The aroma of fresh coffee may have been imaginary, but the buzz inside St. Mark’s Church was real. As sunlight filtered through stained glass onto the pews, a spirited musical quarrel unfolded: a young woman passionately defending her love of coffee while her father begged her to quit the habit.
Johann Sebastian Bach’s Coffee Cantata (BWV 211) isn’t usually the kind of piece you would expect to hear during lunchtime in Center City — but that’s exactly the point. The scene captured the essence of what the newly formed Philadelphia Bach Collective hopes to be: a gathering of friends and an invitation to the community.
The result of a collaboration between two local ensembles — Night Music and Variant 6 — the Collective made its debut last month with a program that felt more like a lunchtime meetup than a formal premiere. Making the Coffee Cantata its centerpiece was a way of creating this impression. A comedic mini-drama originally performed in a Leipzig coffeehouse nearly 300 years ago, the piece is as relatable today as it was in the 18th century. It’s also a reminder that Bach wrote music not just for the church, but for cafés in more casual social settings.
“We all love the music of Bach,” Steve Zohn, a Baroque flutist and musicologist, and a founding member of the ensemble, tells WRTI. “Especially the cantatas. Rather than wait for a conductor to hire us, we thought: ‘Let’s take matters into our own hands.’”
The vision began to take shape last winter, during rehearsals for a Mass in B Minor concert by Choral Arts Philadelphia. “Everyone was just so happy to be playing and singing Bach together,” recalls Heather Miller Lardin, another founding member, and an acclaimed Baroque bassist and educator. “During the break, Steve spoke with Rebecca, and that’s really where it began.”
Rebecca Myers, a sought-after soprano and Artistic Director of Variant 6, recognized an opportunity. “I get to sing Bach a lot, but not in Philadelphia,” she says. “We all perform Bach across the country, but there’s no regular opportunity to do it here. It seemed like a no-brainer.”
When Myers reached out to her fellow singers, the response was immediate and enthusiastic. Through their respective groups, each co-founder connected with local colleagues, who were all equally excited about the project. That spirit carried into their debut, where camaraderie was a key component of the performance.
The program began with Bach’s Trio Sonata in G Major (BWV 1038), a chamber work for flute, violin, and continuo. Elegant and conversational, the piece provided a graceful entry into the program. But it was Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht (BWV 211) — the Coffee Cantata — that really grabbed everyone’s attention. Jessica Beebe, Graham Bier and Daniel Taylor leaned into their singing roles with humor, while the instrumental ensemble played with verve and sensitivity. It was theatrical without being forced, and the audience responded with appreciation and delight.
Though this was the Collective’s inaugural performance, its future already looks bright, with a full season of concerts planned. The next event, on Oct. 28 at 1 p.m., will feature an early sacred cantata known as Actus tragicus (BMV 106), intended for funereal purposes. (Its proper title in Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit, which translates to “God’s time is the very best time.”)
“We’d love to see this grow into something people can look forward to,” says Lardin. “A place where musicians and audiences come together — not just for the music, but for the community it creates.”
The formation of the Philadelphia Bach Collective embodies both hope and trust: hope that Philadelphia’s Baroque scene, grounded in local talent, will continue to thrive — and trust that the community will support and sustain this promising new ensemble.
For more information about the Philadelphia Bach Collective, visit its website.
