Events

Benjamin Nicholas, conductor
Aine Smith, soprano
Lucy Gibbs, alto
Jack Granby, tenor
Tom Herring, bass

J.S. Bach Komm, Jesu, Komm,
D. Scarlatti Stabat Mater
Vaughan Williams Mass in G

Generations of composers have been entranced by the beauties of the old polyphonic style perfected by the likes of Palestrina. Oxford Bach Choir’s summer concert showcases three great works whose composers tried to recreate that old style but ended up saying something quite new and special, each in their own way.

Thus J. S. Bach and Domenico Scarlatti, in the eighteenth century, and Ralph Vaughan Williams, recently returned from the trenches of the First World War, all looked backwards and each created something new and utterly characteristic.