The Montreal Bach Festival, will officially take place from November 22 to December 7 preceded by a 2 concert « Prologue » November 17. The Festival has proven over the years that it is a « one of a kind » artistic endeavour with a reputation that has been recognized as such in North America and Europe.

The 2018 roster is impressive an array of international artists participating, among which several will make their first appearance at the Festival.

Orchestras and choirs which total several hundred musicians are well represented with the OSM, the Bach Collegium Japan, McGill Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble Caprice, and Montreal’s finest amateur choirs.

The diversity of the Festival is evidenced by the exceptional range of programmes – choirs – amateur and professional, music for organ, cello, harpsichord, piano, harp, viola, noon time concerts with young artists and conferences.

The diversity is also in the many concert venues to be chosen from prestigious churches and concert halls such as the Maison Symphonique, Bourgie Hall, as well as the Notre-Dame de Bon-Secours Chapel, L’Astral, Saint Joseph’s Oratory, the Church of Saint Andrew and Saint Paul, Christ Church Cathedral, Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church.

Highlights of the 2018 Montreal Bach Festival

Festival First appearances – Gallery of Discoveries

Nov. 27: Julie Boulianne, Québec mezzo-soprano,with the McGill Chamber Orchestra

Nov. 28: Jeremy Denk, American pianist « Goldberg Variations »

Nov. 29: Jakub Józef Orliński, Polish counter-tenor 

Nov. 39: Mino Cinelu, French singer, percussionist in trio « Improvisation on Bach »

Dec. 1: Masaaki Suzuki, Japanese conductor 

Dec. 3: Nils Mönkemeyer, German violist and Korean pianist William Youn

Among masterpieces to be presented

Nov. 22   Opening concert of the Festival – « St-John’s Passion » with German Tenor – Julian Prégardien, who will be the Evangelist and conductor of the new Festival Orchestra and choir. This exceptional concert will also be presented at Saint-Benoit-du-Lac Abbey, Nov. 23.

The Orchestre Festival Bach Montréal (OFBM) is an ensemble which has been created especially for the festival, consisting of established musicians who over the years have become friends of the Festival as well as young talents from Quebec and abroad. The ensemble will from now on form an important part of the festival 

Dec.4 & 5 –  « B Minor Mass » –  the OSM conducted by Kent Nagano  with Marie-Nicole Lemieux, Hélène Guilmette, Julian Prégardien and Peter Harvey.

Prologue to the Festival featuring young talents

Nov.17   Today’s young publics get special attention at the Bach Festival with the participation of one of the most talented and promising young conductors, Nicolas Ellis,

who will present a special concert for children, young and young at heart (8 to 88…. !) also on  Nov. 17  The return of  The Night of Choirs, featuring the best amateur choirs of Montreal  is a MUST.

2.

Nov. 26 to 29 and Dec.3 to 6  Mélodînes@Festival Bach Montréal: two series of Noon time concerts of 40 minutes, focusing on the promotion of young Québec musicians. In collaboration with Jeunesses Musicales Canada and Pro Musica Society.

Sunday afternoons organ concerts at St-Joseph Oratory

Featured artists: Emmanuel Hocdé, (Nov.4) J.S. Bach Prize winner of the International Organ Competition in Chartres, Richard Paré (Nov.11), organist for Les Violons du Roy, as well as the organists of the Lagacé and Boucher families (Nov.18) and a special concert (Nov. 25) with cellist Stéphane Tétreault and organist Mireille Lagacé

Improvisation on Bach….and more

Nov. 30 The unique, multi -talented French musician Mino Cinelu  in Trio

Extraordinary Artists making a return to the Festival

Dec. 5 

Pianist Sergei Babayan, labelled « A genius » by Le Devoir – he has just joined the prestigious  Deutsche Grammophone label.

And in closing  the 12th Edition of the Festival in a grand manner December 7

Yo-Yo Ma will perform Bach’s Six Suites for unaccompanied Cello

A short history of the event

Now a firm fixture for major international performers of Bach’s music, the first Montreal Bach Festival occurred in 2005, attracting 3,500 people.  Since then, the event has consistently brought together outstanding artists from Canada and abroad, becoming one of the city’s most popular musical events.

Montreal audiences have responded very positively to the organizers’ offering, as their growing attendance and enthusiastic response have clearly shown!

Last year, nearly 20,000 festival-goers enjoyed the beauty and quality of Bach’s music through performances by 750 musicians and singers from around the world.

The festival organizers, led by founder and artistic director Alexandra Scheibler, are proud to have created one of the most important North American festivals dedicated to Bach in only a few years, pointing out that only 10% of the event’s funding comes from the government. The majority of funding comes from private or corporate sponsors and ticket sales.

Tickets for all Festival events are on sale at  www.festivalbachmontreal.com – 514.989.9668.