The Bach Players (Vocal & Instrumental Ensemble)

Founded: 1996 - England
Disbanded: 2023

The Bach Players is a collective of like-minded musicians who are drawn together by their passion for the music of J.S. Bach: their enduring inspiration and the apotheosis of the Baroque. The Bach Players play on original instruments and all vocal music is sung in its original language. The Bach Players play without a conductor, and with forces that are as small as possible (mostly single strings and single voices). A genuine spirit of enquiry and reassessment pervades all aspects of their performance.

Founded in 1996, The Bach Players established a series of programmes of Bach cantatas at St John’s Wood Parish Church in London. There The Bach Players began to introduce some of these lesser-known works to a wider audience. As a result of this The Bach Players have been invited to play all over Britain and have built up a faithful following. In 1999 The Bach Players were invited to perform the St John Passion (BWV 245) for the opening of the Berliner Bachtage. The Bach Players have recently started to make programmes in which J.S. Bach is linked to other composers.

In 2007 The Bach Players launched a new series from St John’s Downshire Hill, in Hampstead. This is a recently restored church of 1818-1823; The Bach Players feel that it is an ideal venue for both Bach cantatas and chamber music. From September 2009 The Bach Players are twinning each of these concerts with one, usually the day before, at The King of Hearts in Norwich. Also, in 2010-2011 The Bach Players are among the artists chosen for the Concert Promoter’s Network, which helps to arrange concerts across the UK.

In 2023, The Bach Players have brought to a close: they played their last concert in February, and closed the company and charity in the spring.

Regular members of The Bach Players

Rachel Elliott, soprano
Sally Bruce-Payne, alto
Nicholas Mulroy, tenor
Matthew Brook, bass
Marion Moonen, flute
James Eastaway, Catherine Latham, oboe
Nicolette Moonen, Rodolfo Richter, Anne Schumann, violin/viola, Rachel Stott, viola
Alison McGillivray, cello/gamba
Elizabeth Bradley, double bass
Silas Standage, harpsichord/organ

Their concerts always strike me as a gathering of friends, on which the audience eavesdrops, an atmosphere that produces consistent outstandingly musical performances. - Andrew Benson-Wilson, Early Music Review (February 2008)

Sources:
Early Music Network Website
The Bach Players Website (2009)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (September 2003, October 2009); Nicolette Moonen (October 2009, December 2023)

Nicolette Moonen: Short Biography | Ensembles: The Bach Players
Bach Discography: Recordings of Vocal Works | Recordings of Instrumental Works
Bach Concert Series: Bach Concerts

Links to other Sites

The Bach Players (Official Website)
The Bach Players (EMN)