Dorset Bach Cantata Club
Encyclopedia
The Dorset Bach Cantata Club is a chamber choir and orchestra based in Sturminster Newton
, England. It is devoted to performing the music of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) with an amateur choir supported by a semi-professional orchestra.
. The origin of the Club was linked to that of The London Bach Society.
Nine years previously, Paul Steinitz had founded the London Bach Society
. He believed that the then customary performances of Bach cantatas by large choral societies did not have the balance between choir and baroque orchestra such as Bach would have experienced. He set out to perform all Bach's sacred cantatas, a mission which he completed in 1987.
To help him with this, the DBCC was in essence an organisation to support him and the musicians he worked with to gain the added experience and expertise to realise hitherto unperformed masterworks.
The DBCC singers, being amateurs, would have given him some added insight in helping choral singers manage the many challenges provided by Bach's vocal music.
Dr Steinitz directed all the DBCC's studies and performances until 1968, returning again on several occasions in the 1970s, and finally in 1985. Other guest conductors then were engaged to express their vision of chosen cantatas. Among those who directed the music were Stephen Wilkinson
, Peter Lea Cox, Stephen Cleobury
, Mark Forkgen and Elizabeth Bates. After Paul Steinitz died in 1988 the direction of the DBCC was placed in the hands of Timothy Brown, Director of Clare College Choir, and Christopher Brown, Director of New Cambridge Singers, who had been associated with the Club since its earliest days.
In 2009, the group set up plans to commemorate Paul Steinitz' centenary year at its October meeting.
Sturminster Newton
Sturminster Newton, known to locals as Stur, is a town in the Blackmore Vale area of Dorset, England. It is situated on a low limestone ridge in a meander of the River Stour. The town is at the centre of a large dairy agriculture region, around which the town's economy is built...
, England. It is devoted to performing the music of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) with an amateur choir supported by a semi-professional orchestra.
History
The Dorset Bach Cantata Club (DBCC) was founded in 1955 by Joan Brocklebank and Dr Paul SteinitzPaul Steinitz
Paul Steinitz OBE was a pioneer in the post-war interpretation of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. He founded the London Bach Society and Steinitz Bach Players in order to put his scholarship into practice, performing all Bach’s cantatas in mainly London venues over the space of 29...
. The origin of the Club was linked to that of The London Bach Society.
Nine years previously, Paul Steinitz had founded the London Bach Society
London Bach Society
The London Bach Society is a society devoted to performing the music of Johann Sebastian Bach with small, professional forces, using period instruments in order to obtain an authentic style of interpretation.-History:...
. He believed that the then customary performances of Bach cantatas by large choral societies did not have the balance between choir and baroque orchestra such as Bach would have experienced. He set out to perform all Bach's sacred cantatas, a mission which he completed in 1987.
To help him with this, the DBCC was in essence an organisation to support him and the musicians he worked with to gain the added experience and expertise to realise hitherto unperformed masterworks.
The DBCC singers, being amateurs, would have given him some added insight in helping choral singers manage the many challenges provided by Bach's vocal music.
Dr Steinitz directed all the DBCC's studies and performances until 1968, returning again on several occasions in the 1970s, and finally in 1985. Other guest conductors then were engaged to express their vision of chosen cantatas. Among those who directed the music were Stephen Wilkinson
Stephen Wilkinson (musician)
Stephen Wilkinson, MBE is an English choral conductor.As a boy, he was a chorister at Christ Church, Oxford, and studied English and music at the University of Cambridge. He was organ scholar of Queens' College, and studied the harpsichord with Boris Ord and singing with George Parker...
, Peter Lea Cox, Stephen Cleobury
Stephen Cleobury
Stephen Cleobury CBE is an English organist and conductor. He was organ scholar at St John's College, Cambridge and sub-organist of Westminster Abbey before becoming Master of Music at Westminster Cathedral in 1979...
, Mark Forkgen and Elizabeth Bates. After Paul Steinitz died in 1988 the direction of the DBCC was placed in the hands of Timothy Brown, Director of Clare College Choir, and Christopher Brown, Director of New Cambridge Singers, who had been associated with the Club since its earliest days.
In 2009, the group set up plans to commemorate Paul Steinitz' centenary year at its October meeting.