Listen: Inaugural Colorado Bach Festival set for Denver, Fort Collins

(Photo: Vimeo)The Colorado Bach Ensemble’s inaugural Colorado Bach Festival begins Friday and runs through next weekend in Denver and Fort Collins.

The musicians in the ensemble will present J.S. Bach’s “St. John Passion” as well as Handel's settings of several psalms.

Members of the Colorado Chamber Players will also perform a string quartet version of Bach’s “Art of the Fugue.” Click the audio above to hear an excerpt from the piece the Colorado Chamber Players recorded in the CPR Performance Studio.

(Photo: Public domain image)Artistic Director James Kim founded the Colorado Bach Ensemble as a vehicle for presenting music by Bach and his contemporaries in settings that connect with contemporary audiences.

“We have to make these performances relevant to our modern audiences, living in the 21st century -- especially living in America,” Kim told CPR Classical recently.

The Colorado Bach Festival performances are set for University Center of the Arts, 1400 Remington St. in Fort Colllins, and Bethany Lutheran Church, 4500 E. Hampden Ave. in Denver.

The programs:

• Bach’s “St. John Passion”: 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 6 in Denver and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 7 in Fort Collins.
• Bach’s “The Art of the Fugue”: 3 p.m. Sunday in Fort Collins and 7:30 p.m. Monday in Denver.
• A Handel program featuring the composer’s “Laudate pueri,”  “Nisi Dominus,”  “Dixit Dominus” and “Gloria”: 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 13 in Denver and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 14 in Fort Collins.

Watch a video introduction to the Colorado Bach Ensemble: