane, John Toal and Vincent Woods

Sometimes the most meaningful moment is the in-between. After learning that one of them would betray Jesus, the disciples (Choir 1 in the St. Matthew Passion) all clamor to exclaim: "Lord, is it me?" We pause. Christ doesn't answer immediately. We know the answer. Both choirs admit: "It is me whose sin binds you." This chorale response which follows the bible passage shows that the answer is more than just Judas.   These pauses between are often profound, introspective, or even crushingly sad. The second moment in this episode is one of contrite pleading after the Erbarme Dich aria and before a penitent chorale. The third is the stark silence of the moment after Christ's death.  For Bach the expert storyteller, these transitions have an essential power of their own.   Moment 1 Moment 2 Moment 3 Thank you listener Dave for inspiring the concept for this episode, and suggesting the second moment. Special thanks to the Netherlands Bach Society for the use of the audio examples and links to video examples. 

Marty is joined by CEO of the Irish Baroque Orchestra Aliye Cornish Moore ahead of the upcoming St Matthew Passion performances.

Jenny Beavan has won three Oscars for her costumes for the films Room with a View, Mad Max: Fury Road and Cruella, and has received nine further Academy Award nominations. She was born in London, and her parents were both professional musicians who encouraged her to paint, draw and learn a musical instrument. After studying theatre design, she was invited at the age of just 21 to create the sets for a production of Carmen at the Royal Opera House, conducted by Sir Georg Solti. She also worked on the costumes, which eventually led to her current career. Her credits now include more than 60 films and television series, including a long collaboration with the Merchant Ivory team, on titles such as Howards End and Remains of the Day, as well as Room with a View. Her costumes range from precise period recreations, in films such as The King's Speech, to the post-apocalyptic world of Mad Max and the extravagant 1970s-inspired gowns for Emma Stone and Emma Thompson in Cruella. Along with her Oscars, Jenny has also won four Baftas and two Primetime Emmy awards. She was appointed a OBE in 2017. DISC ONE: Endure from Bach's St Matthew Passion. Performed by Hans Peter Blochwitz and the Chapelle Royale Orchestra, conducted by Philippe Herreweghe DISC TWO: The Stately Homes of England - Noël Coward DISC THREE: Bizet: Carmen / Act 2 - "La fleur que tu m'avais jetée" (The flower you threw at me) Performed by Plácido Domingo and London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Sir Georg Solti DISC FOUR: O Mio Babbino Caro. Composed by Giacomo Puccini and performed by Kiri Te Kanawa and The London Philharmonic Orchestra DISC FIVE: Scream - Caitlin Albery Beavan and Jim Bell DISC SIX: Parking Fines - Joe Lycett from his That's the Way, A-Ha, A-Ha tour DISC SEVEN: I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor DISC EIGHT: Radamisto, HWV 12, Act 2: "Ombra cara di mia sposa" (Radamisto) (Beloved shadow of my bride) Composed by George Frideric Handel, performed by Emöke Baráth and Ensemble Artaserse, conducted by Philippe Jaroussky BOOK CHOICE: The Complete Novels of Jane Austen LUXURY ITEM: A cello CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Endure from Bach's St Matthew Passion. Performed by Hans Peter Blochwitz and the Chapelle Royale Orchestra, conducted by Philippe Herreweghe Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Sarah Taylor

Tom Service delves into David Lang's secular take on the Christian Passion: The Little Match Girl Passion. Winning the Pulitzer Prize in 2008, the work, scored for chorus and percussion, and lasting barely more than half an hour, takes inspiration from both Bach's St Matthew Passion and Hans Christian Andersen's famous children's story, The Little Match Girl.

The St Matthew Passion (German: Matthäus-Passion), BWV 244, is a Passion, a sacred oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir, and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander. It sets the 26th and 27th chapters of the Gospel of Matthew (in the Luther Bible) to music, with interspersed chorales and arias. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest masterpieces of Baroque sacred music. The original Latin title Passio Domini nostri J.C. secundum Evangelistam Matthæum translates to "The Passion of our Lord J[esus] C[hrist] according to the Evangelist Matthew".Help support our show by purchasing this album  at:Downloads (classicalmusicdiscoveries.store) Classical Music Discoveries is sponsored by Uber. @CMDHedgecock#ClassicalMusicDiscoveries #KeepClassicalMusicAlive#LaMusicaFestival #CMDGrandOperaCompanyofVenice #CMDParisPhilharmonicinOrléans#CMDGermanOperaCompanyofBerlin#CMDGrandOperaCompanyofBarcelonaSpain#ClassicalMusicLivesOn#Uber Please consider supporting our show, thank you!Donate (classicalmusicdiscoveries.store) staff@classicalmusicdiscoveries.com

Libby Crabtree is a freelance musician with a wide range of performing and teaching skills. She specialised as a baroque soprano singing with top London ensembles for 20 years, touring and recording as a solo artist. She is an accomplished choral conductor and currently directs many choral societies and community choirs in Scotland. She runs day workshops, adjudicates music festivals, examines for the Associated Board of the Royal School of Music and has 10 years' experience as Head of Music in an Edinburgh school. You can find out more about Libby's work at libbycrabtree.org.Listen to Libby singing the part of the Angel on The Sixteen's recording of  Bach's Christmas Oratorio on Spotify, or try and hear her in the chorus of the Dunedin Consort singing the  St Matthew Passion.For more information about Foolproof's work, go to foolproofcreativearts.com or follow us on instagram, twitter or Facebook.

Bach's St Matthew Passion is one of the most profound and popular choral works with many diverse interpretations of record to choose from, and Joseph McHardy joins Andrew McGregor to recommend his favourite.

Sometimes a musical work of art is so perfect, so magnificent, that it's almost impossible to remember the work that's gone on, behind the scenes, from the early drafts to the anxiety and relief of the first performance. That's certainly true of a masterpiece such as Bach's St Matthew Passion. But writer James Runcie wants us to think about what went on in Bach's mind while he was creating that magnificent Passion, and he's written both a play and a novel about it. The novel, his twelfth, is called The Great Passion and it was published earlier this year; it was also broadcast on Radio 4 just before Easter. James is an award-wining film-maker, playwright and artistic director who has worked at the BBC, the Bath Literary Festival and Southbank Centre. He's also the author of the Grantchester detective novels, now filming their eighth series for television. The hero's a young priest, who solves crimes while wrestling with problems of religious faith - and religion is something James Runcie knows all about, as his father was Archbishop of Canterbury. In conversation with Michael Berkeley, James Runcie talks about the influence of his father, and of his unconventional mother, who was a pianist and piano teacher; in their household, he says, religion was optional, but music was compulsory. He shares his passion for the works of Bach in three of his choices, including the Matthew Passion. And he talks movingly about the death of his wife, the drama director Marilyn Imrie, from Motor Neurone Disease. When she was no longer able to speak, he played her music. A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 3 Produced by Elizabeth Burke

After almost six years since his last visit, pre-eminent Baroque violinist Shunske Sato is back in Australia! Following a very successful Sydney 6-concert run, Shunske has joined Hugh Ronzani for a new episode of Baroque Now to discuss the ins and outs of his craft, how violinists can overcome Johann Sebastian Bach's often-feared Sonatas and Partitas, his favourite moments from St Matthew Passion, The Romantics, and The Bachs.

James Runcie tells the story of Bach's creation of the St Matthew Passion in his latest novel The Great Passion. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

J.S. Bach composed his St. Matthew Passion in 1727. But for the better part of a century after that, the piece essentially disappeared, unknown to all but a few specialists.

During the Lenten Season, we will listen to St Matthew's Passion, one of Bach's greatest works. Part Five - Matthew 27:27-66 We see our Lord's crucifixion and death. This episode is extended to complete the Passion.

What defines a choral passion - and can they still be performed within a worship service today? Of course! A passion is in its most basic form a musical setting for God's Word. In this bonus episode, we have some ideas for how a congregation can still use the idea behind Bach's St. Matthew Passion to beautify their Holy Week and Good Friday services today.

Next Sunday, Palm Sunday, April 10 and then Good Friday, April 15 Deacon Rick Erickson and the Bach Society will present the St. John Passion, which Bach wrote for a Good Friday service. 

In this episode, Mark and Cameron debrief Grace's Hearing the Music event. With help from remarks Delta David Gier made while unpacking the St Matthew Passion, they ask how music like Bach's can inspire what we aim for in worship, and how the church should think about its inheritance of sublime sacred music.

During the Lenten Season, we will listen to St Matthew's Passion, one of Bach's greatest works. Part Four - Matthew 27:1-26 We see our Lord's trial before Pilate, and end with his flagellation, with a reminder of the Lord's Supper.

