Share This Article
[Event listing courtesy of the Musicians of the Old Post Road]
Saturday, December 13, 2025, 4:00 pm
First Unitarian Church, Worcester, MA and live-streamed at www.oldpostroad.org
Sunday, December 14, 2025, 4:00 pm Old South Church, Boston, MA
In-person Audience Tickets $10-$55, kids come free with an adult
Virtual Audience Tickets: $35 individual, $70 family, $10 students
Two-time winner of the Noah Greenberg Award from the American Musicological Society, Musicians of the Old Post Road continues its 37th season with Christmas in the Bach Workshop, a seasonal celebration with festive arias, cantatas, and instrumental works by Johann Sebatian Bach, his protégés, and family members.
The ensemble will be joined by four critically-acclaimed vocal soloists for this program: soprano Michele Kennedy, mezzo-soprano Sophie Michaux, tenor Jason McStoots, and bass Daniel Fridley.
Performances will be presented on December 13 at 4 pm at First Unitarian Church in Worcester and online, and December 14 at 4 pm at Old South Church in Boston. The weekend’s concerts are the second program of the ensemble’s “Cross-Pollinations” season, celebrating inspiration among composers and across cultures in four programs exemplifying the ensemble’s signature programming of musical “rediscoveries” performed alongside beloved 18th-century works.
Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach’s charming mini-oratorio Die Kindheit Jesu (The Childhood of Jesus) will be a centerpiece of the program. The fifth son of J.S. Bach, J.C.F. wrote the work around 1773, and it captures the galant style popular in the late 18th century, combining expressive melodies with Classical clarity. The enchanting piece portrays scenes from the birth and early life of Jesus, emphasizing tenderness and lyrical simplicity.
Opening the program is the vivacious Sinfonia from the cantata O Wunder by Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, the eldest son of J.S. Bach. Another family member, cousin Johann Ludwig Bach, will be represented by an aria for tenor soloist from his cantata Mache dich auf.
Beyond his family, J.S. Bach was a devoted teacher whose students continued his musical legacy throughout Europe. Works by three of his students from the 1730s are also included in this delightful program: The joyful aria Wie herrlich lenkt by G.A. Homilius, the Pastorale from J.F. Agricola’s Christmas oratorio, and a trio sonata by J.L. Krebs.
This program would not be complete without works by the great Johann Sebastian Bach himself. His beloved alto aria Esurientes implevit, from the Magnificat, will be featured along with the soprano and bass duet Wann Kommst du mein Heil from cantata BWV 140.
Musicians for these concerts, all of whom will play on period instruments, include flutists Suzanne Stumpf and Wendy Rolfe, violinists Sarah Darling and Jesse Irons, violist Jason Fisher, cellist Daniel Ryan, and harpsichordist Nicola Canzano.
Single In-Person Tickets are $55 general admission, $50 seniors, $35 for under 35. Kids 18 and under are free with an adult. Day-Of-Concert Rush Tickets (students and EBT Card holders only) are $10, availability permitting. Virtual single tickets and virtual subscriptions are also available.
For more information, visit www.oldpostroad.org, email [email protected], or call 781-466-6694.
ABOUT MUSICIANS OF THE OLD POST ROAD
Musicians of the Old Post Road takes its name from its acclaimed concert series that brings period instrument performances of music of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries to beautiful historic buildings along New England’s fabled Old Post Road, the first thoroughfare to connect Boston and New York City in the late 17th century.
Winner of the 1998 and 2023 Noah Greenberg Award from the American Musicological Society, Musicians of the Old Post Road has also received programming awards from Early Music America, Chamber Music America and the US-Mexico Fund for Culture. The ensemble has toured in Germany, Austria, and Mexico, and has appeared at festivals and on concert series in the US, including the Indianapolis Early Music Festival, the Boston Early Music Festival Concert Series, the Castle Hill Festival, the Artists Series at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, and the Connecticut Early Music Festival. The ensemble has held a residency at Dartmouth College and was featured on WCVB television’s “Chronicle” program and 99.5 All Classical radio’s “Live from Fraser” program.
The ensemble’s discography includes seven recordings that have each been praised in the US and abroad. They include: The Virtuoso Double Bass (Titanic, 1994), Trios and Scottish Song Settings of J. N. Hummel (Meridian, 1999), Galant with an Attitude: Music of Juan and José Pla (Meridian, 2000), Quartets of Telemann and Bodinus(Meridian, 2004), Feliz Navidad: Christmas from Spain and New Spain (Meridian, 2008), Roman Handel (Centaur, 2013), and Earthly Baroque (Centaur, 2017). The ensemble’s 8th CD, Into the Light, featuring music by Christoph Graupner, was released in September 2025 to critical acclaim.