{"id":114184,"date":"2025-05-09T16:11:18","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T20:11:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=114184"},"modified":"2025-05-12T08:00:01","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T12:00:01","slug":"interview-john-abberger-talks-about-toronto-bach-festival-2025-may-30-to-june-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/05\/09\/interview-john-abberger-talks-about-toronto-bach-festival-2025-may-30-to-june-1\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | John Abberger Talks About Toronto Bach Festival 2025 \u2014 May 30 To June 1"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"L-R:
L-R: Oboist and Toronto Bach Festival Artistic Director John Abberger (Photo courtesy of the Artist); Violinist Julia Wedman (Photo courtesy of the Artist); Bach scholar and musician John Butt (Photo courtesy of the Artist); Baroque keyboard specialist Dongsok Chin with the Graebner harpsichord (Photo courtesy of the Artist); Actor RH Thomson (Photo courtesy of the Artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Toronto Bach Festival 2025 looks at the Baroque master\u2019s works through the lens of his own revisions and reworkings. Bach famously reused and reworked his own compositions, and the Bach Festival\u2019s programming takes a dive into that process.<\/p>\n

While it ends the festival, the composer\u2019s St. John Passion was actually the starting point for programming, as Artistic Director John Abberger<\/strong> explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe point of departure is the second version of the St. John Passion,\u201d Abberger explains. \u201cThat\u2019s our jumping off point.\u201d Like any busy working creator, Bach looked for ways to both perfect and stretch the usefulness of his work. \u201cBach was incredibly clever at recycling his own work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JS<\/p>\n

Toronto Bach Festival<\/h2>\n

Brandenburg Reimagined (May 30)<\/h3>\n

The festival opens with Brandenburg Reimagined \u2014 not to be confused with the similarly named DG line of recordings. \u201cIt\u2019s all Bach,\u201d Abberger stresses. \u201cWe do present some other composers, but we\u2019re kind of all Bach, all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The program includes the very familiar Brandenburg Concerto No. 6.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one of my favourite concertos,\u201d John adds.<\/p>\n

Abberger points to Bach\u2019s later works for harpsichord which many scholars believe are essentially recycled material from works for other instruments. Bach\u2019s reworking of the Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 for harpsichord resulted in the Concerto in F Major for Harpsichord BWV 1057, also on the program. \u201cThis is the same music, it\u2019s just in a different key,\u201d he says. \u201cThat fits neatly into our pattern.\u201d<\/p>\n

As he points out, it\u2019s a sign of Bach\u2019s professionalism that he was able to rework his material in a way that didn\u2019t diminish either the original or the repurposed version. Making a living as a composer in the 18th century meant constantly coming up with new material designed for specific occasions.<\/p>\n

Also on the program is Concerto Brandenbourgeois No. 12, a new composition that combines elements of Bach\u2019s cantatas BWV 163, 80, and 18 by the late Canadian-American oboist and Baroque specialist Bruce Haynes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do have this work that has been called with Brandenburg Concerto No. 12,\u201d Abberger says.<\/p>\n

Abberger explains that Haynes worked on the new Brandenburgs with his wife, cellist Susie Napper, mining his cantatas for instrumental passages, along with arias that have transformed into slow movements. \u201cThe last movement is an orchestral movement from an earlier cantatas,\u201d he says. \u201cThe cantatas are full of these instrumental passages.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abberger has added a bit of a twist for the performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought, wouldn\u2019t it be interesting to tweak it a little bit more,\u201d Abberger says. With Susie\u2019s blessing, he added to the instrumentation of the work.<\/p>\n

Bach\u2019s Keyboard (May 31)<\/h3>\n

Boston native Dongsok Shin<\/strong> brings the lautenwerk to the Bach Festival for Bach\u2019s Keyboard, a noon-time performance. He\u2019ll be performing the Prelude, Fugue, and Allegro, BWV 998, and Sonata for Oboe and Harpsichord, BWV 1030a.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s become an expert on early keyboards,\u201d Abberger says of Shin. \u201cHe\u2019s really specialized in this lautenwerk. He owns two of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Lautenwerk<\/h4>\n

The lautenwerk is also known as a lute-harpsichord or keyboard lute, and it was in use for most of the Baroque period. It\u2019s similar in action to a harpsichord, but uses gut rather than metal strings. The tone is produces, consequently, is warmer and more resonant. \u201cIt has a really warm, beautiful sound,\u201d Abberger says.<\/p>\n

J.S. Bach was known to own two of the instruments at the time he died. No examples of the instrument, however, have survived to the present.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one knows exactly what these instruments look like,\u201d John notes.<\/p>\n

Harpsichord makers in the 20th century revived the instrument based on detailed descriptions of the instruments left by a couple of its 18th century builders, which included Johann Sebastian\u2019s second cousin Johan Nicolaus Bach.<\/p>\n

Abberger explains that very few of the works that Bach wrote ostensibly for the lute could have actually been performed on the instrument as it existed in his day. That\u2019s what has led many scholars to believe they were actually composed for the lautenwerk.<\/p>\n

