a fitting tribute to the great composer Johann Sebastian Bach

A heartfelt welcome to all desiring to be members of this Bach_Cantatas Group! This Group is a fitting tribute to the great composer Johann Sebastian Bach who, during the last 27 years of his life, worked as Cantor for the Thomasschule, a church boychoir school in Leipzig Germany. Bach's position in Leipzig as Cantor and director of church music was the most prominent position in the Lutheran realm. The Thomanerchor (as the choir is called) in Bach's time had the duty of singing sacred services in the three main churches and two other smaller churches in Leipzig. It was Bach's duty to compose all the regular church music, and to train the boys to sing it. Among other things Bach was to teach latin to the boys, and take turns visiting sick boys and the leading of the boys in their prayers. The boys' choir was already 475 years old when Bach  became their Cantor. These duties he performed with genius and devoted tenacity. Out of Bach's time teaching and composing in Leipzig, we have a most astounding richness of the world's most masterful and beautiful music. Indeed, the most critical of Bach's compositions; the majority of the Cantatas, the Motets, his Christmas and Easter Oratorios, his Passions, his Magnificat, his Art of the Fugue, his Notebook for Anna Magdalena, his Musical Offering, the Goldberg Variations, and his insurmountable Mass in B minor, (etc..) all had their birth under Bach's hand in Leipzig.

              Today, Bach's historic boys' choir maintains their 750 years of excellence in church music. They are proud of their most famous cantor's work and jealously guard his inheritance, these days focusing on the preservation of Bach´s choral works. Weekly performances of Bach´s motets and cantatas still take place in Sunday worship services at St Thomas' Church in Leipzig. Bach's gifts to the Thomasschule, Leipzig and the world are thus preserved in a valued tradition. Other boys' choirs have stepped forward to preserve Bach's rich tradition as well.The Tölzer Knabenchor, Knabenchor Hannover, Vienna Choir Boys, Dresdner Kreuzchor, Windsbacher Knabenchor, Cantores Minores, Guildford Cathedral Choir, Choir of King's College Cambridge, and many other boys' choirs have endeavoured to preserve Bach's tradition through fine performances and recordings of Bach's compositions.That tradition is here celebrated, encouraged and preserved. We are happy to see friends of the tradition express their thoughts, feelings and ideas about the inheritance Bach has bequeathed to choir boys around the world. Whether you are a lay person, musician, director or composer your thoughts are welcome! Bach's Sacred Works are the discussion focus of this forum, whether the topic is Bach's Cantatas, Motets, Passions, or Masses, all choral sacred works are welcome in the discussions. The purpose of this particular Bach discussion group is to promote sound scholarship and support of the boys' choir art form. Please feel free to join in, and have a great time!

Bach_Cantatas is a discussion group exclusively for those who love the various recreations of (original) performances of Bach's Sacred Works. Romantic or Modern performance practice is not the focus of this group. The traditional use of boys' voices is preferred, as is the use of "Old"instruments. No artist or conductor will be vilified or defamed in this forum. We are here to support sound scholarship of the boys' choir art form.