Why do we still enjoy JS Bach’s music so many years after it was composed? Listen to Tim Roberts’s idea about this – and hear a short section of a Bach Cantata sung by the Johannesburg Bach Choir:
Bach’s music so many years on
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Monthly Archives: August 2024
The Bach Blog
The Bach Blog was launched on Sunday 28 July 2024 in honour of the death of the great JS Bach, after whom the Johannesburg Bach Choir is named. It also celebrates the 60th anniversary of the JBC – its diamond jubilee – with the logo specially designed for the occasion by bass section leader Alastair Findlay. The Bach Blog features stories about members of our choir, or those associated with it over the years, written by other members of the choir and edited by Theo Coggin, a member of the bass section of the choir.
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Multi-talented and an inspiring teacher, Ruth gives 100%
Stuart Meyer continues his account of the musical journey of Ruth Coggin, the new music director of the Johannesburg Bach Choir.
Bach, singing and the pipe organ: a love story on its own
In the first of his articles on Ruth Coggin, the new music director of the Johannesburg Bach Choir, Stuart Meyer traces her musical journey from her teenage years of learning to master the grandeur of a pipe organ to participating in some of the seminal historic events in South Africa
Transitioning with the stars and music
Having grown up in a musical family and as a member of the Salvation Army, tenor Monde Ngwane believes “the stars aligned for me” in her musical journey. Singing was central to her family and supplied the impetus for her to enroll at the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music graded Durban Music School. She studied music theory and the cello and played in the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra. She also sang with the Durban Symphonic Choir.
Faith is born through Bach and the sounds of the silence of nature
The end of a calendar year is often a time to say fond farewells to those members who are moving on. While it’s often a sad time, it’s also an occasion to remember them with gratitude for the contributions they have made in both song and friendship. One such person is Uschi Wellmann who has retired from her work at St Andrew’s School for Girls to take up a new position as matron at Paulpietersburg Christian Retirement Village in northern KZN. Before she left, The Bach Blog spoke to this much-loved soprano about how her faith and love of music all began.
Ecclesiastical, environmental, euphonious – gifts of a full life
Bishop Peter Lee and his wife, Revd Gill Lee, met in their 20s while they were both living in England. Gill is from central London and Peter comes from the deep countryside of Norfolk, known for its “open, flat, beautiful” land.
Mandy Collins, a member of our alto section, composed this poem for Tim Roberts’ farewell. We thank Mandy for giving us permission to publish this poem. Please note it is Copyright to Mandy – Theo Coggin, Editor of The Bach Blog.
Farewell to Tim Roberts
Monday 25 November 2024’s practice saw a heartfelt time of saying “thank you” to our music director, Tim Roberts, for his 15 years’ service to the Johannesburg Bach Choir. Accompanied by Ruth Coggin on the piano, each of the voice parts sang a song of their choice to him, the alto group finishing with Auld Lang Syne accompanied by Mandy Collins on a steel drum. A special gift to Tim was a framed cartoon of him, featuring his interests and hobbies. The hand-drawn cartoon was made by bass leader Alastair Findlay, with the inspiration and creative input for it by blog editor, Theo Coggin. Here is Tim with his harpsichord “racing car”, oboe, choir and singing elephant.
Photo by Ushi Wellmann
Members of the Johannesburg Bach Choir (JBC) come from all walks of life. That much is probably obvious. Not so obvious, however, are the fascinating array of interests (plus skills, experience, hobbies and sporting exploits) that many of our members enjoy. Marguerite Langton, a retired diagnostic radiologist who has been a member of the choir for many years, is one such person.
From “permission-of-husband-required” to JBC chair
It was the sublime, evocative voice of the late, great Kathleen Ferrier that struck awe into the young Kathy Whiteley, a former chairperson of the Johannesburg Bach. All she wanted was to sing like her. This is how Kathy’s love of singing started.
Six conductors and 60 years: Memories abound for Diane Coutts
The Johannesburg Bach Choir has been associated with some of South Africa’s most talented musicians during the past 60 years. Diane Coutts, who has performed with the Johannesburg Bach Choir as organist, pianist and harpsichordist, still accompanies the choir for rehearsals on an ad hoc basis.
