Bach Collegium Japan has been invited to overseas halls and music festivals numerous times in the past. The first invitation to the BBC Proms was in 2007. Following the European Grand Tour in November 2022, which visited a total of nine cities, the ensemble was invited to the Leipzig Bach Festival last year, where they adorned the prestigious finale performance. As we welcome 2024, the ensemble will tour seven cities, including the London BBC Proms. Please look forward to the new journey of Bach Collegium Japan.
<Program> PROGRAM A J. S. Bach St. John Passion BWV 245(FOURTH Edition)
PROGRAM B: Cantatas J. S. Bach Cantata No. 20 “O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort” BWV 20 Cantata No. 94 “Was frag ich nach der Welt” BWV 94 Cantata No. 93 “Wer nur den lieben Goe läßt walten” BWV 93 Cantata No. 78 “Jesu, der du meine Seele” BWV 78
BREMEN Program J.S. Bach Cantata No. 20 “O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort” BWV 20 Cantata No. 78 “Jesu, der du meine Seele” BWV 78
<Schedule (7 cities, 4 countries)> 10th Aug (SAT) (A) Festival Internacional de Santander (Santander, Spain)
Bach Collegium Japan announces the lineup for the 2024-2025 season!
The Bach Collegium Japan is pleased to announce the lineup for the 2024-2025 season!
In addition to the six subscription concerts, the 2024-2025 season will mark the 300th anniversary of Bach’s choral cantatas with the “The 300th Anniversary Project of Choral Cantatas”.
New members will be accepted from November 3 (Fri).
Details will be announced at a later date.
◆About The 300th Anniversary Project of Choral Cantatas
Bach moved to Leipzig in 1723, and from May of the following year, 1724, to the end of March of the following year, he composed exactly 40 special cantatas called “choral cantata”. Choral are hymns sung by the congregation in chorus, and although church cantatas are more or less related to choral, the cantatas of this year are called by this name because they had a special structure. In fact, 40 choral cantatas were written in 1724 because that year fell exactly 200 years after 1524, when the religious reformer Martin Luther, in collaboration with many musicians, published several hymnals for the congregation to sing, It was recognized as the “year of the establishment of hymns. So this must have been a celebration of the bicentennial of the establishment of the hymnal. Now, 300 years later, in commemoration of the 500th anniversary of Luther’s hymnody and the 300th anniversary of Bach’s choral cantatas, we, the Bach Collegium Japan, would like to perform 40 choral cantatas during the two years from 2024 to 2025.
──Music Director Masaaki Suzuki
◆About the subscription concerts
Each year, the BCJ’s new season begins with Good Friday and Holy Saturday of the 2024-25 season, the last week of March, and will be conducted by Principal Conductor Masato Suzuki, who performed the “Matthew Passion” to great acclaim in the Netherlands in 2023. In addition, Benjamin Bruns, who served as Evangelist for the 2019 re-recording (which won a Gramophone Award), will appear on the BCJ’s “Matthew Passion” stage for the first time.
May’s Church Cantata Series (vol. 85) commemorates the 500th anniversary of Luther’s hymnody and the 300th anniversary of Bach’s choral cantatas, and is the first in a series of “choral cantata projects” to be launched with a two-year dry run. Please pay attention!
In July, the first of the “B to B” series of composer genealogies will trace the path from Buxtehude to Bach. Buxtehude was the organist at the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lübeck, which is highly acclaimed for its excellent instruments, and there is an anecdote that Bach was deeply fascinated when he heard him play the organ. He composed not only organ music but also many religious works for Protestant churches. This concert will feature “Membra Jesu nostri” and Bach’s cantata, and will offer a genealogy of religious music from the 17th to the 18th century.
The September concert will feature Bach’s “Messe in h-moll” which was performed to great acclaim by packed audiences in Paris and Madrid during the 2022 European tour. In 2023, the BCJ was the first non-Western European group to perform the finale of the prestigious Bach Fest, performing the same piece at St. Thomas’ Church to great acclaim. This is the triumphant return of Masaaki Suzuki and the BCJ.
In October, the second installment of the “B to B” series will follow the path from Bach to Mendelssohn-Bartholdy. Mendelssohn-Bartholdy was deeply fascinated by Bach, so much so that he converted to Lutheranism and revived the “Matthew Passion”. We will perform his masterpiece of symphonic works with chorus, Symphony No. 2 ” Lobgesang”, together with J. S. Bach’s Cantata No. 80 (arranged by W. F. Bach), and enjoy the musical journey leading to the Romantic period.
In March 2025, the fifth performance of the Choral Cantata Project (Church Cantata Series vol. 89) will feature four chorale cantatas composed in 1724. The 2024-25 season will conclude with Cantata No. 3, ” Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid”.
We hope you will all look forward to Bach Collegium Japan in 2024, as we continue to move forward with new challenges!
