The Swansea Bach Choir popularises choral works with specific concentration on the baroque.
The Swansea Bach Choir was formed in 1965 with the specific aim of presenting the best choral works from the past five centuries to as wide a public as possible and in as professional and authentic a manner as possible.
Since its inception the choir has been a training ground for young singers, many of whom have gone on to win choral scholarships at Oxford or Cambridge, or to study music at music colleges and universities. Many of the choir's current membership are trained singers and professional musicians.
The choir is especially known for its performance of Baroque music, in particular the major works of Bach, often performed with London-based period orchestras. Performances have included Bach's Matthäus-Passion, Johannes-Passion, Mass in B minor and several of his church cantatas.
The late masses of Haydn, and several works by Handel have also been performed with period orchestra over the years.
In December 2009 the choir performed Handel's Messiah with the highly acclaimed period orchestra, Sinfonia Britannica of London. At the other end of the historical spectrum the choir has performed a great deal of 20th century music, including large-scale compositions by Pizzetti, Frank Martin, Howells, Britten, Duruflé and several contemporary composers such as Hilary Tann, Morten Lauridisen and Eric Whitacre.
The choir's performances of the Rachmaninov Vespers have been particularly acclaimed.