During the Lenten Season, we will listen to St Matthew's Passion, one of Bach's greatest works. Part Three - Matthew 26:51-75 We see our Lord's trial and the betrayal of St. Peter. Sorry for the COVID Delay in getting this episode out.

The St. Matthew Passion is full of short bursts of dramatic expression. In this episode, we explore two moments of reaction by an onlooking crowd.  One of Bach's shortest and most surprising moments happens when Pontius Pilate asks the crowd which prisoner should be released -- Jesus, or Barrabas? The crowd's reply is as disturbing as it is musically shocking.  Another moment happens later, after the earthquake and chaos immediately after Christ's death. After the frantic narration, the guard and crowds speak. But this moment is not one of pure terror, but rather sublime realization: "Truly, this was the Son of God." Bach's transparently gentle setting of this sentence is unforgettable.   An "A Moment of Bach" listener suggested the two topics for this episode! Do you want to suggest your own? https://amomentofbach.com/ 

In this podcast, LA Opera's Richard Seaver Music Director James Conlon explores Bach's St. Matthew Passion in this pre-recorded pre-performance talk.

Sometimes the simplest expression is the most powerful.  At a pivotal point in the intimidating and complex St. Matthew Passion, Bach places this strikingly stark, simple, yet devastating piece of music.  We discuss how the sparse instrumentation, with its lack of bass sounds, leaves the listener unmoored, feeling the vulnerability of the soloist's emotion.  And Alex talks about a "moment of West Wing", so to speak. St. Matthew Passion, performed by the Netherlands Bach Society (this link takes you directly to the "Aus Liebe" aria, with soprano Griet de Geyter): https://youtu.be/ZwVW1ttVhuQ?t=6362 Scene from "The West Wing" that features Josh's favorite "Ave Maria" moment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sQsVBolPNs

In this podcast, Susan Graham, Artistic Advisor to the LA Opera's Young Artists Program, takes us through a scene-by-scene description of Bach's St. Matthew Passion. This production of St. Matthew Passion opens March 12, 2022.

In this podcast, Dr. Ariane Helou, a scholar whose research focuses on drama, music and poetry in early modern Europe, and artist and choreographer Kitty McNamee discuss choreography and communication in the music, libretto and visuals of Bach's St. Matthew Passion.

DescriptionAlthough not a superstar like Handel, J.S. Bach was prolific in his writing. Yet, after his death, his music remained relatively dormant for some time. So, was Felix Mendelssohn responsible for kickstarting Bach back into the limelight? Take a minute to get the scoop!Fun FactAt the time Mendelssohn was promoting Bach, there was already a Bach revival underway; in fact even Beethoven proclaimed Bach as being one of the greats. There was also the first biography of J.S. Bach published in 1802 by Johann Nikolaus Forkel. About StevenSteven is a Canadian composer living in Toronto. He creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his website for more.A Note To Music Students et al.All recordings and sheet music are available on my site. I encourage you to take a look and play through some. Give me a shout if you have any questions.Got a topic? Pop me off an email at: TCMMPodcast@Gmail.com Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/TCMM)

One of the most beloved arias of all time, "Erbarme dich" ("Have mercy on me") comes straight from the contrite heart of Peter, the disciple of Jesus, on Good Friday.  After denying Christ three times, he realized his sin, and "went out and wept bitterly".  The violin solo represents the anguish of Peter's soul at this moment.  Bach scores the emotion here, just like a movie composer would.  This is musical storytelling at its finest. Thank you to listener Molly for the suggestion! Hear "Erbarme dich" performed by the Netherlands Bach Society (Tim Mead, alto; Shunske Sato, violin solo; Jos van Veldhoven, conductor): https://youtu.be/ZwVW1ttVhuQ?t=5179 Other music from the St. Matthew Passion: "O Mensch, bewein" (played in the background near the end of the episode): https://youtu.be/ZwVW1ttVhuQ?t=3818  

You will be humming this one for days!  Even if you didn't know of this particular aria before hearing this episode of A Moment of Bach, it's impossible not to be charmed by this sprightly tune on a first listen.  But there is also some fury and swift anger in the music -- the words are "Give me my Jesus back!" and they are shouted at the soldiers who have arrested Jesus on the night of His betrayal.  "Gebt mir" aria (Sayuri Yamagata, violin; Sebastian Noack, bass): https://youtu.be/ZwVW1ttVhuQ?t=5722

As we all know, it’s safe for three people to sing hymns in church, but any more than three is absolutely deadly. Those are the rules as set down by the Church of England, and as a result no one in Anglican services (or Catholic ones) will hear the glorious Good Friday Hymn 'O Sacred Head’ tomorrow in the four-part harmony it requires. But if you stick on a CD of Bach’s St Matthew Passion, you'll hear four separate harmonisations of perhaps the most haunting hymn tune ever written. The Cantor of St Thomas’s Leipzig was obsessed with this tune, originally a popular song with excruciating lyrics by the composer Hans Leo Hassler. Bach’s older contemporary Dietrich Buxtehude had fun with it, as did Paul Simon – enchantingly, in his 1974 song ‘America’. This episode of Holy Smoke tells the story of the piece, and reveals some of the miraculous things Bach did with it in his other settings. He has a way of dive-bombing a movement with it that can make you jump out of your seat the first time you hear it. Or, in the case of its guest appearance in the Christmas Oratorio, dance round the room. I hope you enjoy this episode. But be warned: you’ll also hear the podcast host attempting to perform one of Bach’s chorale preludes on the piano in his bedroom. Fortunately it only lasts two minutes, so you just have time to nip out and make a cup of tea. 

J. S. Bach masterfully portrays the satisfaction of God's wrath in the death of his Son through how he musically sets the passion narrative from St. Matthew, including other poetry and key chorales. Listen as Scott Aniol explains along with musical examples. You can (and should!) listen to the whole of Bach's St. Matthew Passion here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k4Ph-H5ZO4 --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/scottaniol/support

In this episode of 'Classics Unlocked', Graham Abbott explores one of the mightiest works for the keyboard: Johann Sebastian Bach's 'Goldberg Variations'. Today, it stands alongside the St Matthew Passion, the Mass in B minor, The Art of Fugue and the Musical Offering as an eternal musical monument. This episode features four different recordings, headed by Lang Lang's 2020 Deutsche Grammophon album:BACH: Goldberg VariationsLang Lang, pianoDG 481 8971DISCOVER: https://uma.lnk.to/usjMcRfFYP​BACH: Goldberg Variations (Extended Edition)Lang Lang, pianoDG 481 9701DISCOVER: https://uma.lnk.to/zomHEe0QYP​BACH: Goldberg Variations George Malcolm, harpsichordDecca Eloquence 482 8439DISCOVER: https://Eloquence.lnk.to/000289482843...​BACH: Goldberg Variations Julian Rachlin, violin; Nobuko Imai, viola; Mischa Maisky, celloDG 477 6378DISCOVER: https://uma.lnk.to/0PYI5JJY​BACH: Goldberg Variations Catrin Finch, harpDG 4778097DISCOVER: https://uma.lnk.to/SYQjBjv0​ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In our tenth episode, we celebrate the genesis of this podcast's main premise. Using a humble and unassuming bit of connecting music from the St. Matthew Passion, Christian shows how Bach portrayed the soul swimming in tears. Love emerges victorious in the last line, where the music reaches a shimmering conclusion. "How can we talk about moments like this?!" That was our question to each other, so that's why we've got a podcast now! "Wiewohl" recitative: https://youtu.be/ZwVW1ttVhuQ?t=1732

In our ninth episode, we take our first look at the beloved St. Matthew Passion.  Staggering in its emotional scope, this work tells the complete story of Jesus's suffering and death (from the Gospel of Matthew -- in German!), interspersed with personal reflections. Hearing this music, it is as if you are transported  -- you are there, at the cross. The St. Matthew Passion is a true masterpiece. St. Matthew Passion last chorale: https://youtu.be/ZwVW1ttVhuQ?t=8543

This week's podcast is devoted to exploring the music, life and legacy of the greatest genius of Baroque music – and arguably of all music – JS Bach. Editor Martin Cullingford invited Bach specialist and Gramophone reviewer, the Royal Academy of Music's Principal Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, to talk about the composer of some of the most profound masterpieces ever written. Gramophone Podcasts are presented in association with Wigmore Hall. Musical excerpts are taken from: the Cello Suites by David Watkin on Resonus; the Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin by Rachel Podger on Channel Classics; the Goldberg Variations by Beatrice Rana on Warner Classics; and the St Matthew Passion conducted by Masaaki Suzuki on BIS. 

