Stylus Phantasticus: The Soundworld of Bach's Predecessors

This is the opening concert of the Instruments of Time & Truth Summer Concert Series 2021.

Today we are very familiar with the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, but what sort of music was being published a generation or two before him? Some of the most famous composers of their time, who were still composing during Bach’s formative years, have fallen into relative obscurity today. Tonight’s programme aims to bring those composers into focus, and to compare their works with Bach’s own style, showing that Bach was indeed indebted to his predecessors, with sometimes striking similarities.

Should we become more familiar with the music of Walther, Westhoff, Böhm, or Schenk? We hope that, after this concert, you will be inspired to further explore their music, discovering the sound world that was such an important part of Bach’s early life.

Johann Jakob Walther: (1650-1717)

Scherzi da violino solo, 1676: Sonata VIII; Sonata X “Imitatione del Cuccu”

Georg Böhm (1661-1733)

Präludium, Fuge und Postludium 8’ in G minor

Johann Paul van Westhoff

Sonata “la Guerra”, 1691

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Toccata in D major BWV 912

Sonata for violin and basso continuo in e minor BWV 1023

Featuring: Bojan Cicic - violin; Susanne Heinrich - viola da gamba; Chris Bucknall - organ and harpsichord

Tickets can be booked through the Tickets Oxford website; by calling Tickets Oxford on 01865 305305; or in person at the Oxford Playhouse.

Free Tickets are available for audience members aged 8-25 thanks to the support of the CAVATINA Chamber Music Trust. Please phone Tickets Oxford on 01865 305305 to claim your free tickets.