The Baroque ensemble BachPlus was founded in 2010 by the soprano Elisabeth Hermans and the keyboardist and conductor Bart Naessens. The ensemble’s only activity at the time was a series of monthly concerts devoted to the performance of cantatas in the Baroque Jesuit Church of Aalst (Belgium). After St Walburga’s and St Gilles’ churches in Bruges, St Bavo’s in Aardenburg (Netherlands) has become a second home for these Sunday concerts. The cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach, the great master of the genre, were central to the programmes. Gradually, the ensemble also performed Bach’s larger scale works, such as the B minor Mass and the Saint John Passion.
A warm, friendly, and yet professional atmosphere radiates from BachPlus. Their refreshing approach to Bach’s tremendous production manages to captivate music lovers everywhere, earning them a place on the national and international Baroque musical scene. In recent years, BachPlus has also been invited to appear in various Flemish venues such as the Bruges Concertgebouw, Amuz and the Gent Flanders Festival.
BachPlus brings together musicians of the highest level hailing from all over Europe. They have acquired invaluable essential experience in the field of historical performance practice playing in various famous ensembles, as well as by their personal activities and initiatives. Their wish is above all to be astonished by Bach’s unsurpassable genius. They try to remain as close as possible to the musical practices of the time, which is why the ensemble always plays on historical instruments, either originals or copies.
