Artistic director Madeleine Easton is joined by Chris Watson to delve into the world of J.S Bach’s vocal motets

In our first podcast for 2026, Artistic Director Madeleine Easton welcomes Chris Watson, the Director of Music at Trinity College as her guest. Chris is a former member of the internationally acclaimed Tallis Scholars and Director of Music at St Edmund Hall, Oxford. He has had an international career spanning 3 decades as a tenor soloists and choir director and now calls Australia home. Madeleine and Chris as Bach Akademie Australia prepare to perform all of these wondrous works throughout one program in February. For text translations and our recommended recording for listening, click the link below https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5cf8d9ae2e760300019e8752/t/6965d8efb0c80a60b56bdaeb/1768282351673/Bach+Motets+text+and+translations.pdf Chapters (00:00:22) - Talking Bach (00:02:05) - Talking Bach (00:03:01) - The Motets (00:07:45) - Bach's motets (00:12:46) - The Music of Purcell (00:14:44) - The difficulty of singing the symphonies (00:16:11) - The Brandenburg Concertos (00:20:37) - Serenade (00:21:33) - Bach's use or choice of hymns (00:24:58) - The Motets