John will be playing the oboe for the Sonata for Oboe and Harpsichord. \u201cIt\u2019s known primarily in D minor as a flute sonata,\u201d he says, noting there is another version as a keyboard part in G minor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really excited to present this new sound to our audiences,\u201d he says. Shin will give a short talk about the instrument. \u201cHe\u2019ll be playing it and talking about it as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The venue, Eastminster United Church, will add to the audience experience. \u201cThe acoustics at Eastminster Church is really outstanding for the harpsichord. It\u2019s just a really great space for a keyboard instrument.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kaffeehaus (May 31, Two Performances)<\/h3>\n

The uber-popular Kaffeehaus concert returns at the Church of the Holy Trinity, and features Canadian actor R.H. Thomson<\/strong> as host and a program of Bach\u2019s Wedding Cantata, BWV 202, and the Chaconne from Violin Partita No. 2, Jeanne Lamon arrangement, in a cozy, beverage-friendly environment. Oboist John Abberger directs students from the Collegium Musicum, University of Toronto, with soprano Sin\u00e9ad White<\/strong>, and dancers Brian Solomon<\/strong> and Mariana Medell\u00edn Canale<\/strong>s.<\/p>\n

Annual Public Lecture (June 1)<\/h3>\n

This noon-hour lecture by John Butt<\/strong> is free to all Festival Pass Holders. \u201cHe\u2019s one of the foremost Bach scholars in the world,\u201d Abberger says of Butt. \u201cHe\u2019s one of these rare types \u2014 he\u2019s a brilliant scholar, but he\u2019s also an accomplished keyboard player.\u201d<\/p>\n

English orchestral and choral conductor, organist, harpsichordist and scholar John Butt is best known for his work with the music of J.S. Bach. As a teenager, he became the organist at St Alban the Martyr, Birmingham, following which, he began his undergraduate studies at the University of Cambridge. There, he was the organ scholar at King\u2019s College from 1979 to 1982. He subsequently earned his PhD from Cambridge.<\/p>\n

He became university organist and assistant professor of music at the\u00a0University of California, Berkeley. He became an associate professor, and director of the University Chamber Chorus. Later, he\u2019d return to the University of Cambridge to take up the position of University Lecturer, Director of Studies for Music at King’s College, and Fellow of King’s College.\u00a0He also became the founding director of King\u2019s Voices, a mixed choir.<\/p>\n

He has been the Gardiner Professor of Music at the University of Glasgow since 2001.<\/p>\n

Alongside his academic career, he\u2019s performed and conducted ensembles throughout the UK and beyond, including the\u00a0Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the\u00a0Irish Baroque Orchestra, the\u00a0Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and the\u00a0Portland Baroque Orchestra,\u00a0among others.<\/p>\n

\"L-R:
L-R: Soprano Sin\u00e9ad White (Photo: Gaetz Photography); Countertenor Daniel Taylor (Photo courtesy of the Artist); Bass Jesse Blumberg (Photo courtesy of the Artist); Soprano Ellen McAteer (Photo courtesy of the Artist); Countertenor Nicholas Burns (Photo courtesy of the Artist); Bass Jonathan Woody (Photo courtesy of the Artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

St. John Passion, BWV 245.2 (June 1)<\/h3>\n

The festival culminates with Bach\u2019s St. John Passion \u2014 the second 1725 version \u2014 conducted by John Butt, and featuring musicians Julia Wedman, violin; Patrick Jordan, viola; Matt Antal, viola; and Christopher Bagan, harpsichord. Vocalists include: Ellen McAteer and Sin\u00e9ad White, sopranos; Daniel Taylor and Nicholas Burns, altos; Charles Daniels and Shane Hanson, tenors; and Jonathan Woody and Jesse Blumberg, basses.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been wanting to perform this version of the St. John Passion for many years,\u201d Abberger says.<\/p>\n

Bach\u2019s oratorio debuted in 1724, and was subsequently revised in 1725, 1730, and 1749. Abberger notes that the first, third, and fourth versions are quite similar.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe differences are subtle,\u201d he says. \u201cBut, for version two, he made some radical changes,\u201d he adds. \u201cHe wrote a new opening chorus for the second version. He wrote three new arias.\u201d Interestingly, Bach recycled his V.2 opening to use in the later St. Matthew Passion. He also wrote a new ending for St. John. \u201cHe plopped it on the end of the new setting.\u201d<\/p>\n

The result is a resplendent work. \u201cIt\u2019s like a chorale fantasia,\u201d John says. \u201cIt\u2019s a stunning piece of music. It\u2019s a really wonderful reimagination of this work.\u201d<\/p>\n

It creates a memorable finale for the Festival. \u201cI\u2019m very excited to present this version of the St. John Passion,\u201d Abberger says. \u201cJohn Butt\u2019s really excited about doing this version.\u201d<\/p>\n

Final Thoughts On Revisions & Recycling<\/h3>\n

\u201cWe get this concept that comes from the 19th century about great art, the great artist,\u201d Abberger says.<\/p>\n

Along the way, we\u2019ve come to believe that the last version of a composer\u2019s particular work is, in fact, the best version. However, taking a closer look at how composers practiced their craft in the 18th century, it becomes clear that\u2019s not necessarily the case. Works were adapted for specific situations, and might be revised multiple times for different occasions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gets a little distorted by this Victorian way of looking at art.\u201d<\/p>\n