Bach and the Baroque
Bach and the Baroque was founded in 1991 by Don Franklin and John Goldsmith to present historically informed performances of the works of J. S. Bach and his contemporaries. The ensemble, sponsored by Pitt’s Department of Music, comprised musicians from the university and the city, along with guest soloists and instrumentalists from outside the Pittsburgh area.
From 1991 to 2007, the group performed over 40 works by J.S. Bach, including 30 cantatas, the St. John and St. Matthew passions, his Lutheran masses and motets, and the 1733 Missa. Other featured works include compositions by Dietrich Buxtehude and Georg Böhm, northern German masters with whom Bach studied, as well as cantatas by the cantors who preceded Bach in Leipzig, namely, Sebastian Knüpfer, Johann Schelle, and Johann Kuhnau. In addition, the ensemble presented modern day premieres of C. P. E Bach’s 1789 Matthew Passion, Georg Philipp Telemann’s 1750 Matthew Passion, and Antonio Bertali’s Missa Novi Regis. In 2007, Franklin and Goldsmith brought the series to a close with sold out performances of Bach's Christmas Oratorio.
