The 14th Bach Academie Brugge goes for the essence. If you add up the 'letter values' of the name Bach, you indeed arrive at 14, a number that regularly appears in the music of the famous composer. Collegium Vocale Gent and Philippe Herreweghe highlight both Bach's dark and cheerful sides in two concerts and once again present a handful of young soloists to the Bruges audience. Les Muffatti come to Bruges with three of Bach's solo concerti and Ensemble Explorations dig deep into the Art of Fugue. Isabelle Faust makes it intimate again with Bach's solo works for violin. Francesca Ajossa takes the audience for the first time to the historic Van Bever organ in the Carmelite Church and looks – just like Concertgebouw house artist Vox Luminis – beyond Bach. Choreographer Noé Soulier, pianist Heleen Van Haegenborgh and visual artist Lulu Cuyvers prove that Bach inspires across the centuries. Bach experts Ignace Bossuyt and Michael Maul look back, but thereby also bring Bach closer.
Bach between grand & intimate
True to tradition, Collegium Vocale Gent and festival host Philippe Herreweghe provide the opening and finale of the Academie. With three festive works – including Mary's song of praise Magnificat – and three comforting cantatas they represent the alpha and omega of this 14th edition. Les Muffatti also go for the big emotions in three iconic Bach concerti, with leading roles for flute, violin and harpsichord by fabulous soloists Frank Theuns, Sophie Gent and Bertrand Cuiller. Roel Dieltiens and his Ensemble Explorations tackle Die Kunst der Fuge in two concerts, entirely in their own way. Star violinist Isabelle Faust opts for intimate minimalism in Bach's six violin solos.
Beyond Bach
Generations of composers after Bach were all too keen to let themselves be inspired by the master. The young Italian-Dutch Francesca Ajossa chose, alongside two highlights by the Thomascantor himself, works by three greats – Mendelssohn, Schumann and Distler – on the organ, including even a fugue on the (German) notes B-A-C-H. House artist Vox Luminis in turn follows the trail of Brahms' Deutsches Requiem. Under the heading Ein Deutsches Barockrequiem, the vocal ensemble conducted by Lionel Meunier brings together motets by, among others, Christian Geist, Johann Philipp Förtsch, Andreas Hammerschmidt and Johann Hermann Schein, 17th-century compositions that guided Brahms in his text choices.
Bach otherwise
Bach as a starting point for dance and new music, the Bach Academie stands for that too. Inspired by Baroque compositional patterns, Noé Soulier explores in Faits et Gestes to the tones of Bach and Froberger how we perceive and interpret movements, a collaboration with Cultuurcentrum Brugge and Dans in Brugge. At her piano which she prepares with nylon strings, Heleen Van Haegenborgh spins delicate reflections on Bach, a creative commission from Concertgebouw Brugge and KAAP. Visual artist Lulu Cuyvers builds on this further with a creation based on lace, a continuation of what the duo created at the invitation of Liesa Van der Aa for KAAP festival AMOK 2022.
Bach in word & image
The Bach Academie also gives a platform to knowledgeable Bach enthusiasts. Bach becomes the guide in a conversation between Philippe Herreweghe and Michael Maul, director, researcher and programmer of the Leipzig Bach-Archiv. Maul also presents his Bach biography in a selection of images. Bach specialist Ignace Bossuyt traditionally provides the necessary guidance in a listening course and concert introductions.
The Bach Academie Brugge takes place from 16 to 21 January 2024.
Discover the full programme at concertgebouw.be/bachacademie