Bach Festival 2007

Second edition consisting of 18 concerts, Ton Koopman patron of the festival

Austrian-based orchestra moderntimes_1800 unites the ancient and the modern

Martin Stadtfeld performs the Goldberg Variations

OSM under the direction of Kent Nagano to close the festival

Montreal, September 6, 2007 — The finest ensembles in Montreal are getting together once again for the second edition of the Montreal Bach Festival, this year welcoming Ton Koopman, the Dutch harpsichordist, organist and conductor and founder and director of the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and the Amsterdam Baroque Choir, as patron of the festival. The Festival, organized by the Bach-Académie de Montréal in partnership with Arion, Autour de la flûte, the Idées heureuses (Geneviève Soly), Ludwig Semerjian, the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal, the Theatre of Early Music, and Les Violons du Roy, will take place from December 2 to 12, 2007. During the Festival, 23 events (18 concerts, 2 master classes, a workshop, a symposium and a religious service) will be presented in the very heart of Montreal, a vibrant town on the baroque scene.

Artists of prestige

For this second edition, the Festival will be welcoming artists from both the local and international scene, including pianist Martin Stadtfeld, who will perform the celebrated Goldberg Variations and who will also give a master class, lutenist Andreas Martin and the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. Under its music director, Kent Nagano, the OSM will close the Festival with a performance of the first three cantatas from Bach's Christmas Oratorio, a major work of the Leipzig cantor.

Other ensembles performing are Il Gardellino from Belgium, for the opening of the Festival at St. James United Church, moderntimes_1800 from Austria (under the direction of Ilia Korol), Arion (under the direction of English conductor and harpsichordist Gary Cooper), Les Violons du Roy (under the direction of their music director, Bernard Labadie), the Theatre of Early Music (under the direction of Daniel Taylor), the Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal (under the direction of Christopher Jackson) and Voces boreales and Camerata St. John's (under the direction of Michael Zaugg).

Numerous guest artists will be joining forces with these ensembles: lutenist Andreas Martin, sopranos Suzie LeBlanc, Karina Gauvin and Sibylla Rubens, mezzo-soprano Doris Soffel, countertenors Daniel Taylor and Matthew White, tenors Michael Schade and Frédéric Antoun, baritone Joshua Hopkins, bass Detlef Roth, harpsichordist and organist Geneviève Soly, harpsichordist Erin Helyard, pianists Ludwig Semerdjian and Sara Laimon, violinists Ilia Korol, Sophie Gent and Chantal Rémillard, violist Peter Sestak, cellists Matt Haimowitz and Claire Pottinger-Schmidt, flutists Jan De Winne, Claire Guimond, Mathias Maute, Chantal Rémillard and Mika Putterman, saxophonist Claudia Schaetzle, the OSM Chorus and the Chapelle de Québec. Organists Patrick Wedd, Jonathan Oldengarm and Philippe Bélanger, meanwhile, will be offering concerts at 12:30 p.m.

Major works

Among the masterworks by Johann Sebastian Bach being interpreted during the Festival, mention must be made of the Goldberg Variations, which will be performed by pianist Martin Stadtfeld; the first three cantatas from the Christmas Oratorio with the OSM under the direction of Kent Nagano; the Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 2 and 4 performed by the Belgian ensemble Il Gardellino; and the Christmas version of the Magnificat in E-flat major BWV 243a, by Les Violons du Roy.

Educational activities at the core of the event

Master classes are also on the schedule for this one-of-a-kind festival, as well as a symposium on the theme of "Faith, Text and Music." Under the leadership of Peter Schubert, the symposium will welcome among others professors Martin Petzoldt (University of Leipzig) and Mark Peters (University of Pittsburgh) on Saturday, December 8. Moreover, a day-long orchestral workshop will be given by Austrian-based orchestra moderntimes_1800 on "Rhythmic Phrasing and Musical Articulation in the Baroque Era", at McGill's Schulich School of Music.

A unique philosophy

The Montreal Bach Festival, dedicated to the composer who is emblematic of baroque music, seeks to become an international reference, in a league with the Bach festivals in Leipzig, Oregon or London, not to mention the hundreds of other festivals dedicated to this legendary and universal musician. It was established by Dr. Alexandra Scheibler, musicologist, president and executive director of the Bach-Académie de Montréal, and by Sabine Pletat, executive director of the Academy, so that an organization devoting itself specifically to the study and dissemination of the work of Johann Sebastian Bach might exist on Canadian soil.

The Bach-Académie de Montréal is a non-profit organization founded in Montreal, a city well-known for its cultural activities and the exceptional qualities of its musical ensembles. In light of the city's special interest in baroque music, its esthetic and its language, the Bach-Académie de Montréal has undertaken to organize a biennial music festival featuring outstanding Montreal ensembles alongside renowned artists from the international scene.

Tickets will go on sale on September 10 over the Admission network (Ticketmaster), at (514) 790-1245.

Major Partners

The concerts and activities offered by the Bach-Académie de Montréal are made possible through the generous support of its major sponsors. We would like to thank them most sincerely.

We would like to thank our associate sponsors, for supporting unforgettable individual events.