The Johannesburg Bach Choir is delighted to receive a letter of congratulations on its 60th anniversary celebrations from the Leipzig Bachfest and the Bach Archive Leipzig. The Leipzig Bachfest is the world’s most significant Bach festival, attracting choirs from throughout the globe. We are honoured to be congratulated in this way.
Buck any difficulty with Bach and just love life
Love of the colourful tapestry that life has to offer has led to rewarding experiences such as those of the Membership Secretary of the Johannesburg Bach Choir. From her newfound love for bowls which she began playing after retiring in 2017, to her abiding love for the world-renowned diamond corporate, DeBeers, Sue has had an interesting life.
On entering Sue Webster’s sunny abode one is immediately struck by her collection of beautiful artefacts. A Sydney Carter oil, a Pierneef water colour, and works by her uncle, David Anthony Jones (reminiscent of the works of John Piper and Paul Nash) adorn the walls. Along the windowsills there’s an assortment of decoy ducks and wooden bird sculptures.
Reiner Fossati, who was a member of the choir from 1983 until around 2019, and chairman for seven years, grew up in a musically-minded family in Cape Town, listening to classical greats such as Beethoven and Brahms.
Some people one never forgets, often for a variety of reasons. Jane Abrahams, a former Secretary, committee member and, not least, an invaluable member of the sopranos of the Johannesburg Bach Choir for many years, is just such a person.
J. S. Bach’s longest tenure (1723-1750) was as Cantor and Director of Music of the Thomaskirche in Leipzig. Although he was not the organist in Leipzig, his later organ works were written while he was there. There are records of an organ having been there from around 1500 until Bach’s time, and two that were there in the early eighteenth century are known about. Both instruments received what we would call today “heavy maintenance” during Bach’s lifetime, although there appears to have been no extensive rebuilding as was done at Arnstadt. Neither of the instruments survives today. The photo in this post is of the present organ in the church. (Information from http://www.organhistoricalsociety.org. Photo from Facebook post of Stephen Lewis Furches https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008093808278&__tn__=-UC*F)
The Johannesburg Bach Choir will celebrate its diamond (60th) jubilee at a gala concert in November this year. Arrangements for the concert at St John’s College Chapel in Houghton on Sunday 17 November at 4.00pm (16h00) are already well in hand. They include plans to perform JS Bach’s acclaimed Cantata No 140 (“Wauchet auf, ruft uns die Stimme”) with Ilze van Staden as the soprano soloist, among other works.
Read more about our 60th anniversary…
Ballet, the bundu and the Bach Choir may not readily find an association in the minds of most people, but for alto Andrea Wilhelm, they fit together very neatly. Andrea, a member of the Johannesburg Bach Choir since 2022, is passionate about ballet, the bush and singing. An interview with her unpacked the meaning behind her unusual email address of bunduballerina@…
Read more about Andrea Wilhelm…
Painting, birding and beetle collection may be among their interests – but it’s singing together with other people that “lifts the soul”, says soprano Jemima Cantrell. She and husband Tony, a member of the bass section, are long-standing and faithful members of the Johannesburg Bach Choir, having joined in 2005.
Read more about Tony and Jemima Cantrell….
The ongoing continuum of musical expression is central to the entire personal and professional demeanor of Tim Roberts, the affable musical director of the Bach choir.
The Mamas and the Papas of the 1960s would have little in common – one would think – with JS Bach, the doyen of Baroque composers, let alone with the Johannesburg choir that is named in honour of one of the most revered composers of all time. But listening to the animated manner in which the current chairperson of the Johannesburg Bach Choir (JBC) speaks of how much she looks forward to every Monday, the 1960s hit, “Monday, Monday”, by the Mamas and the Papas immediately came to mind.
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60th anniversary concert date announced
The Johannesburg Bach Choir will celebrate its diamond (60th) jubilee at a gala concert in November this year.
Arrangements for the concert at St John’s College Chapel in Houghton on Sunday 17 November at 4.00pm (16h00) are already well in hand. They include plans to perform JS Bach’s acclaimed Cantata No 140 (“Wauchet auf, ruft uns die Stimme”) with Ilze van Staden as the soprano soloist, among other works.
The first concert of the Johannesburg Bach Choir was held on 1 September 1964 at St Catherine’s Anglican Church, Bramley, under the baton of its first director, the late Tony Fell.
Sixty years later, the choir’s diamond jubilee concert will take place under the direction of its present music director, Tim Roberts who has led the choir for more than a decade.
