Bach Akademie Australia opens its stellar 2026 program with J.S. Bach’s Complete Vocal Motets, a colossal, five-city tour in collaboration with Australia’s premier vocal ensemble, The Song Company and guest artist, renowned Dutch singer Iris Korfker, from Thursday 5th Februaryto Friday 13th February.
Following the runaway success of Bach Akademie Australia’s debut, national tour The Countertenor in 2025, Australia’s leading Baroque ensemble presents seven of J.S. Bach’s divinely beautiful vocal motets alongside two works of contemporary genius by Australian composer Sandra Milliken and Scotsman Sir James MacMillan, with performances at St John’s Southgate, Melbourne (February 5th), Wollongong Art Gallery (February 6th), Mosman Art Gallery (February 8th), St James Church, Sydney (February 12th) and Bowral Memorial Hall (February 13th).
Heralded as “some of the most beautiful pieces of choral music produced over the past centuries” (Bach Vereniging), J.S. Bach’s motets represent the highest art of vocal writing achieved in the Baroque period. The surviving motets were the only vocal works in Bach’s canon to remain in constant performance after the composer’s death, until the Bach revival of the early 19th century. Featuring four to eight choral voices in an exceptional display of virtuosity and dexterity, the motets explore themes of comfort, resurrection and joy, and were intended for use in funerals and celebrations.
The Song Company is Australia’s leading professional vocal ensemble, renowned for its innovative a cappella performances spanning from early music and classical repertoire to cutting-edge contemporary work. Based in Sydney, the ensemble has performed at major festivals and venues across Australia, including the Sydney Opera House, Melbourne Recital Centre, Adelaide Festival, Canberra International Music Festival, and regional centres nationwide, as well as internationally throughout Europe, the UK, and Asia.
Joining Bach Akademie Australia and The Song Company on stage is special guest artist, Dutch soprano and alto Iris Korfker. Originally from the Netherlands, Korfker has worked as a choral, solo and operatic vocalist throughout the UK for over 20 years, performing in the UK’s finest venues, from the Palace of Versailles and Carnegie Hall to St Martin-in-the-Fields. In 2023, Korfker had the distinct honour of singing at the Coronation of King Charles III at Westminster Abbey.
Also featured in the program is Australian contemporary composer Sandra Milliken’s ‘Herr Jesus Christus’, a thought-provoking musical tribute to WWII German Lutheran pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Scottish composer and conductor Sir James MacMillian’s ‘O Radiant Dawn’. Originally written for Advent, MacMillian’s work is a transcendent choral piece that “captures the essence of sacred music” (JW Pepper).
Deeply spiritual and emotionally resonant, this incredible program of untamed Baroque splendour is not to be missed.
Tickets for Bach’s Complete Vocal Motets, are currently on sale now at: https://www.bachakademieaustralia.com.au/events
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