Bach's Germany was an agrarian society. Just beyond Leipzig's city walls, farmers worked the land to grow crops that sustained its citizens. Some of Bach's music explicitly engages with farming. Its rustic oomph and repetitive motifs call to mind the manual toil of digging. John Eliot Gardiner even described the texture of one Bach cantata as “warm topsoil, fertile and well irrigated”. Yet devotional writings of Bach's time make it clear that farming was something not just done out on the fields. Instead all Lutherans were to be farmers of sorts: they were to plough the “soil” of their hearts so to receive the Word of God and bring it to fruition. The notion that scripture was a type of seed pervaded eighteenth-century thought, and Bach was intimate with this kind of corporeal agricultural. In this episode, violinist and member of Chineke!, Mark Seow explores how the cultivation of Lutheran hearts as if they were farmland urge us to rehear much-loved moments of Bach, including movements from his Christmas Oratorio and the St Matthew Passion.

We’ll look at part 1 of the St. Matthew Passion.

در این اپیزود درباره هدف صحبت کردیم و اینکه چطور می توان به کمک عادت ها به اهداف نزدیک و نزدیکتر شد...قطعات موسیقی اپیزود*Mendelssohn - conserto E minor*Ennio Morricone - La Sconosciuta*Brahms - Hungarian Dances No 1*Hans Zimmer - The Da Vinci Code *Enya - The Lord of the Rings May It Be*J.S.Bach - Final Chorus of St Matthew Passion برای دریافت مطالب بیشتر، ما در شبکه های اجتماعی هم در کنار شما هستیم. لطفا با ما همراه باشید در: https://instagram.com/Genomepodcast https://twitter.com/Genomepodcast https://t.me/Genomepodcast Email:genomepodcast@gmail.com

The search for meaning blah blah blah.Thanks for listening even if you are a bot. Music in order of appearance:https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Violinist_CARRIE_REHKOPF-BACH_ARIOSO.ogghttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bach,_Komm,_Jesu_komm_01.wav https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bach,_St_Matthew_Passion_19.wav

Let's hear some of Quire Cleveland's 2017 performance of the St. Matthew Passion by Renaissance composer Richard Davy.

Let's hear some of Quire Cleveland's 2017 performance of the St. Matthew Passion by Renaissance composer Richard Davy.

On this special edition of the podcast, Peter Leithart & John Ahern Discuss J.S. Bach's "St Matthew Passion BWV 244." They'll discuss different aspects of the piece and what modern composers can learn from Bach. _________________ Psalm 12 Chant www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sidywTXXkU Psalm 120 Chant www.youtube.com/watch?v=SULIFaui76M Psalm 47 Chant www.youtube.com/watch?v=93HgY9dFX4c Psalm 1 Chant www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3igF7e-Lgs Psalm 2 Chant www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW-iT21hK7U Psalm 23 Chant www.youtube.com/watch?v=ux9zwc4zwGw Psalm 88 Chant www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbUANfrXOsw Psalm 46 Chant www.youtube.com/watch?v=93KjrXHmfz0 _ Donate to Theopolis, here: theopolisinstitute.com/give/ _______ Sign up for In Medias Res & get our new e-book on Paedocommunion by Peter Leithart! mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres New audio project, the Theopolis Blogcast! Subscribe: theopolis-blogcast.simplecast.com/ Subscribe on Youtube for weekly theology videos: www.youtube.com/channel/UCu9ejEQ9Iq8-HWkQ6S53sfQ Theopolis Blog: theopolisinstitute.com/theopolis-blog/ Website: theopolisinstitute.com Twitter: @_theopolis Facebook: www.facebook.com/theopolisinstitute/

We’re continuing with our series on composer Johann Sebastian Bach! In our last episode, we learned about Bach’s life, family, style and career. Today we’re going to learn about one of his most famous compositions — St. Matthew Passion. You’ll learn… What the term Passion refers to when we use it in music Definitions to fancy vocabulary words like recictatives and arias How this choral work led to the resurgence of Bach’s popularity Links mentioned in this episode: Episode 28: The Life of J.S. Bach Episode 8: Handel’s Messiah Musical Samples You’ll Hear in this Episode: St. Matthew Passion — Opening Chorus St. Matthew Passion – No. 18 (Evangelist, Jesus) St. Matthew Passion – No. 39 (Aria) St. Matthew Passion (Chorale Settings) St. Matthew Passion (Final Chorus) Music Listening Schedule for Episode 29 I’ve created a YouTube playlist for you with ten performances connected to this episode’s theme. Check it out here. Subscribe & Review in iTunes Are you subscribed to my podcast? If you’re not, head on over to do that today so you don’t miss an episode. Click here to subscribe in iTunes! If you’re feeling extra magnanimous, I would be really grateful if you left a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other families find my podcast learn more about music. Just click here to review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let me know what you love about Busy Kids Love Music. Thanks!

Host (and H+H Principal Cellist) Guy Fishman continues his conversation with H+H Artistic Director Harry Christophers about J.S. Bach's St. Matthew Passion. Written and produced by Guy Fishman

Host (and H+H Principal Cellist) Guy Fishman chats with H+H Artistic Director Harry Christophers about J.S. Bach's St. Matthew Passion. Written and produced by Guy Fishman

During the Lenten Season, we will listen to St Matthew's Passion, one of Bach's greatest works. Part one - Matthew 26:33-50 We will travel to Gethsemane and see our Lord betrayed and arrested.

During the Lenten Season, we will listen to St Matthew's Passion, one of Bach's greatest works. Part one - Matthew 26:1-32 We will introduce the Passion, and cover the Passover preparations through the institution of the Lord's Supper.

Twenty five years after his first recording for BIS of JS Bach's St Matthew Passion, Masaaki Suzuki and his Bach Collegium Japan have taken the work into the studio for a second time, and a magnificent achievement it proves. James Jolly met up with Suzuki when he was in London recently, working with students at the Royal Academy of Music.

"Music is one thing that everybody has... Before kids learn the alphabet in preschool, they sing... It's something we certainly have in common. Music gives us a model for a shared love that we can experience together in other things as well." Thomas Schmidt was cantor at St Peter's Lutheran Church in New York City for 25 years until his retirement two years ago. The musical repertoire that he incorporated there ran the gamut from Gregorian and Russian chant to choral masterpieces of every age, including contemporary composers, spirituals and gospel music. As part of his work at St Peter's he wrote a substantial amount of liturgical music as well as works for choir and small choral ensembles. The musical high point of the year was always the singing of Bach's St Matthew Passion on Good Friday. Before his time at St Peter's he was a professor in the music department of Concordia College, Bronxville, NY, for 20 years. In addition, as a professional pianist he toured with the Arden Trio for 25 years and made a number of CDs. He is presently pianist of the Omni Quartet. He has been an active member of ALCM and the AGO, serving as a board member of the ALCM and organist and workshop presenter at various conferences. Musical Excerpts: Frédéric Chopin Prelude E minor Samuel Barber Excursions, Movement III To learn more about Holden Village, visit: www.holdenvillage.org or to listen to more audio recordings visit: http://audio.holdenvillage.org To contact the podcast author, podcast@holdenvillage.org

Every year around the world, many people around the world listen to Bach's three-hour musical depiction of Jesus' trial and execution. Why?  Host Damian Thompson is joined by Thelma Lovell, musical scholar and writer, to discuss why St Matthew Passion exerts such a strong grip on our imagination.

Barry Jones on Pick-a-Box, Science and Poetry. You can find details about Barry's book The Shock of Recognition, here. Or read a review here. Click here for an excerpt of the Berliner Philharmonike performing Bach's St Matthew Passion. Directed by Peter Sellars, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, with chorus master Simon Halsey.

A conversation in which Andrew Carwood, Director of Music, and Canon Mark Oakley, Chancellor, discuss Bach’s St Matthew Passion. The conversation refers to two upcoming events - a reflective day about Bach’s St Matthew Passion taking place on 17 March and a performance of Bach’s St Matthew Passion taking place at the Cathedral on 21 March. Bach's intense masterpiece narrates the events leading to the crucifixion of Christ and will be sung by St Paul's Cathedral Choir and Chorus, with the City of London Sinfonia. Further details on how to book tickets can be found at https://www.stpauls.co.uk/easter (Conversation recorded on Wednesday 28 February 2018).

Sign of the Cross in St. Matthew PassionSeries: Learners' Exchange 2018 Speaker: Jason CheungLearners' ExchangeDate: 18th February 2018

Many Private Passions guests over the years have revealed their passion for Bach. But for some, the great composer has really transformed their lives. The great primatologist Jane Goodall, for instance, describes how she reached such a dark time in her life that she considered giving up altogether. Four of her workers had been kidnapped in Africa, in the chimpanzee sanctuary she'd established. The money for her research had come to an end. At crisis point, she went into Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, and heard Bach's famous Toccata and Fugue in D minor being played on the organ. Bach gave her hope, and transformed her vision of the world so that she could carry on. "It helped me to understand that I was a small person in a big world. And the world was very beautiful. It caused me to think about the meaning of our lives, and what am amazing thing it is that this little creature can encompass so much. So I came out a different person." "Bach deals with death, but also with transcendence..." - so says architect Daniel Libeskind who reveals how Bach sustained him when he was building the memorial to 9/11 in New York. Alan Bennett describes first hearing the St Matthew Passion in Leeds Parish Church when he was growing up, while Vivienne Westwood discovered Bach's Passions only recently: "I don't believe in God, but the beauty, the hypnotic rhythm lifts you." And tenor Mark Padmore talks about singing the Evangelist in Bach's Passions, how he never tires of the music, and how there's always something more to discover. As Joan Armatrading says at the end of the programme: " This guy Bach - how IS that humanly possible?" Produced by Elizabeth Burke A Loftus production for BBC Radio 3.