Since the choir’s inception in 1964, works by numerous composers – not only by JS Bach – have entranced audiences in a wide range of venues from the Johannesburg City Hall to more intimate settings.
A new logo to celebrate the occasion has been designed by Alastair Findlay, a member of the choir (see image).
Tim Roberts is a sought-after orchestral conductor and for his direction of exclusive music soirees in South Africa’s game reserves.
Trained at the Royal Academy of Music, London, Roberts says: “For me, making music is a passion but, more importantly, I want to let other people experience the same wonder I feel when I hear great music.”
Leona Malan, Chairperson of the choir, says: “The JBC welcomes everyone. The commitment of our music leadership to encourage the participation of all who love the chorale genre is fitting testament to this and we have been pleased to welcome members from a wide spectrum of our community in our diamond jubilee year,” she adds.
For the gala concert, the choir will be accompanied members of the Apple Green Orchestra and choir accompanist and assistant choir director, Ruth Coggin on the organ.
Tickets for the gala concert will soon be available on Quicket.
Andrea Wilhelm
Ballet, Bundu and the Bach Choir reflect the Beat of Africa
By Ruth Coggin
The email address was intriguing: bunduballerina@….** Most email addresses are somewhat predictable, like joeblogs9876@gmail.com, for example.
So how did bunduballerina@….** come about? The owner of this unique address is Johannesburg Bach Choir member, Andrea Wilhelm who uses it to identify her YouTube channel, The BunduBallerina by combining her two passions: ballet and the bush.
Andrea’s is no ordinary YouTube channel, with nearly 70 000 subscribers and 40 million views since she started it in 2009. That’s a big following and viewership in anyone’s book.
Subscribers come from all over the world, including Japan, the USA, Russia and Europe. What pulls them together in this huge virtual community are Andrea’s highly appreciated ballet postings that she draws from around the globe. For example, ballerina Natalia Osipova’s Amazing versatile fouettés was posted on the day of the interview. Among the many comments it received was “Thank you BunduBallerina… Thank you for posting such beautiful dancing.”
With such a passion for ballet, it’s not surprising that Andrea also has a love of singing. She joined the Johannesburg Bach Choir in 2022 following the Covid epidemic after her mother saw an advert on Facebook for the choir. Andrea comes from a musical family. Her late grandfather, Joseph Horitzaüer, was well known as a classical and Spanish guitarist. She has always loved singing and in her teens took part in amateur musical performances with a Parkhurst-based group, The Garage Players. This had her singing arias and Gilbert and Sullivan choruses with gusto.
Andrea danced from her youngest days until she was 27, when insufficient turnout (a ballet term indicating rotation of the leg at the hips) brought an end to the physical aspects of ballet. Apart from classical ballet, she also danced Spanish and classical Indian. Her skills were shown through successfully passing through the ranks of ballet exams up to Advanced 2, described as being for dancers with high levels of skills and professional dancers.
Growing up in the Western Cape until the age of 10, Andrea’s love of the bush or bundu undoubtedly came from living on a farm in the mountains surrounding Worcester. She vividly recalls leopards, baboons and snakes of the farm. A memory that stands out is narrowly escaping the company of a leopard as the family made their way down the mountain, with Andrea on the back of an open bakkie!
Professionally, Andrea is a qualified IELTS tutor and makes a living from teaching English skills to students for various purposes, such as obtaining visas to study overseas.
Not content with what she has already achieved in life, Andrea also aims to learn to play the lute. So, watch this space: Future performances of the Johannesburg Bach Choir may well be accompanied by a lutist!
*Ruth Coggin is Assistant Choir Director and accompanist of the Johannesburg Bach Choir and holds an honours degree in pipe organ and clarinet from Wits.
**Andrea’s full email is not included to protect her privacy.
Tony and Jemima Cantrell
Old pump organs and beetles – but singing lifts the soul
By Alistair Findlay
Tony and Jemima Cantrell are long-standing members in the Johannesburg Bach Choir, having joined in 2005, when it was still under the directorship of Mario Broccardo. They both come from musical and artistic families.
