“Reviews received from ticket holders were unanimously positive, with the choir scoring 4.9 out of a maximum of five stars”

In Africa, rain is a blessing, and indeed the Setswane word pula means ‘rain’ or ‘blessings. The pre-winter April showers that fell as our first concert for the year got underway certainly proved to bear this out!

Held at the Maranatha Church in Parktown for the first time, the concert was met with a standing ovation – the fourth consecutive one that the Johannesburg Bach Choir has enjoyed under the leadership of its music director, Ruth Coggin.

The theme, “Of roses and other flowers” gave scope to the choir for a varied and interesting performance, featuring music from several centuries and different styles.

As in previous concerts, our tenor soloist, Janré van Jaarsveld, delighted audiences with an aria from JS Bach’s Cantata 208, “Schafe können sicher weiden” and a moving rendition of Alfred Melotte’s popular setting of the Lord’s Prayer.

Roses featured in three of the songs performed, while South African aspects were highlighted in Coenie de Villiers’ “Karoonag” and a traditional song in seSotho, “Mangwane mpulele”.

The nearly 50-strong choir gave it their all for the two final songs commemorating Easter with Handel’s famous “Hallelujah Chorus” and Passover with Louis Lewandowski’s “Adoshem Moloch”. The latter was sung in Hebrew, the first time the choir has featured this ancient language.

The performance also included the final choral from Bach’s Cantata 116, part of the set work to be performed by the Johannesburg Bach Choir at the Leipzig Bachfest in Germany next year. Our participation is at the invitation from this annual festival in the German city in which JS Bach composed some of the prodigious output of his musical genius.

Reviews received from ticket holders were unanimously positive, with the choir scoring 4.9 out of a maximum of five stars