Early Music Vancouver is tuning up for the 3rd annual Vancouver Bach Festival, July 30 – August 10, 2018 at Christ Church Cathedral and the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. Since its inaugural year in 2016, the festival has grown to include a selections of concerts ranging from intimate chamber music to those with full orchestra, soloists, and a choir.
This year’s Bach Festival includes performances by many of the top west coast artists specializing in period performance, as well as artists from all over Europe. Early Music Vancouver (EMV) welcomes back Switzerland’s celebrated Gli Angeli Genève to participate in EMV’s first-ever ensemble-in-residence program, which will involve members of this internationally-acclaimed ensemble performing in six concerts throughout the festival.
“Earlier this summer, I had a chance to visit for the first time some of the most important places in Bach’s life. Sitting in the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, it struck me as extraordinary the extent to which the work of this deeply religious man from eighteenth-century Thuringia continues to have a life-changing effect on so many people from so many different backgrounds,” says Matthew White, Executive and Artistic Director of EMV “In a world where classical and other non-corporate music is increasingly being relegated to the edges of public awareness, his name is still one of the most powerful advocates for communicating the values inherent in deeply inspiring music of any type. The name Bach means great music – period. This is our most ambitious festival yet and we look forward to sharing Bach’s incredible music with more audiences than ever before this summer.”
This year’s expanded festival opens with another entry from EMV’s ‘Goldberg Experience’, as French harpsichordist Benjamin Alard puts his stamp on Bach’s beloved Goldberg Variations. The following evening, iconic Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt continues her four-year project to perform Bach’s entire keyboard repertoire by returning to play his Well Tempered Clavier – Book 1 at the Chan Centre.
Last year’s popular weekday afternoon concert series will also return, offering a diverse and delightful selection of programmes including Schubert lieder accompanied on an original early 19th century guitar, Mozart Sonatas for fortepiano and violin, Britten’s Abraham and Isaac, and more.
To complement the live musical lineup, EMV will offer an array film screenings and expert talks, which audiences can enjoy with wine and refreshments
To learn see the complete line up and tickets for Early Music Vancouver’s Bach Festival visit: earlymusic.bc.ca/tickets/summer-festival