Jemima’s grandfather’s violin narrowly escaped being incinerated in the burning of their farm during the Anglo Boer war. Her parents sang in the church choir and many in the family were piano teachers. As a schoolgirl she came first in many an Eisteddfod with her singing. She also took piano lessons. Piano exams were through UNISA and examiners had to travel from Bloemfontein to Postmasburg to do the assessments at their family home. Work-wise she established herself in the field of medical research from where she would often nip off during her lunch hour for singing lessons. In 1967 she took two years off to study at the Hochschule für Musik in Munich under Professor Dr Karlheinz Blaschke. She also sang in the Munich Bach Choir under Professor Karl Richter. On her return she joined the SABC choir and had a chorus part in the PACT production of The Merry Widow.
Tony’s grandmother played the harmonium, a portable pump organ much in use in those days. She accompanied her husband on missionary work in the then South West Africa (now Namibia). They travelled by railway caboose to small towns where she would attract residents with the sound of her playing, forming congregations for their mobile ministry. Tony sang in both the Kearsney College and the University of Natal’s Maritzburg campus choirs. On meeting Jemima, they became members of their church choir. Tony is a trained biochemist and was Professor in Toxicology at the University of the Witwatersrand. It was his head of department, the late Professor Tony Davies, who suggested the couple join him in the Bach Choir.
According to Jemima, the Bach Choir today is in better shape than ever, with Tim Roberts and Ruth Coggin at the helm. “I have a passion for singing and singing together with other people lifts the soul,” she says.
Tony and Jemima’s other pastimes include painting, birding and beetle collecting. Jemima showed me an exquisite water colour of a pineapple she had done. “Beautiful pawpaw,” quipped Tony. But he couldn’t show me his beetle collection. It had been eaten by very small beetles.
- Alistair Findlay is leader of the bass section of the Johannesburg Bach Choir
Leona Malan
“Monday, Monday, so good to me”
By Theo Coggin
The Mamas and the Papas of the 1960s would have little in common – one would think – with JS Bach, the doyen of Baroque composers, let alone with the Johannesburg choir that is named in honour of one of the most revered composers of all time. But listening to the animated manner in which the current chairperson of the Johannesburg Bach Choir (JBC) speaks of how much she looks forward to every Monday, the 1960s hit, “Monday, Monday”, by the Mamas and the Papas immediately came to mind.
Leona, a lawyer by profession, says with great conviction about her enjoyment of music and the JBC, “This choir is my therapy. I know that everyone has to ‘turn up for life’ on every occasion we are challenged. But knowing that on Mondays I will sing in the Bach Choir helps me cope even better.”
With her blue eyes flashing with conviction, Leona says that her Monday afternoons are spent looking forward to choir practice. “I prepare fully. I go to choir at rest with the fact that I am experiencing a dimension which, before I joined the choir, my life never had. It’s like the final piece of a puzzle fitting in.”
Leona joined the choir about two years before Covid struck. During Covid, she faithfully attended online practices each Monday, even though it was an exceptionally difficult medium for the choir to work in. Nonetheless, with others, she persevered to hone her musical skills. She laments the fact that the choir had to forego an invitation to attend the Leipzig Bach Festival in Germany as a result of the pandemic. Yet she believes that participating in those online practices assisted in building the team effort which is the prerequisite of any good choir. And now, says the soprano who became chairperson shortly after Covid, the Bach Choir is a good choir, with its own unique culture, commitment, community and growing passion.
Independence is one of Leona’s strengths. But her understanding and appreciation of the community and belonging that the choir provides to each of its members is exemplified by the harmonious cooperation she seeks in a group of people, many of whom also exhibit their own strong characteristics. And the way in which she works with the choir’s music director and assistant music director underlines this.
Speaking about her life, she adds: “I’ve tried to live in a unique way. I’ve never wanted to wait for someone else to make my life. So I’ve often swum against the tide, which has brought many challenges. But I cherish my independence, and joining the choir gave me the space to be myself and yet, at the same time, be part of a harmonised community through music and song.”
As Leona spoke about her love of music and commitment to the JBC, an echo of the last verse of “Monday, Monday” reverberated in my mind.
Every other day, every other day, every other day of the week is fine, yeah
The mamas and papas
But whenever Monday comes, but whenever Monday comes, you can find me singin’ all of the time.
(With apologies to lyric writer Papa John Phillips, leader of the Mamas and Papas, for the change in the last line.)
Theo Coggin is a member of the bass section of the Johannesburg Bach Choir and is Chairperson of the 60th anniversary marketing sub-committee.
The Johannesburg Bach Choir 