Repast Baroque / Inspiring Bach

Traditionally, classical music programs have included Bach’s music as the beginning point for classical repertoire. But who inspired him? Repast musicians Amelia Roosevelt on baroque violin, Avi Stein on harpsichord, and John Mark Rozendaal on viola da gamba put Bach in context by exploring the generation of German composers before Bach. The sophisticated craftsmanship and exuberant lyricism of Dietrich Buxtehude, Philipp Heinrich Erlebach and their contemporaries provide dances, fugues, arias and fantasies that stir the emotions, stimulate the mind and occasionally tickle the funnybone. The young Bach admired his predecessors and built upon their work to develop his own style.