In this short podcast I listen to opening music of Bach's St. Matthew Passion, performed by John Eliot Gardiner and the Monteverdi Choir with the English Baroque Soloist, and offer one possible answer to the question of why a piece written in German, 300 years ago, in celebration of Christianity, is 'worth listening to" by non-Christian, non-German speaking people, today.

Samira Ahmed talks to director Penny Woolcock and conductor Harry Christophers about a new version of Bach's St Matthew Passion, performed by homeless people in Manchester.Viv Groskop reviews Disney's animation, Zootropolis.Director Max Stafford-Clark on his new production of Samuel Becket's play All That Fall, in which the audience are blindfolded.And Bridget Kendall reviews Blue Eyes, the Swedish TV drama series about far-right extremists.

Produced by ricepudding

Produced by ricepudding

Munisha introduces the Urban Retreat on Sangha Day, Stockholm Buddhist Centre 21 November 2015. The music is "Erbarme Dich", from the St Matthew Passion by JS Bach, with mezzo soprano Janet Baker. The poem is A High Blue Day on Scalpay, by Kenneth White. Here it is, with Viryabodhi's translation into Swedish. *A High Blue Day on Scalpay* This is the summit of contemplation, and no art can touch it Blue, so blue, the far-out archipelago and the sea shimmering, shimmering No art can touch it, the mind can only try to become attuned to it To become quiet, and space itself out, to become open and still, unworlded Knowing itself in the diamond country, in the ultimate unlettered light. Kenneth White *En blåhimmelsdag på Scalpay* Det här är kontemplationens höjdpunkt, och ingen konst kan fånga den; blå, så blå, skärgården långt därute och det skimrande havet, skimrande, ingen konst kan fånga det, sinnet kan bara försöka stämma in med det: att bli stilla, vidga sig utåt, att bli öppen och stilla, bortomvärldslig och fånga sig själv i Diamantlandet, i det yttersta ordlösa ljuset. Kenneth White, translated into Swedish by Viryabodhi

As In Tune reveals the nominations for this year's RPS Music Awards, Sean Rafferty talks to tenor Mark Padmore who is nominated in the Singer category alongside baritone Christian Gerhaher and soprano Nine Stemme. Mark talks about his current role in Bach's St Matthew Passion, performed on period instruments by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

Stephen Johnson considers how five seminal pieces of music would have been appreciated by the audiences who heard them first. He probes the societies and cultures that shaped the experience of those original listeners to reveal what our modern ears might be missing.Since its revival in the 19th century, Bach's St. Matthew Passion has been hailed as one of the pillars of Western music; universally regarded, and with a powerful influence that reaches into our own time. How differently, then, would his music have fired imaginations in the provincial church-goers of 18th century Leipzig? People whose experience of music was so much more limited than our own, and whose pietist religious sensibilities coloured every aspect of their daily lives.

A program marking the 264th anniversary of J.S. Bach's death. Works include: Brandenburg Concerto #1, The Musical Offering, The St Matthew Passion, The French Suite #5 and Ich Habe Genug.  Performers include: Albert Schweitzer, Fritz Reiner, Walter Gieseking and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.

With Mark LawsonBreathless is a new prime-time period drama from ITV set in a London hospital during the early sixties. The programme follows the lives of a group of doctors and nurses and, like Mad Men and The Hour, combines period glamour with historical social commentary. Neurosurgeon Henry Marsh reviews.Le Week-End stars Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan as a middle aged couple who embark on a trip to Paris to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary, with less than romantic results. The comedy is the latest collaboration from writer Hanif Kureishi and director Roger Michell. Jenny McCartney reviews.The conductor John Eliot Gardiner discusses the life and music of JS Bach, who he regards as the greatest composer. Gardiner's book, which he has spent the last decade writing, presents an "unsanitised" version of Bach, revealing his brutalising schooling, his brushes with the law, and the difficult conditions in which he wrote such masterpieces as The St Matthew Passion and the B Minor Mass.Producer Stephen Hughes.

