London Bach Society: history, repertoire and influence

Origins and early development

Steinitz formed a dedicated choir in 1947 and worked intensively with skilled amateur singers to raise standards of ensemble, diction and rhythmic precision. He was responding to broader changes in interpretation during the twentieth century that prompted renewed interest in historical styles. The choir began as a volunteer body of committed musicians (amateur in status but rigorous in preparation) and quickly became known for thoughtful programming and meticulous preparation.

Repertoire and programming

The society concentrated on Bach’s liturgical and choral works—cantatas, passions and major sacred pieces—while also presenting music by other early composers and occasional modern works. Its repertory included works by core Baroque figures such as Handel and Telemann, and representatives of earlier German sacred music like Heinrich Schütz. The group also commissioned or performed 20th-century composers, including pieces by John Tavener and others, placing Bach’s oeuvre in a living musical context rather than museum isolation.

Major accomplishments

Between the late 1950s and the late 1980s the choir undertook the ambitious project of performing the surviving Bach cantatas in concert cycles; during these years the society became associated with regular Lent performances of the great Passions, most frequently the St Matthew Passion. The choir toured internationally, presenting Bach’s music to audiences in the United States and to countries such as Israel and Bulgaria, and performed in Germany including visits to Leipzig at the historic St Thomas Church where Bach himself worked (Leipzig).

Instruments and ensemble practice

In 1968 Steinitz formed a professional instrumental ensemble called the Steinitz Bach Players to support the choir. This group comprised specialist, often professional musicians who were familiar with Baroque idioms and period techniques. Over time the society incorporated historical instruments into its concerts, seeking timbres and balances that differed from modern symphonic textures. Typical period instruments used included:

• natural/clarino trumpet and valveless brass
• woodwinds such as the baroque flute and oboes, including the oboe da caccia
• sackbuts and gut-strung strings

By the mid-1980s the society mounted full-scale performances of large choral works using a largely period-instrument orchestra, exemplified by presentations of the St Matthew Passion at venues such as Wells Cathedral and, subsequently, at Westminster Abbey.

Legacy, later history and festival activity

Paul Steinitz’s death in 1989 marked the end of the original choir he had built, but the London Bach Society continued as an organization devoted to Bach’s music and to education about historical performance practice. It sustained public engagement through concerts, lectures and an annual festival of Bach’s music—often called "Bachfest" (the German word for "Bach Festival" is Bachfest)—that brings together performers, scholars and audiences. The society’s work helped to popularize informed approaches to Baroque repertoire in Britain, inspired other ensembles, and contributed to the wider early-music movement that values stylistic research, appropriate forces and period timbres.

Significance and distinctions

The London Bach Society is notable for combining scholarly intent with sustained public performance: pursuing comprehensive cantata cycles, presenting liturgical cycles such as the Passions in liturgical seasons, touring internationally, and gradually building a body of performances that employed period instruments and historically sensitive techniques. Its model—an engaged community choir supported by a professional period ensemble—remains a reference point for groups seeking to balance musical accuracy, expressive clarity and public accessibility.

Further reading and resources

For a concise introduction and program histories consult the society’s own materials and modern surveys of the early-music movement; concert programs and documentary sources illuminate how one mid-20th-century ensemble helped reshape the performance of Bach in Britain and beyond.