Bach A Child of the Stars (Great Hall)

Bach Akademie Australia
Madeleine Easton Artistic Director

To truly understand a culture, we must explore its relationship to the land, but also to the skies. The land and sky are as one, forever connected. It is with a spirit of connectivity that we present this program of music inspired by the heavenly body that both J.S. Bach and the First Nations peoples of Australia have seen every day for millennia – the Morning Star. We are an ensemble dedicated to the works of J.S. Bach, however we are Bach Akademie Australia, therefore seek to unite the incredibly important musical cultures of Europe with the country we stand on by presenting a program of music by Bach and other important composers inspired by the heavens, alongside a newly commissioned work by Australian Indigenous composer Troy Russell, inspired by the Morning Star, just as J.S. Bach was centuries ago.

J.S. Bach Cantata ‘Himmelskönig, sei willkommen’ BWV 182 – Sinfonia
Tomás Luis de Victoria O Magnum Mysterium
Presentation by Professor Jonathan Bland-Hawthorn ‘Galileo, Bach and the western view of the heavens’
Vincenzo Galilei Excerpts from the Well Tempered Lute Simon Martyn-Ellis – Lute
Presentation by Uncle Jimmy Smith about indigenous astronomy
Troy Russell Clans
J.S. Bach Cantata ‘Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern’ BWV 1