Bach and Brahms

In November 2024, the “With Brahms and Bach” tour took the Choir and Orchestra of the J. S. Bach Foundation, under the baton of Rudolf Lutz, to St. Gallen, Basel, Bern, Zurich, and Schaffhausen. Marking a departure from their usual repertoire, the ensemble performed a major work by the great Romantic composer – and devoted admirer of Bach – Johannes Brahms. The thoughtfully curated programme paired Bach’s cantata BWV 27 “Wer weiß, wie nahe mir mein Ende” (Who knows how near to me my end is) with Brahms’s A German Requiem, Op. 45, forging a musical bridge between the two composers and exploring the Romantic potential inherent in Bach’s oeuvre. Audiences enjoyed the opportunity to hear Brahms’s A German Requiem performed on period instruments—a rare event in today’s Brahms performance practice—and experienced how a Bach cantata may have sounded in the Romantic era.

Live recording from St. Johann Church, Schaffhausen, Switzerland, 5 November 2024, concert as part of the “With Bach and Brahms” tour