JS Bach's - Goldberg Variations #5Our version of JS Bach's - Goldberg Variations #5blessings,Shiloh Worship MusicThe Goldberg Variations, BWV 988, is a work for harpsichord by Johann Sebastian Bach, consisting of an aria and a set of 30 variations. First published in 1741, the work is considered to be one of the most important examples of variation form. The Variationsare named after Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, who may have been the first performer.Johann Sebastian Bach from WikipediaJohann Sebastian Bach[1] (31 March [O.S. 21 March] 1685 – 28 July 1750) was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist of the Baroque Period. He enriched many established German styles through his skill in counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organisation, and the adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France. Bach wrote much music that was revered for its intellectual depth, technical command, and artistic beauty. Many of his works are still known today, such as the Brandenburg Concertos, the Mass in B minor, the Well-Tempered Clavier, and his cantatas, chorales, partitas, passions, and organ works.Bach was born in Eisenach, Saxe-Eisenach into a very musical family; his father, Johann Ambrosius Bach was the director of the town's musicians, and all of his uncles were professional musicians. His father taught him to play violin and harpsichord, and his brother, Johann Christoph Bach taught him the clavichord and exposed him to much contemporary music.[2][3] Bach also sang, and he went to the St Michael's School in Lüneburg because of his skill in voice. After graduating, he held several musical posts across Germany: he served as Kapellmeister (director of music) to Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen, Cantor of Thomasschule in Leipzig, and Royal Court Composer to August III.[4][5] Bach's health and vision declined in 1749, and he died on 28 July 1750. Modern historians believe that his death was caused by a combination of stroke and pneumonia.[6][7][8]Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected throughout Europe during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognised as a great composer until a revival of interest and performances of his music in the first half of the 19th century. He is now generally regarded as one of the main composers of the Baroque period, and as one of the greatest composers of all time.[9]LifeChildhood (1685–1703)Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach, Saxe-Eisenach, on 21 March 1685 O.S. (31 March 1685 N.S.). He was the son of Johann Ambrosius Bach, the director of the town musicians, and Maria Elisabeth Lämmerhirt.[10] He was the eighth child of Johann Ambrosius; the eldest son in the family was 14 at the time of Bach's birth.[11] His father taught him violin and harpsichord.[12] His uncles were all professional musicians, whose posts included church organists, court chamber musicians, and composers. One uncle, Johann Christoph Bach (1645–93), introduced him to the organ, and an older second cousin, Johann Ludwig Bach (1677–1731), was a well-known composer and violinist. Bach drafted a genealogy around 1735, titled "Origin of the musical Bach family".[13]Bach's mother died in 1694, and his father died eight months later.[5] Bach, 10, moved in with his oldest brother, Johann Christoph Bach (1671–1721), the organist at the Michaeliskirche in Ohrdruf, Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.[14] There he studied, performed, and copied music, including his own brother's, despite being forbidden to do so because scores were so valuable and private and blank ledger paper of that type was costly.[15][16] He received valuable teaching from his brother, who instructed him on the clavichord. J.C. Bach exposed him to the works of great composers of the day, including South German composers such as Johann Pachelbel (under whom Johann Christoph had studied)[2] and Johann Jakob Froberger; North German composers;[3] Frenchmen, such as Jean-Baptiste Lully, Louis Marchand, Marin Marais; and the Italian clavierist Girolamo Frescobaldi. Also during this time, he was taught theology, Latin, Greek, French, and Italian at the local gymnasium.[17]At the age of 14, Bach, along with his older school friend George Erdmann, was awarded a choral scholarship to study at the prestigious St. Michael's School in Lüneburg in the Principality of Lüneburg.[18] Although it is not known for certain, the trip was likely taken mostly on foot.[17] His two years there were critical in exposing him to a wider facet of European culture. In addition to singing in the choir he played the School's three-manual organ and harpsichords.[17] He came into contact with sons of noblemen from northern Germany sent to the highly selective school to prepare for careers in other disciplines.Although little supporting historical evidence exists at this time, it is almost certain that while in Lüneburg, Bach visited the Johanniskirche (Church of St. John) and heard (and possibly played) the church's famous organ (built in 1549 by Jasper Johannsen, and played by Georg Böhm). Given his musical talent, Bach had significant contact with prominent organists of the day in Lüneburg, most notably Böhm, but also including organists in nearby Hamburg, such as Johann Adam Reincken.[19]Weimar, Arnstadt, and Mühlhausen (1703–08)In January 1703, shortly after graduating from St. Michael's and being turned down for the post of organist at Sangerhausen,[20] Bach was appointed court musician in the chapel of Duke Johann Ernst in Weimar. His role there is unclear, but likely included menial, non-musical duties. During his seven-month tenure at Weimar, his reputation as a keyboardist spread so much that he was invited to inspect the new organ, and give the inaugural recital, at St. Boniface's Church in Arnstadt, located about 40 km southwest of Weimar.[21] In August 1703, he became the organist at St Boniface's, with light duties, a relatively generous salary, and a fine new organ tuned in the modern tempered system that allowed a wide range of keys to be used.Despite strong family connections and a musically enthusiastic employer, tension built up between Bach and the authorities after several years in the post. Bach was dissatisfied with the standard of singers in the choir, while his employer was upset by his unauthorised absence from Arnstadt; Bach was gone for several months in 1705–06, to visit the great organist and composer Dieterich Buxtehude and his Abendmusiken at the Marienkirche in the northern city of Lübeck. The visit to Buxtehude involved a 400 kilometre (250 mi) journey on foot each way. The trip reinforced Buxtehude's style as a foundation for Bach's earlier works. Bach wanted to become amanuensis (assistant and successor) to Buxtehude, but did not want to marry his daughter, which was a condition for his appointment.[22]In 1706, Bach was offered a post as organist at St. Blasius's in Mühlhausen, which he took up the following year. It included significantly higher remuneration, improved conditions, and a better choir. Four months after arriving at Mühlhausen, Bach married Maria Barbara Bach, his second cousin. They had seven children, four of whom survived to adulthood, including Wilhelm Friedemann Bach and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach who both became important composers as well. Bach was able to convince the church and city government at Mühlhausen to fund an expensive renovation of the organ at St. Blasius's. Bach, in turn, wrote an elaborate, festive cantata—Gott ist mein König, BWV 71—for the inauguration of the new council in 1708. The council paid handsomely for its publication, and it was a major success.[17]Return to Weimar (1708–17)In 1708, Bach left Mühlhausen, returning to Weimar this time as organist and concertmaster at the ducal court, where he had an opportunity to work with a large, well-funded contingent of professional musicians.[17] Bach moved with his family into an apartment very close to the ducal palace. In the following year, their first child was born and Maria Barbara's elder, unmarried sister joined them. She remained to help run the household until her death in 1729.Bach's time in Weimar was the start of a sustained period of composing keyboard and orchestral works. He attained the proficiency and confidence to extend the prevailing structures and to include influences from abroad. He learned to write dramatic openings and employ the dynamic motor-rhythms and harmonic schemes found in the music of Italians such as Vivaldi, Corelli, and Torelli. Bach absorbed these stylistic aspects in part by transcribing Vivaldi's string and wind concertos for harpsichord and organ; many of these transcribed works are still played in concert often. Bach was particularly attracted to the Italian style in which one or more solo instruments alternate section-by-section with the full orchestra throughout a movement.[24]In Weimar, Bach continued to play and compose for the organ, and to perform concert music with the duke's ensemble.[17] He also began to write the preludes and fugues which were later assembled into his monumental work Das Wohltemperierte Clavier ("The Well-Tempered Clavier"—Clavier meaning clavichord or harpsichord),[25] consisting of two books, compiled in 1722 and 1744,[26] each containing a prelude and fugue in every major and minor key.Also in Weimar Bach started work on the Little Organ Book for his eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann, containing traditional Lutheran chorales (hymn tunes) set in complex textures to train organists. In 1713 Bach was offered a post in Halle when he advised the authorities during a renovation by Christoph Cuntzius of the main organ in the west gallery of the Marktkirche Unser Lieben Frauen. Johann Kuhnau and Bach played again when it was inaugurated in 1716.[27][28] Musicologists debate whether his first Christmas cantata Christen, ätzet diesen Tag, BWV 63, was premiered here in 1713[29], or if it was performed for the bicentennial of the Reformation in 1717.[30] Bach eventually fell out of favour in Weimar and was, according to a translation of the court secretary's report, jailed for almost a month before being unfavourably dismissed:“On November 6, [1717], the quondam concertmaster and organist Bach was confined to the County Judge's place of detention for too stubbornly forcing the issue of his dismissal and finally on December 2 was freed from arrest with notice of his unfavourable discharge.[31]”Köthen (1717–23)Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen hired Bach to serve as his Kapellmeister (director of music) in 1717. Prince Leopold, himself a musician, appreciated Bach's talents, paid him well, and gave him considerable latitude in composing and performing. The prince was Calvinist and did not use elaborate music in his worship; accordingly, most of Bach's work from this period was secular,[32] including the Orchestral Suites, the Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello, the Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin, and the Brandenburg Concertos.[33] Bach also composed secular cantatas for the court such as the Die Zeit, die Tag und Jahre macht, BWV 134a.Despite being born in the same year and only about 80 miles apart, Bach and Handel never met. In 1719 Bach made the 20 mile journey from Köthen to Halle with the intention of meeting Handel, however Handel had recently departed the city.[34] In 1730, Bach's son Friedmann travelled to Halle to invite Handel to visit the Bach family in Leipzig, however the visit did not eventuate.[35]On 7 July 1720, while Bach was abroad with Prince Leopold, Bach's first wife suddenly died. The following year, he met Anna Magdalena Wilcke, a young, highly gifted soprano 17 years younger than he was who performed at the court in Köthen; they married on 3 December 1721.[36] Together they had 13 more children, six of whom survived into adulthood: Gottfried Heinrich, Johann Christoph Friedrich, and Johann Christian, all of whom became significant musicians; Elisabeth Juliane Friederica (1726–81), who married Bach's pupil Johann Christoph Altnikol; Johanna Carolina (1737–81); and Regina Susanna (1742–1809).