Bach Discovery Day

A day-long series of talks by guest speakers, with discussions and live music, that will give us a deeper insight into Bach’s mind, his music and the world for which it was written.

Due to popular demand for tickets, this event will now take place at Symphony Hall and Hall 5 of the ICC, as opposed to Town Hall and, as there’s so much to enjoy, the day will now start half an hour earlier at 10.30am, finishing at 5.45pm. Please go to Door 2 of Symphony Hall on arrival, which will be open from 10.15am ready for the first session which takes place on the stage of Symphony Hall itself. The seating will now be unreserved.

Producer and broadcaster Graeme Kay introduces a day of events starting with Bach at the Piano, a talk from David Owen Norris looking at transcriptions for piano with live demonstrations. Ronny Krippner, with the help of organ demonstrations and a small chorus, looks at the outline of a Lutheran Sunday morning service and shows the various ways in which Bach would have probably used the organ and the choir within the liturgy in Rebellion in the Choir Stalls. There will also be an opportunity for you to join in and sing one of Bach’s chorales.

We welcome guest speakers Chris de Souza and Hannah French for talks on 18th century Leipzig – Everyday life around the Thomaskirche and Great Expectations: Debating Bach’s Choir and Orchestra in Modern Times.

Enjoy a cup of tea whilst listening to BBC Radio 4’s Bach Fever in which Simon Hollis explores how Bach’s music has provided an incredible resource for pop invention, jazz improvisation, a cappella swing, electronic futurism, rock guitar and plain kitsch. Graeme Kay then interviews John Scott Whitely, with film clips to illustrate 21st Century Bach – A new approach to performance filming. The day concludes with a panel discussion.