Oxford’s premier mixed voice choir
ELGAR, THE APOSTLES IN MARCH 2025
2025 sees the start of the Oxford Bach Choir’s Elgar Project, with our first ever performance of Edward Elgar’s great oratorio The Apostles, on Sunday 16 March 2025, in the Sheldonian Theatre. This concert has been made possible by the very generous support of the Elgar Society and our many Friends and supporters who contributed to our Project Appeal.
At school near Worcester, Elgar was encouraged by a teacher to imagine the Apostles as very ordinary men, who were transformed by their encounter with Jesus, and this thought stuck with him for the rest of his life. In 1902 Elgar planned a great trilogy of oratorios on the lives of the Apostles, but only completed two of them, The Apostles (1903) and The Kingdom (1906). The OBC will perform these two great works in successive seasons, something which is rarely done anywhere.
In vivid and dramatic music, brilliantly scored for voices and orchestra, The Apostles tells the story of the Apostles from the moment of their calling by Jesus to his ascension. Elgar, however, holds true to his wish to consider the human aspects of the story, because in this work he gives especial prominence to the sorrow and repentance of Mary Magdalene and the despair and suicide of Judas Iscariot.
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IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO JOIN A CHOIR IN OXFORD, DO GET IN TOUCH!
We are one of the best-known large choirs in the country, with a history which goes back 128 years, and have performed with some of the greatest composers, conductors, orchestras and soloists.
If you are looking to join a choir with a welcoming atmosphere, high standards and a passion for performing great music, we would love to hear from you! Our Membership Secretary Ruth, will be happy to help with any questions, on membership@oxfordbachchoir.org. We usually hold auditions at the start of each term (October, January and April).
You can read more about what being a member of the choir entails in the “Join the Choir” at the bottom of this page, or click here https://www.oxfordbachchoir.org/join-the-choir/.
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WATCH OUR CONCERT IN THE TIME OF COVID
Our concert of French choral music from the Sheldonian Theatre in September 2021, the first in our 125th Anniversary Season, can be seen free at www.positivenote.co.uk/oxford-bach-choir. Oxford Bach Choir was conducted by Benjamin Nicholas, and Robert Quinney was the organist. Rebecca McNaught (cello), Lila Chrisp (mezzo) and Ben Davies (bass) were soloists in Duruflé mid-20th century, Requiem. The concert began with Fauré, Cantique de Jean Racine, and includes the immediate-past Oxford Professor of Poetry, Alice Oswald, reading a sonnet by John Donne and reflecting on the impact of the pandemic. This was a fundraising concert for Oxford hospitals.