[37]Leipzig (1723–50)In 1723, Bach was appointed Cantor of the Thomasschule at Thomaskirche in Leipzig, and Director of Music in the principal churches in the town, namely the Nikolaikirche and the Paulinerkirche, the church of the University of Leipzig.[38] This was a prestigious post in the mercantile city in the Electorate of Saxony, which he held for 27 years until his death. It brought him into contact with the political machinations of his employer, Leipzig's city council.Bach was required to instruct the students of the Thomasschule in singing and to provide church music for the main churches in Leipzig. Bach was required to teach Latin, but he was allowed to employ a deputy to do this instead. A cantata was required for the church service on Sundays and additional church holidays during the liturgical year. He usually performed his own cantatas, most of which were composed during his first three years in Leipzig. The first of these was Die Elenden sollen essen, BWV 75, first performed in the Nikolaikirche on 30 May 1723, the first Sunday after Trinity. Bach collected his cantatas in annual cycles. Five are mentioned in obituaries, three are extant.[39] Most of these concerted works expound on the Gospel readings prescribed for every Sunday and feast day in the Lutheran year. Bach started a second annual cycle the first Sunday after Trinity of 1724, and composed only Chorale cantatas, each based on a single church hymn. These include O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort, BWV 20, Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140, Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 61, and Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, BWV 1.Bach drew the soprano and alto choristers from the School, and the tenors and basses from the School and elsewhere in Leipzig. Performing at weddings and funerals provided extra income for these groups; it was probably for this purpose, and for in-school training, that he wrote at least six motets, at least five of which are for double choir.[40] As part of his regular church work, he performed other composers' motets, which served as formal models for his own.[17]Bach broadened his composing and performing beyond the liturgy by taking over, in March 1729, the directorship of the Collegium Musicum, a secular performance ensemble started by the composer Georg Philipp Telemann. This was one of the dozens of private societies in the major German-speaking cities that was established by musically active university students; these societies had become increasingly important in public musical life and were typically led by the most prominent professionals in a city. In the words of Christoph Wolff, assuming the directorship was a shrewd move that "consolidated Bach's firm grip on Leipzig's principal musical institutions".[41] Year round, the Leipzig's Collegium Musicum performed regularly in venues such as the Zimmermannsches Caffeehaus, a Coffeehouse on Catherine Street off the main market square. Many of Bach's works during the 1730s and 1740s were written for and performed by the Collegium Musicum; among these were parts of his Clavier-Übung (Keyboard Practice) and many of his violin and harpsichord concertos.[17]In 1733, Bach composed the Kyrie and Gloria of the Mass in B minor. He presented the manuscript to the King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania and Elector of Saxony, August III in an eventually successful bid to persuade the monarch to appoint him as Royal Court Composer.[4] He later extended this work into a full Mass, by adding a Credo, Sanctus and Agnus Dei, the music for which was almost wholly taken from his own cantatas. Bach's appointment as court composer was part of his long-term struggle to achieve greater bargaining power with the Leipzig Council. Although the complete mass was probably never performed during the composer's lifetime,[42] it is considered to be among the greatest choral works of all time. Between 1737 and 1739, Bach's former pupil Carl Gotthelf Gerlach took over the directorship of the Collegium Musicum.In 1747, Bach visited the court of the King of Prussia in Potsdam. There the king played a theme for Bach and challenged him to improvise a fugue based on his theme. Bach improvised a three-part fugue on Frederick's pianoforte, then a novelty, and later presented the king with a Musical Offering which consists of fugues, canons and a trio based on this theme. Its six-part fugue includes a slightly altered subject more suitable for extensive elaboration. Bach wrote another fugue, The Art of Fugue, shortly before his death, but never completed the final fugue. It consists of 18 complex fugues and canons based on a simple theme.[43] It was only published posthumously in 1751.[44]The final work Bach completed was a chorale prelude for organ, entitled Vor deinen Thron tret ich hiermit (Before thy throne I now appear, BWV 668a) which he dictated to his son-in-law, Johann Altnikol, from his deathbed. When the notes on the three staves of the final cadence are counted and mapped onto the Roman alphabet, the initials "JSB" are found.[45]Death (1750)Bach's health declined in 1749; on 2 June, Heinrich von Brühl wrote to one of the Leipzig burgomasters to request that his music director, Gottlob Harrer, fill the Thomascantor and Director musices posts "upon the eventual ... decease of Mr. Bach."[29] Bach became increasingly blind, so the British eye surgeon John Taylor operated on Bach while visiting Leipzig in March or April of 1750.[46]On 28 July 1750 Bach died at the age of 65. A contemporary newspaper reported "the unhappy consequences of the very unsuccessful eye operation" as the cause of death.[47] Modern historians speculate that the cause of death was a stroke complicated by pneumonia.[6][7][8] His son Emanuel and his pupil Johann Friedrich Agricola wrote an obituary of Bach.[48]Bach's estate included five Clavecins, two lute-harpsichords, three violins, three violas, two cellos, a viola da gamba, a lute and a spinet, and 52 "sacred books", including books by Martin Luther and Josephus.[49] He was originally buried at Old St. John's Cemetery in Leipzig. His grave went unmarked for nearly 150 years. In 1894 his coffin was finally found and moved to a vault in St. John's Church. This building was destroyed by Allied bombing during World War II, so in 1950 Bach's remains were taken to their present grave at Leipzig's Church of St. Thomas.[17]LegacyA detailed obituary of Bach was published (without attribution) four years later in 1754 by Lorenz Christoph Mizler (a former student) in Musikalische Bibliothek, a music periodical. The obituary remains probably "the richest and most trustworthy"[50] early source document about Bach. After his death, Bach's reputation as a composer at first declined; his work was regarded as old-fashioned compared to the emerging classical style.[51] Initially he was remembered more as a player and teacher.During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, Bach was widely recognised for his keyboard work. Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Robert Schumann, and Felix Mendelssohn were among his most prominent admirers; they began writing in a more contrapuntal style after being exposed to Bach's music.[52] Beethoven described him as the "Urvater der Harmonie", "original father of harmony".[53]Bach's reputation among the wider public was enhanced in part by Johann Nikolaus Forkel's 1802 biography of Bach.[54] Felix Mendelssohn significantly contributed to the revival of Bach's reputation with his 1829 Berlin performance of the St Matthew Passion.[55] In 1850, the Bach Gesellschaft (Bach Society) was founded to promote the works; in 1899 the Society published a comprehensive edition of the composer's works with little editorial intervention.During the 20th century, the process of recognising the musical as well as the pedagogic value of some of the works continued, perhaps most notably in the promotion of the Cello Suites by Pablo Casals, the first major performer to record these suites.[56] Another development has been the growth of the "authentic" or "period performance" movement, which attempts to present music as the composer intended it. Examples include the playing of keyboard works on harpsichord rather than modern grand piano and the use of small choirs or single voices instead of the larger forces favoured by 19th- and early 20th-century performers.[57]Bach's music is frequently bracketed with the literature of William Shakespeare and the teachings of Isaac Newton.[58] In Germany, during the twentieth century, many streets were named and statues were erected in honour of Bach. His music features three times - more than any other composer - on the Voyager Golden Record, a phonograph record containing a broad sample of the images, common sounds, languages, and music of Earth, sent into outer space with the two Voyager probes.[59]WorksIn 1950, a thematic catalogue called Bach Werke Verzeichnis (Bach Works Catalogue) was compiled by Wolfgang Schmieder.[60] Schmieder largely followed the Bach Gesellschaft Ausgabe, a comprehensive edition of the composer's works that was produced between 1850 and 1905: BWV 1–224 are cantatas; BWV 225–249, large-scale choral works including his Passions; BWV 250–524, chorales and sacred songs; BWV 525–748, organ works; BWV 772–994, other keyboard works; BWV 995–1000, lute music; BWV 1001–40, chamber music; BWV 1041–71, orchestral music; and BWV 1072–1126, canons and fugues.[61]Organ worksBach was best known during his lifetime as an organist, organ consultant, and composer of organ works in both the traditional German free genres—such as preludes, fantasias, and toccatas—and stricter forms, such as chorale preludes and fugues.[17] At a young age, he established a reputation for his great creativity and ability to integrate foreign styles into his organ works. A decidedly North German influence was exerted by Georg Böhm, with whom Bach came into contact in Lüneburg, and Dieterich Buxtehude, whom the young organist visited in Lübeck in 1704 on an extended leave of absence from his job in Arnstadt. Around this time, Bach copied the works of numerous French and Italian composers to gain insights into their compositional languages, and later arranged violin concertos by Vivaldi and others for organ and harpsichord. During his most productive period (1708–14) he composed several pairs of preludes and fugues and toccatas and fugues, and the Orgelbüchlein ("Little organ book"), an unfinished collection of 46 short chorale preludes that demonstrates compositional techniques in the setting of chorale tunes. After leaving Weimar, Bach wrote less for organ, although his best-known works (the six trio sonatas, the "German Organ Mass" in Clavier-Übung III from 1739, and the "Great Eighteen" chorales, revised late in his life) were all composed after his leaving Weimar. Bach was extensively engaged later in his life in consulting on organ projects, testing newly built organs, and dedicating organs in afternoon recitals.[62][63]Other keyboard worksBach wrote many works for harpsichord, some of which may have been played on the clavichord. Many of his keyboard works are anthologies that encompass whole theoretical systems in an encyclopaedic fashion. • The Well-Tempered Clavier, Books 1 and 2 (BWV 846–893). Each book consists of a prelude and fugue in each of the 24 major and minor keys in chromatic order from C major to B minor (thus, the whole collection is often referred to as 'the 48'). "Well-tempered" in the title refers to the temperament (system of tuning); many temperaments before Bach's time were not flexible enough to allow compositions to utilise more than just a few keys.[64] • The 15 Inventions and 15 Sinfonias (BWV 772–801). These short two- and three-part contrapuntal works are arranged in the same chromatic order as the Well-Tempered Clavier, omitting some of the rarer keys. These pieces were intended by Bach for instructional purposes.[65] • Three collections of dance suites: the English Suites (BWV 806–811), the French Suites (BWV 812–817), and the Partitas for keyboard (BWV 825–830). Each collection contains six suites built on the standard model (Allemande–Courante–Sarabande–(optional movement)–Gigue). The English Suites closely follow the traditional model, adding a prelude before the allemande and including a single movement between the sarabande and the gigue.