The Tilford Bach Festival is a Festival of the music of
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...
held annually at All Saints Church
Tilford
Tilford is a village and civil parish centred at the point where the two branches of the River Wey merge in Surrey, England, south-east of Farnham. It has half of Charleshill, Elstead in its east, a steep northern outcrop of the Greensand Rid ...
, near
Farnham,
Surrey.
History
The Tilford Bach Festival was first held in 1952, following the creation of the
Tilford Bach Society the same year. The Society and Festival were founded by Denys Darlow (1921-2015).
For the first two decades, performances at the Festival drew heavily on local musicians, amateurs as well as teachers and professionals; from the 1970s onwards, however, 'historically informed performance' came to dominate more and more, and amateur involvement gradually died out.
Denys Darlow retired as Director following the 50th Festival in 2002; the current Music Director is the violinist Adrian Butterfield. The festival has become an entirely professional event and specialises in performances of Baroque music using authentic instruments and orchestration. Many of the leading Baroque musicians and singers have played at Tilford. The 63rd Festival was held in June 2015: the Festival being run by the Tilford Bach Society As part of the celebrations of 150 years of Tilford church Bach's
Christmas Oratorio
The ''Christmas Oratorio'' (German: ''Weihnachtsoratorium''), , is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It is in six parts, each part a cantata intended for performance on one of ...
was performed for the first time in Tilford on 18 November 2017.
The organisation behind the Festival has divided into two separate organisations. The new Tilford Bach Society (CIO) runs monthly concerts in the Farnham area, and also Conservatoire Concerts in Godalming (). Its main website is. It operates under the name "TBS". Farnham Sinfonia () started as part of Tilford Bach Society (CIO) but became a separate charity in 2022.
The festival in Tilford continues to be run by the original society,
[Reg Charity: 230601] and has the website https://tilfordbachfestival.com/.
See also
*
List of Bach festivals
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
References
Music festivals established in 1952
Music festivals in Surrey
Classical music festivals in England
1952 establishments in England
Bach festivals
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