Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, directed by John Butt The Choir of New College Oxford A unique event marking 300 years since the composition and first performance of Johann Sebastian Bach’s 1725 Ascension Day Cantata Auf Christi Himmelfahrt allein. This momentous occasion also marks the arrival of the autograph manuscript of the cantata, bequeathed to the Bodleian Library, one of only four of the composer’s manuscripts in the UK.
This festive and colourful cantata for orchestra, chorus, and soloists was written for first performance on Ascension Day in May 2025. Three hundred years later, it is the centre-piece of a celebratory concert exploring Bach’s compositions from this post-Easter period in 1725, together with a pair of new works composed in response to Auf Christi Himmelfahrt allein.

World-leading Bach scholar and performer John Butt directs the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the Choir of New College Oxford, whose director Robert Quinney has used his extensive knowledge of the manuscript to prepare the choir for this performance.

The manuscript, a tangible link to the past, will be on display in the Weston Library, Bodleian Libraries.

Manuscript viewing: 6.15 – 7.15pm
Pre-concert talk: 6.30pm (30 minutes)
Concert: 7.30pm

TICKETS AVAILABLE SOON. STAY TUNED FOR DETAILS

£40, £32, £25, £15. £10 Students & Under 25’s Manuscript viewing and pre-concert talk are free to all concert ticket holders.

£10 – £40