Johann Bernhard Bach: Orchestral Suites

On May 23, we celebrate the 350th anniversary of Johann Bernhard Bach, one of the most distinguished members of the greatest family of composers in Western history. Johann Sebastian held his second cousin in the highest esteem: he regularly performed his orchestral suites with the Collegium Musicum in Leipzig, and it is thanks to copies found in his personal archives that these masterpieces survived. These works serve as a vital missing link between the French music of the Grand Siècle and the orchestral suite as later perfected by Johann Sebastian. To capture their theatrical verve and European elegance, it takes performers of exceptional insight: Thomas Hengelbrock’s vibrant interpretations do exactly that, paying a brilliant and long-overdue tribute to this pioneering master.