When this programme was initially being planned, the Zelenka fanfares for four trumpets and timpani were all that we were asked to play in this programme. It was decided later that we should include a Bach cantata to show the similarities and differences between Zelenka and Bach, as the programme explored its title. When I was asked about short Bach cantatas with the instrumentation we had available, which would also utilise the choir, I suggested BWV 50 ‘Nun ist das Heil und die Kraft’ as it is only one movement long and it includes the full forces of the available strings, bassoon, oboes, trumpets and drums as well as the Barts Chamber Choir. BWV 50 is a fantastically clever fugue. The A section has 8 permutations of the subject and the next main section has 7 permutations of the same subject with a simultaneous inversion, giving a kind of contrary-motion subject beneath the first subject.

“The combination of this inversion with the original form of the subject within the same permutation creates the impression of enormous spatial breath and splendour.” - Alfred Dürr, The Cantatas of J. S. Bach

So it was decided to include BWV 50 in the programme. It was a great success and the Barts Chamber Choir did a very good job of singing this difficult and complex fugue. This piece brought the full orchestra and choir together to give a rousing end to the first half of the concert.

The second half of each concert began with another D major trumpet fanfare by Zelenka, which we played from the rear balcony, both at St. John’s Smith Square and at Bury Court Barn. The orchestra then segued into the Missa dei Filii without needing to tune again, which gave a fantastic sense of continuity to the second half of the performance.