Welcome

Founded in 1972 as a chapter of the Neue Bachgesellschaft, the American Bach Society supports the study, performance, and appreciation of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach in the United States and Canada.

The ABS produces Bach Notes and Bach Perspectives, sponsors a biennial meeting and conference, and offers grants and prizes for research on Bach.

Information on membership is available here, along with a short history of the Society and information on its administration.

On this site you can also find links to other Bach organizations and to Bach festivals, as well as a small selection of interesting Bach illustrations.

Upcoming Conference:

“Bach and Authority”
Biennial Meeting of the American Bach Society
Temple University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
October 7–9, 2022
Call for Papers

For questions about the upcoming conference, please contact Ellen Exner: vicepresident [at] americanbachsociety.org

Bach Notes vol. 36 (Spring 2022) now available

May 25, 2022

Bach Notes no. 36 (Spring 2022) is now live and copies have been mailed to members who have requested them. This issue features a review of Telemann's Church Cantata Cycles by Steven Zohn, an update on the ABS Conference “Bach and Authority”, a review of J. S. Bach's Material and Spiritual Treasures by Mary J. Greer, as well as recent publications, announcements and member news. Read more…

Announcing Episode 15 of Tiny Bach Concerts

May 17, 2022

This month’s episode of Tiny Bach Concerts features introductory remarks by George Stauffer and a performance by Renée Anne Louprette of Bach's Prelude, Trio, and Fugue in G Major, BWV 541.2. Read more…

Episode 14 of Tiny Bach Concerts now live

March 16, 2022

We’re pleased to launch episode 14 of Tiny Bach Concerts, which features introductory remarks by Ruben Valenzuela and performances of Sinfonia, BWV 42/1 and “Siehe zu, dass deine Gottesfurcht nicht Heuchelei sei,” BWV 179/1 by Bach Collegium San Diego. Read more…

Just Released: Episode 13 of Tiny Bach Concerts

January 16, 2022

This month’s episode of Tiny Bach Concerts features a performance by Josh Cohen (baroque trumpet) and the 2019 Chestnut Hill Summer Festival ensemble of Bach’s second Brandenburg Concerto in F major, BWV 1047, with introductory remarks by Bettina Varwig (Cambridge University). Read more…

Bach Notes vol. 35 (Fall 2021) now available

December 3, 2021

Bach Notes no. 35 (Fall 2021) is now live and copies have been mailed to members who have requested them. This issue features a tribute to Don O. Franklin; Nina Raine’s Bach & Sons (Stephen Roe), Bach’s Musical Universe (Stephen A. Crist), Bach’s Legacy (Iain Quinn), and Late Style and the Idea of the Summative Work in Bach and Beethoven (Christina Fuhrmann); a report on the recent ABS award winners; ABS publications; the Call for Papers for the upcoming “Bach and Authority” biennial meeting; announcements; and member news. Read more…

Announcing episode twelve of Tiny Bach Concerts

November 15, 2021

This month’s episode of Tiny Bach Concerts features a performance by Luosha Fang of the Ciaccona (from Partita in D minor, BWV 1004), with introductory remarks by Raymond Erickson. Read more…

Announcing the eleventh episode of Tiny Bach Concerts

October 15, 2021

This month’s episode of Tiny Bach Concerts features a performance by Victoria Suchodolski of the Italian Concerto, BWV 971, with introductory remarks by Erinn Knyt. Read more…

Call for Papers: ABS Biennial Meeting in October 2022

October 7, 2021

We are pleased to announce the call for papers for our upcoming biennial meeting, “Bach and Authority,” to be held at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA on October 7–9, 2022. The deadline to submit is February 1, 2022. Read more…

Second session of Encounters with Eighteenth-Century Music on Oct 26

September 30, 2021

The second session of Encounters with Eighteenth-Century Music: A Virtual Forum features Sarah Eyerly presenting “Moravian Soundscapes: Hearing New Histories of Early America,” an exploration of the soundscapes and musical practices of eighteenth-century Moravian mission communities in eastern Pennsylvania. The Zoom meeting will be held Tuesday, October 26, 2021, 5:00-6:30pm EDT. The meeting will open 10-15 minutes early for greetings and informal discussion. For more details, including suggested readings, and to register for this event, click here.