[66] The French Suites omit preludes, but have multiple movements between the sarabande and the gigue.[67] The partitas expand the model further with elaborate introductory movements and miscellaneous movements between the basic elements of the model.[68] • The Goldberg Variations (BWV 988), an aria with thirty variations. The collection has a complex and unconventional structure: the variations build on the bass line of the aria, rather than its melody, and musical canons are interpolated according to a grand plan. There are nine canons within the 30 variations, one every three variations between variations 3 and 27.[69] These variations move in order from canon at the unison to canon at the ninth. The first eight are in pairs (unison and octave, second and seventh, third and sixth, fourth and fifth). The ninth canon stands on its own due to compositional dissimilarities. • Miscellaneous pieces such as the Overture in the French Style (French Overture, BWV 831), Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue (BWV 903), and the Italian Concerto (BWV 971).Among Bach's lesser known keyboard works are seven toccatas (BWV 910–916), four duets (BWV 802–805), sonatas for keyboard (BWV 963–967), the Six Little Preludes (BWV 933–938), and the Aria variata alla maniera italiana (BWV 989).Orchestral and chamber musicBach wrote for single instruments, duets, and small ensembles. Many of his solo works, such as his six sonatas and partitas for violin (BWV 1001–1006), six cello suites (BWV 1007–1012) and Partita for solo flute (BWV 1013), are among the most profound works in the repertoire.[70] Bach composed a suite and several other works for solo lute. He wrote trio sonatas; solo sonatas (accompanied by continuo) for the flute and for the viola da gamba; and a large number of canons and ricercare, mostly with unspecified instrumentation. The most significant examples of the latter are contained in The Art of Fugue and The Musical Offering.Bach's best-known orchestral works are the Brandenburg Concertos, so named because he submitted them in the hope of gaining employment from Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg-Schwedt in 1721; his application was unsuccessful.[17] These works are examples of the concerto grosso genre. Other surviving works in the concerto form include two violin concertos (BWV 1041 and BWV 1042); a Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor (BWV 1043), often referred to as Bach's "double" concerto; and concertos for one to four harpsichords. It is widely accepted that many of the harpsichord concertos were not original works, but arrangements of his concertos for other instruments now lost.[71] A number of violin, oboe and flute concertos have been reconstructed from these. In addition to concertos, Bach wrote four orchestral suites, and a series of stylised dances for orchestra, each preceded by a French overture.[72]Vocal and choral worksCantatasAs the Thomaskantor, beginning mid of 1723, Bach performed a cantata each Sunday and feast day that corresponded to the lectionary readings of the week.[17] Although Bach performed cantatas by other composers, he composed at least three entire annual cycles of cantatas at Leipzig, in addition to those composed at Mühlhausen and Weimar.[17] In total he wrote more than 300 sacred cantatas, of which approximately 200 survive.[73]His cantatas vary greatly in form and instrumentation, including those for solo singers, single choruses, small instrumental groups, or grand orchestras. Many consist of a large opening chorus followed by one or more recitative-aria pairs for soloists (or duets) and a concluding chorale. The recitative is part of the corresponding Bible reading for the week and the aria is a contemporary reflection on it. The melody of the concluding chorale often appears as a cantus firmus in the opening movement. Among his best known cantatas are: • Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4 • Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis, BWV 21 • Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, BWV 80 • Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit, BWV 106 (Actus Tragicus) • Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140 • Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147In addition, Bach wrote a number of secular cantatas, usually for civic events such as council inaugurations. These include wedding cantatas, the Wedding Quodlibet, the Peasant Cantata and the Coffee Cantata.[74]PassionsBach's large choral-orchestral works include the grand scale St Matthew Passion and St John Passion, both written for Good Friday vespers services at the Thomaskirche and the Nikolaikirche in alternate years, and the Christmas Oratorio (a set of six cantatas for use in the Liturgical season of Christmas).[75][76][77] The two versions of the Magnificat (one in E-flat major, with four interpolated Christmas-related movements, and the later and better-known version in D major), the Easter Oratorio, and the Ascension Oratorio are smaller and simpler than the Passions and the Christmas Oratorio.Mass in B minorMain article: Mass in B minorBach assembled his other large work, the Mass in B minor, near the end of his life, mostly from pieces composed earlier (such as the cantatas Gloria in excelsis Deo, BWV 191 and Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, BWV 12). The mass was never performed in full during Bach's lifetime.[78] All of these movements, unlike the six motets (Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied; Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf; Jesu, meine Freude; Fürchte dich nicht; Komm, Jesu, komm!; and Lobet den Herrn alle Heiden), have substantial solo parts as well as choruses.Musical styleBach's musical style arose from his skill in contrapuntal invention and motivic control, his flair for improvisation, his exposure to North and South German, Italian and French music, and his devotion to the Lutheran liturgy. His access to musicians, scores and instruments as a child and a young man and his emerging talent for writing tightly woven music of powerful sonority, allowed him to develop an eclectic, energetic musical style in which foreign influences were combined with an intensified version of the pre-existing German musical language. From the Period 1713-14 onward he learned much from the style of the Italians.[79]During the Baroque Period, many composers only wrote the framework, and performers embellished this framework with ornaments and other elaboration.[80] This practice varied considerably between the schools of European music; Bach notated most or all of the details of his melodic lines, leaving little for performers to interpolate. This accounted for his control over the dense contrapuntal textures that he favoured, and decreased leeway for spontaneous variation of musical lines. At the same time, Bach left the instrumentation of major works including The Art of Fugue open.[81]Bach's devout relationship with the Christian God in the Lutheran tradition[82] and the high demand for religious music of his times placed sacred music at the centre of his repertory. He taught Luther's Small Catechism as the Thomascantor in Leipzig,[83] and some of his pieces represent it;[84] the Lutheran chorale hymn tune was the basis of much of his work. He wrote more cogent, tightly integrated chorale preludes than most. The large-scale structure of some of Bach's sacred works is evidence of subtle, elaborate planning. For example, the St Matthew Passion illustrates the Passion with Bible text reflected in recitatives, arias, choruses, and chorales.[85] The structure of the Easter Oratorio, BWV 249, resembles The Crucifixion.[86]Bach's drive to display musical achievements was evident in his composition. He wrote much for the keyboard and led its elevation from continuo to solo instrument with harpsichord concertos and keyboard obbligato.[87] Virtuosity is a key element in other pieces, such as the Prelude and Fugue in E minor, BWV 548 for organ in which virtuosic passages are mapped onto alternating flute and reed solos within the fugal development.[88]Bach produced collections of movements that explored the range of artistic and technical possibilities inherent in various genres. The most famous example is the Well Tempered Clavier, in which each book presents a prelude and fugue in every major and minor key. Each fugue displays a variety of contrapuntal and fugal techniques.[89]PerformancesPresent-day Bach performers usually pursue one of two traditions: so-called "authentic performance practice", utilising historical techniques; or the use of modern instruments and playing techniques, often with larger ensembles. In Bach's time orchestras and choirs were usually smaller than those of later composers, and even Bach's most ambitious choral works, such as his Mass in B minor and Passions, were composed for relatively modest forces. Some of Bach's important chamber music does not indicate instrumentation, allows a greater variety of ensemble.Easy listening realisations of Bach's music and their use in advertising contributed greatly to Bach's popularisation in the second half of the twentieth century. Among these were the Swingle Singers' versions of Bach pieces that are now well-known (for instance, the Air on the G string, or the Wachet Auf chorale prelude) and Wendy Carlos's 1968 Switched-On Bach, which used the Moog electronic synthesiser. Jazz musicians have adopted Bach's music, with Jacques Loussier, Ian Anderson, Uri Caine and the Modern Jazz Quartet among those creating jazz versions of Bach works.[90]See also • List of fugal works by Johann Sebastian Bach • List of transcriptions of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach • List of students of Johann Sebastian BachReferences 1. German pronunciation: [joˈhan] or [ˈjoːhan zeˈbastjan ˈbax] 1. ^ a b Christoph Wolff, Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician (New York: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc., 2000), 19. 2. ^ a b Wolff, Christoph (2000). Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 46. ISBN 0-393-04825-X. 3. ^ a b "BACH Mass in B Minor BWV 232" 
. www.baroquemusic.org. Retrieved 21 February 2012. 4. ^ a b Russell H. Miles, Johann Sebastian Bach: An Introduction to His Life and Works (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1962), 86–87. 5. ^ a b Breitenfeld, Tomislav; Solter, Vesna Vargek; Breitenfeld, Darko; Zavoreo, Iris; Demarin, Vida (3 Jan. 2006). "Johann Sebastian Bach's Strokes" 
(PDF). Acta Clinica Croatica (Sisters of Charity Hospital) 45 (1). Retrieved 20 May 2008. 6. ^ a b Baer, Ka. (1956). "Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) in medical history". Bulletin of the Medical Library Association (Medical Library Association) 39 (206). 7. ^ a b Breitenfeld, D.; Thaller V, Breitenfeld T, Golik-Gruber V, Pogorevc T, Zoričić Z, Grubišić F (2000). "The pathography of Bach's family". Alcoholism 36: 161–64. 8. Blanning, T. C. W.The triumph of music: the rise of composers, musicians and their art 
, 272: "And of course the greatest master of harmony and counterpoint of all time was Johann Sebastian Bach, 'the Homer of music' 9. Jones, Richard (2007). The Creative Development of Johann Sebastian Bach. Oxford University Press. p. 3. ISBN 0-19-816440-8. 1. "Lesson Plans" 
. Bach to School. The Bach Choir of Bethlehem. Retrieved 8 March 2012. 1. Malcolm Boyd, Bach (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), 6 2. Printed in translation in The Bach Reader (ISBN 0-393-00259-4) 3. Malcolm Boyd, Bach (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), 7–8. 4. Mendel et al (1998), 299 5. Wolff, Christoph (2000). Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 45. ISBN 0-393-04825-X. 1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Johann Sebastian Bach: a detailed informative biography" 
. baroquemusic.org. Retrieved 19 February 2012. 1. Wolff, Christoph (2000). Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician. W. W. Norton & Company