J. S. Bach, Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B Minor, BWV 1067 J. G. Janitsch, Sonata da Camera in G Minor, “O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden” G. P. Teleman, “Der am Ölberg zagende Jesu” TWV 367 G. P. Teleman, Paris Quartet No. 1 in D Major, TWV 43/D2 J. S. Bach, “Ich habe genug”, BWV 82
J. S. バッハ 管弦楽組曲 第2番 ロ短調 BWV 1067 J. G. ヤーニチュ 室内ソナタ ト短調 《おお、血と涙にまみれた御頭よ》 G. P. テレマン 《オリーブ山でイエスはおののき》 TWV 367 G. P. テレマン パリ四重奏曲 第1番 ニ長調 TWV 43/D2 J. S. バッハ 《私は、満ち足りた》 BWV 82
§ 公演都市（2か国・7都市）§ 2月1日(水) Sprague Memorial Hall at Yale（ニューヘイブン／アメリカ）
The season will open with the “Matthew Passion,” a must-hear work on Lent. This year, we invite the Tokyo Boys and Girls Choir as soprano in Lipieno. Please look forward to a different sound of Matthew Passion from that of last year.
Two of the six performances are programs that appreciate Bach’s masterpiece of church cantatas. In July, commemorating exactly the 300th anniversary of Bach’s appointment as Thomas Kantor in Leipzig, BCJ will focus mainly on cantatas from the period of his appointment, including Cantata No. 147, well known for the famous chorale, “Jesus bleibet meine Freude”. The countertenor soloist, Alexander Chance, who has also received great acclaim at the Europe Grand Tour 2022, will be invited for the first time for the subscription concert.
In November, we will present a program of gorgeous cantatas in anticipation of Christmas and the New Year. In particular, Cantata No. 190 “Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied”, restored by Masato Suzuki, will be performed for the first time in many years, and the three trumpets and timpani will add to the color and splendor of Bach’s music.
In May, Carolyn Sampson and Marianne Beate Kielland will be invited to perform Händel’s oratorio masterpiece “Resurrection” for the first time.
The September concert will feature Schubert’s Mass, a masterpiece of Romantic religious music. With the knowledge of Tomohei Hori, a leading Schubert scholar, BCJ will explore new musicality. Schubert with original instruments and transparent chorus will definitely be a special experience.
The final work of the 2023-24 season will be the “John Passion” (the Second Version in 1725). The Second Version differs in many respects from the widely performed the Fourth and Score Versions, making it a rare opportunity to hear it performed. Please do not miss this opportunity.
Bach Collegium Japan will continue to take on new musical challenges in the 2023-2012 season!
Bach Collegium Japan announces Europe Grand Tour 2022 since pandemic
We are delighted to return to Europe this autumn. Ever since our formation over 30 years ago, we have wanted to share JS Bach’s beautiful music with as many people as possible, from Japan to the wider world. We turned to recordings and online performances to do this in the last two years of the pandemic, and performed across Japan when possible. Returning to Europe is a greatly anticipated next step. We are so looking forward to seeing our European family again after such a long time, hopefully making some new friends, and sharing the joy of this wonderful music.
<Program> (A) J. S. Bach Messe in h-moll, BWV232
(B) J. S. Bach Orchestersuite Nr. 4, BWV1069 Kirchenkantate, BWV94, 102, 110
<Schedule (9 cities, 8 countries)> 30th Oct (SUN) (B) Narodowe Forum Muzyki (Wrocław, Poland)
<Casts> Dir: Masaaki Suzuki Sopran: Joanne Lunn Sopran: Aki Matsui Countertenor: Alexander Chance Tenor: James Gilchrist Bass: Christian Immler Chorus & orchestra: Bach Collegium Japan
Support the New Recording of St John Passion by your donation
On March 15, 2020, Bach Collegium Japan performed J.S. Bach “St John Passion” from the empty Köln Philharmonie to the world. Instead of the abruptly discontinued tour, we created a new recording project at Cologne and made a session recording of the passion. We are aiming to release this CD (SACD hybrid) in September 2020 from the BIS label, Sweden. However, due to the COVID-19 related cancellations and postponement of concerts, our economic stability is severely damaged. To realize the release of “St John Passion (new recording)” recorded under such a miraculous situation and to support the continuation of our musical activity, your support is inevitable.
Donation amount Please set your designated amount from 1 yen.
Duration Until September 1, 2020.
Gratitude If you donate more than 50,000 JPY by May 27, 2020, your name will be printed in the CD booklet unless you would like anonymous.
How to Donate By Bank Transfer to Japan (preferable)
1. SUMITOMO MITSUI BANKING CORPORATION
Bank
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
SWIFT
SMBCJPJT
Branch
Shinjuku-Nishiguchi Branch (Code: 259)
Branch Address
1-7-1, Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 160-0023, Japan
Account No.
259-4384861
Name
Bach Collegium Japan Ltd.
Company Address
5-29-7 Sendagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 151-0051, Japan
2. MUFG Bank, LTD.
Bank
MUFG Bank, LTD.
SWIFT
BOTKJPJT
Branch
Shinjuku Shintoshin Branch (Code: 329)
Branch Address
1-6-1, Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Account No.
329-0322998
Name
Bach Collegium Japan Ltd.
Company Address
5-29-7 Sendagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 151-0051, Japan
