In 2006 Raphaël Pichon, founded Pygmalion, a choir and orchestra performing on period instruments. In 2026 Ensemble Pygmalion, with ten singers and twelve instrumentalist, he conducted an exciting, vibrant performance of the music of JS Bach and some of his contemporaries in the Adelaide Town Hall as part of the Adelaide Festival.
The music related to the period of the Thirty Years War, a time of strife in Europe. While the texts of many of the motets and psalms reflect a mood of Reformation self flagellation they also include words of consolation and belief in the power of God to be merciful and forgiving. There is the sense of despair in Johann Christoph Bach’s Ach, dass ich Wassers gnug hätte with its final verse:
My sighing is great, and my heart is heavy for the Lord has filled me with sorrow, in the day of His wrath
as there is the joy and confidence expressed in JS Bach’s motet Lobet den Herrn ending in a triumphant Hallelujah.
The quality and musicianship of the ensemble under its conductor is such that we were transported back to a time when such music, in homes, in churches, in the the courts of kings and dukes, and in the village square was an important element in the lives of people. Pygmalion presented the music with that same sense of belonging and freedom, achieved not through flouting long held traditions, but by attention to detail, highlighting each harmonic nuance. The contrast between forte and piano, solo and ensemble, with varied instruments and timbre, supported by basso continuo created Baroque musical artistry.
The singers alternating between solo, full choir and quartet, as appropriate, are an important part of the ensemble. There is an advantage to have a choir as a permanent part of the ensemble, rather than performing with guest choirs. Clearly each and every one of the singers is highly trained both vocally and as musicians. Their diction was clear, and if they sang the German text with a French accent, this reinforced the fact that music is universal and belongs to us all.
The performance concluded, fittingly, with JS Bach’s Jesu, meine Freude and then his setting of Psalm 25 Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich.
AdelaideTown Hall
27 February 2026
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