Alison Balsom chooses the St Matthew Passion by J.S. Bach. She tells John Wilson why the recording by Philippe Herreweghe and Collegium Vocale Gent (Harmonia Mundi) is particularly special to her. The interview is followed by selected highlights from the BBC archives: John Eliot Gardiner on a life spent with JS Bach; the story of the man whose life was saved by the St Matthew Passion; Vaughan Williams on performing baroque music; Alison Balsom on the physical challenges of playing the trumpet and James Naughtie on the score of the St Matthew Passion

There's plenty of talk on radio, but with 20twenty you'll find Life, Culture & Current events from a Biblical perspective. Interviews, stories and insight you definately won't hear in the mainstream media. This feed contains selected content from 20twenty, heard every weekday morning. See www.vision.org.au for more details Help Vision to keep 'Connecting Faith to Life': https://vision.org.au/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Howard Goodall and Suzy Klein discuss the opening of Bach's St Matthew Passion

Bach's St Matthew Passion was written in 1727 and was probably first performed as part of the Good Friday Service at Thomaskirche in Leipzig. This programme explores ways in which Bach's St Mattew Passion touches and changes people's lives. Guitarist Andrew Schulman describes what happened when he was played this music whilst he was in a coma. James Jacobs talks about the St Matthew Passion providing solace in difficult times during childhood. And singer Emma Kirkby, conductor Paul Spicer and musical historian Simon Heighes explore how the music works and what it's like to perform. Producer: Rosie Boulton.

Jeremy Summerly with a personal recommendation from recordings of Bach's St Matthew Passion

Can you guess this piece? Here's a hint: “holy” corporeal…

Can you guess this piece? Here’s a hint: “holy” corporeal…

The Reverend Doctor Robert Allan Hill gives a homily on St. Matthew Passion. The Marsh Chapel Choir sings excerpts from The Passion According to St. Matthew, BWV 244.

The Reverend Doctor Robert Allan Hill gives a homily on St. Matthew Passion. The Marsh Chapel Choir sings excerpts from The Passion According to St. Matthew, BWV 244.

The Reverend Doctor Robert Allan Hill gives a homily on St. Matthew Passion. The Marsh Chapel Choir sings excerpts from The Passion According to St. Matthew, BWV 244.

The Reverend Doctor Robert Allan Hill gives a homily on St. Matthew Passion. The Marsh Chapel Choir sings excerpts from The Passion According to St. Matthew, BWV 244.

We’re featuring an interview with double bassist Jiri Slavik on Contrabass Conversations this week. Jiri is an extremely accomplished bassist in both jazz and classical styles, as you can see from his biography below, and he gave a truly mesmerizing performance at the 2009 International Society of Bassists Convention. This interview took place just as Jiri was about to leave for Europe, and I feel fortunate to have gotten the chance to chat with him on his first visit to the United States! After the interview, we feature a track titled “Coesistenza” from Jiri’s album Repose. This track also features pianist Fred Thomas (iTunes link).  About Jiri: Jiri Slavik was born in Havirov, Czech Republic, into a teacher’s family with a strong musical tradition. As a child he played the violin, which he exchanged for the double bass around age 13. A year later he moved to Rome, Italy, where he attended St Stephen’s School and eventually also the Santa Cecilia Conservatoire (Massimo Giorgi’s double bass class). In the summer of 2004 he graduated from both of these institutions, always with the highest attainable marks (the seven-year long double bass course at the conservatoire took him three years to finish). After having been offered a full scholarship from the Royal Academy of Music, Jiri moved to London, UK, to pursue his studies, first in classical double bass with Duncan McTier, later on in jazz composition with Barak Schmool. After three years he finished the four years long programme with “First Class Honours”. Since August 2007 he lives as a freelance musician and a composer in Paris, France. He has attended masterclasses under the direction of jazz celebrities such as Dave Holland, Jeff „Tain“ Watts, Larry Grenadier, Jeff Ballard, Kenny Wheeler or contemporary music authorities like Pierre Laurent-Aimard or Peter Maxwell Davies. During his years at the Academy he was the first double bassist of the Concert Orchestra under the direction of Colin Davis or a chosen soloist at the Paganini Festival (2006). With the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris he played Bach’s St Matthew Passion in the Notre Dame or performed in the Théâtre des Champs-Elyseés. As a soloist he has appeared in the Santa Cecilia hall of the auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome or in a program of the Czech Television Koncert na kurtech. With pianist Fred Thomas he made two live recordings for the Czech Radio, as well as the album Repose (F-IRE label, London). His music is in an independant German film production “Oury Jalloh” (www.ouryjalloh-derfilm.de), which won the German Human Rights Film prize, category amateur film, for 2008.

P D James was born in Oxford, later moving to Ludlow on the Welsh Borders where she experienced a childhood which she says had more in common with a Victorian childhood than anything today. She was a well-behaved, quiet child who entertained herself and her siblings by telling and writing stories. Phyllis attended an old-fashioned grammar school where she enjoyed English lessons. She says "I knew I was going to write books".Because of financial pressures at home, she had to leave school at sixteen, first following her father into the tax office, then in a theatre where she met her husband, who was training to be a doctor. World War Two intervened and, because her husband returned from work in the Medical Corps with a severe mental illness, Phyllis had to be the main breadwinner, working as principal hospital administrator at the North West Regional Hospital Board, London in charge of five psychiatric hospitals. It wasn't until she was thirty-nine years old, whilst working in the hospital, that Phyllis began her first novel, Cover Her Face. "I knew it was something I was going to do, and it was just that life was so busy I didn't get round to it". She chose the name P D James because it looked good on a book jacket, and crime genre because she didn't want to draw on autobiographical details. The book was immediately accepted by a publisher, and in 1979 she gave up her other jobs to become a full-time writer, focusing on Detective Adam Dalgleish of Scotland Yard as her main character. P D James was awarded the OBE in 1982, she has chaired the Booker Prize panel of judges, has been on the BBC Board of Governors, was made an Associate fellow, Downing College, Cambridge in 1986 and made a Life Peer in 1992. Her books have made her a household name and she is now working on her 17th novel.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: The Opening Chorus of the St Matthew Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach Book: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy Luxury: Pencils and paper

P D James was born in Oxford, later moving to Ludlow on the Welsh Borders where she experienced a childhood which she says had more in common with a Victorian childhood than anything today. She was a well-behaved, quiet child who entertained herself and her siblings by telling and writing stories. Phyllis attended an old-fashioned grammar school where she enjoyed English lessons. She says "I knew I was going to write books". Because of financial pressures at home, she had to leave school at sixteen, first following her father into the tax office, then in a theatre where she met her husband, who was training to be a doctor. World War Two intervened and, because her husband returned from work in the Medical Corps with a severe mental illness, Phyllis had to be the main breadwinner, working as principal hospital administrator at the North West Regional Hospital Board, London in charge of five psychiatric hospitals. It wasn't until she was thirty-nine years old, whilst working in the hospital, that Phyllis began her first novel, Cover Her Face. "I knew it was something I was going to do, and it was just that life was so busy I didn't get round to it". She chose the name P D James because it looked good on a book jacket, and crime genre because she didn't want to draw on autobiographical details. The book was immediately accepted by a publisher, and in 1979 she gave up her other jobs to become a full-time writer, focusing on Detective Adam Dalgleish of Scotland Yard as her main character. P D James was awarded the OBE in 1982, she has chaired the Booker Prize panel of judges, has been on the BBC Board of Governors, was made an Associate fellow, Downing College, Cambridge in 1986 and made a Life Peer in 1992. Her books have made her a household name and she is now working on her 17th novel. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: The Opening Chorus of the St Matthew Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach Book: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy Luxury: Pencils and paper

Vernon Scannell's colourful career has included prize-fighting, a controversial spell in the Army, confinement to a mental institution for insisting on becoming a writer and a subsequent award of a civil list pension for his services to literature. In conversation with Michael Parkinson, he looks back on these aspects of his life and also selects the eight records to take to the mythical island.[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]Favourite track: St Matthew Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach Book: Compiled anthology of English poetry Luxury: Enormous amount of A4 paper

Vernon Scannell's colourful career has included prize-fighting, a controversial spell in the Army, confinement to a mental institution for insisting on becoming a writer and a subsequent award of a civil list pension for his services to literature. In conversation with Michael Parkinson, he looks back on these aspects of his life and also selects the eight records to take to the mythical island. [Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs] Favourite track: St Matthew Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach Book: Compiled anthology of English poetry Luxury: Enormous amount of A4 paper