Announcing the tenth episode of Tiny Bach Concerts

September 17, 2021

This month’s episode of Tiny Bach Concerts features a performance of C. P. E. Bach's Trio Sonata in A major, Wq 146 by Infusion Baroque, with introductory remarks by Reginald Sanders (ABS Secretary-Treasurer and Professor at Kenyon College). Read more…

Encounters with Eighteenth-Century Music

September 3, 2021

A Virtual Forum sponsored by the American Bach Society, the American Handel Society, the Haydn Society of North America, the Mozart Society of America, and the Society for Eighteenth-Century Music. We invite you to participate in the inaugural meeting of the virtual forum, on Friday, September 24, 2021 from 3:30 to 5:00 pm EDT, entitled “The Classical Style at 50,” in recognition of the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Charles Rosen’s landmark study.

This Zoom conference will begin with ten-minute presentations from three scholars—Catherine Mayes, Edward Klorman, and Scott Burnham—to be followed by an hour-long question-and-answer period from members of the audience, moderated by Edmund Goehring. Learn more…

Episode 9 of Tiny Bach Concerts features Oleskiewicz and Schulenberg

May 24, 2021

This month’s episode of Tiny Bach Concerts features a performance of and remarks on the first movement of Bach’s Sonata for Flute in G minor, BWV 1030a by Mary Oleskiewicz and David Schulenberg. Read more…

Bach Notes no. 34 (Spring 2021) published

May 13, 2021

Bach Notes no. 34 (Spring 2021) has been posted on the website, and copies are in the mail to members as we speak. This issue features four reviews: Esther Criscuola de Laix on Ideas of the Author in the German Musical Baroque; Raymond Erickson on Bach Updated; Siavash Sabetrohani on Realizing Thoroughbass Chorales; and Alannah Rebekah Franklin on Henry Wood and the Revival of Bach in England, as well as announcements and member news. Read more…

Announcing Episode 8 of Tiny Bach Concerts

April 16, 2021

This month’s episode of Tiny Bach Concerts features a remarks by Michael Marissen (Swarthmore College) and a performance by Maria Keohane, soprano; Fredrik From, violin; with Concerto Copenhagen, directed by Lars Ulrik Mortensen of “Was die Welt in sich hält,” BWV 64/5. Read more…

Episode 7 of Tiny Bach Concerts is now live!

March 19, 2021

This month’s episode of Tiny Bach Concerts features a performance by organist George Barnes and the Jazz Renaissance Quintet of the Fugue in G minor, BWV 542. Stephen A. Crist (Emory University) provides introductory remarks. Read more…

Announcing the American Bach Society Diversity Grant

March 10, 2021

The American Bach Society invites proposals for a grant or grants of up to $2000 for scholarly or creative projects that expand diversity in the study or performance of J. S. Bach and his music. The deadline to apply is July 1, 2021. Read more and apply…

Announcing the sixth episode of Tiny Bach Concerts

February 15, 2021

This month’s episode of Tiny Bach Concerts features a performance by la speranza of the Sonata in E minor, BWV 1034, with introductory remarks by Dr. Jeanne Swack (University of Wisconsin-Madison). Read more…

Bach Perspectives 13: Bach Reworked published

January 30, 2021

Bach Perspectives 13: Bach Reworked, published by the University of Illinois Press, is now available. The volume, edited by Laura Buch, features contributions from Stephen A. Crist, Ellen Exner, Moira Leanne Hill, Erinn E. Knyt, and Markus Zepf. For more information, please see our page on the series.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AT RIGHT:

  1. Oil painting of J. S. Bach by Elias Gottlob Haussmann, 1748
  2. Engraving of St. Thomas Church, Leipzig
  3. Title page of Bach’s Calov Bible, 1681 (Concordia Seminary Library, St. Louis)
  4. First page of autograph score of Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, 1721