Herreweghe Leads Collegium Vocale Gent in Bach Cantatas at Andorra Concert

Philippe Herreweghe will lead the Collegium Vocale Gent in a programme of three Bach works at Andorra's Centre de Congressos this evening, as part of the fourth concert in the 31st MoraBanc Music and Dance Season.

The Belgian conductor, born in Ghent in 1947, founded the choir in 1970 after abandoning medical studies in psychiatry. He pioneered the use of period instruments in choral performance, initially collaborating with leading historicist ensembles before forming his own in 1989. The group specialises in Baroque repertoire, with Bach at its core.

Tonight's selection features two cantatas—BWV 14, *Si Déu no hagués estat amb nosaltres* (premiered in 1735), and BWV 186, *No t'enutgis, ànima meva* (from 1723)—alongside the *Missa Brevis* BWV 233. These pieces, signed by Bach with the acronym SDG (*Soli Deo Gloria*), reflect his practice of composing a new cantata each Sunday for Leipzig's St Thomas Church choir during his tenure there from 1723 until his death in 1750. Around 200 survive.

The choir comprises 12 singers, including four soloists who cover all choral parts, with three voices per line. The accompanying orchestra includes six violins, two violas, two cellos and continuo. BWV 14 opens with a striking chorus led by hunting horn rather than voices, while the 40-minute BWV 186 incorporates operatic arias and recitatives, drawing from Bach's habit of adapting secular material. The *Missa Brevis*, limited to the Kyrie and Gloria, offers a contrast to his more famous *Mass in B minor*.

Herreweghe faces the challenge of preserving the intimate, spiritual intensity of these church works in the secular setting of the congress centre. He also directs the Orchestre des Champs-Élysées, focused on 17th-century French music, the Chapelle Royale and, since 1982, the Festival de Musique Ancienne de Saintes.