The unmissable annual event – it is the most important event dedicated to Bach in North America – is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year. On the program: concerts by the Montreal Bach Festival orchestra, guest artists and free Off-Festival Bach performances, which welcome all music lovers with open arms.
It is no coincidence that the timeless music of Johann Sebastian Bach, which sublimates the full range of human emotions, has had the effect of a balm during the pandemic. While the fourth wave is on its way to subside, the festival dedicated to it is timely. It will allow discerning music lovers or amateurs to experience Bach in a face-to-face mode (finally!) From November 20 to December 5. Good news for founder Alexandra Scheibler, who is the general and artistic director of the Montreal Bach Festival: “Nothing compares to the intensity and emotion of a concert where artists and the public come together face to face. “
Kick-off: the Christmas OratorioIt is the orchestra of the Montreal Bach Festival (OFBM), accompanied by the choir of the Montreal Bach Festival, which will inaugurate the 15th season. This extraordinary ensemble brings together excellent musicians from Quebec and the rest of Canada, under the direction of leading conductors. The two concerts of the Christmas Oratorio, presented at the Palais Montcalm in Quebec and at the Maison symphonique in Montreal, will be conducted by none other than the Czech Václav Luks, a great Bach specialist. They will also feature two internationally renowned soloists, countertenor Maarten Engeltjes and tenor Daniel Johannsen.
An orchestra that thinks big
The OFBM brings together, at the invitation of a selection committee, established musicians from major orchestras such as the OSM and the Orchester Métropolitain, who are absent for the occasion of their functions, as well as emerging talents and exceptional students. The OFBM is distinguished by the harmony and camaraderie that reign in its ranks, and which bear witness to a shared passion for the legacy of Johann Sebastian Bach. In music, as in life, birds of a feather flock together!
The Montreal Bach Festival offers these local musicians the opportunity to celebrate a genius artist by working together on high-level projects, in the company of renowned conductors and soloists. Thus, in 2018, under the direction of the German tenor Julian Prégardien, the OFBM presented the Passion according to Saint John with a choir bringing together students from three Montreal universities. In 2019, the orchestra, accompanied by Bruno Delepelaire, first solo cello of the Berlin Philharmonic, was conducted by the illustrious German conductor Reinhard Goebel. In 2020, it was the turn of Quebecer Jean-Claude Picard to lead the OFBM. So many prestigious guests who paved the way for the arrival of Václav Luks as director of the Christmas Oratorio.
Future plansSince its founding, OFBM has broadened its influence by recruiting talented musicians, attracting renowned conductors and soloists, and offering high-level concerts. To date, the orchestra has performed in the Eastern Townships, at the Abbey of Saint-Benoît-du-Lac and on the Orford Musique site. In 2021, while it will be Quebec’s turn to host one of its concerts, the OFBM plans to continue its momentum and cross the borders of Quebec, with the rest of Canada and the international in its sights, nothing less.
The 2021 musical journey
The primary mission of the Montreal Bach Festival is to promote world-renowned soloists, ensembles and orchestras excelling in Bach’s repertoire. In addition to established artists, the festival also promotes and supports emerging Canadian talent and caters to the local community through educational activities, multicultural experiences and accessible and affordable events, like its OFF-Festival, which is entirely free.
www.festivalbachmontreal.com
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