Bach Collegium Japan

Bach Collegium Japan - photo Koichi Miura

Masaaki Suzuki and the Bach Collegium Japan make a welcome return to the UK for a residency at the Barbican Centre on 8 & 9 April 2016. The group will be joined by sopranos Hana Blažíková and Joanne Lunn, countertenor Robin Blaze, tenor Colin Balzer and bass-baritone Dominik Wörner for performances of Bach's Mass in B Minor, Magnificat, Orchestra Suite No. 3, Concerto for Two Violins and the cantata Bekennen will ich seinen Namen BWV 200.

During the day on Saturday 9 April there will be an Exploring Bach day of talks, discussions, film and performances, with demonstrations from harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani, Bach's motets from Bach Collegium Japan (and people are able to join the choir for the chorales), and a screening of Simon Russell Beale's documentary Bach and the Lutheran Legacy.

Full information from the Barbican website. The concerts are part of a busy tour (12 concerts in 16 days) the ensemble is undertaking, taking them to Lyon, London, Saffron Walden, Dublin, Paris, Vienna, Eindhoven, Groningen, Amsterdam and St Petersburg.