Why Bach's Music Touches Everyone – Even If You're Not Religious

Is the music of Bach for everyone? In Episode 2 of BACH 52, I sit down with oboist and artistic director Debra Nagy to explore this question through the lens of historical performance, personal belief, and the universal human emotions that Bach's music somehow captures across centuries and cultures.Debra is the artistic director of Les Délices and one of the most thoughtful advocates for baroque music I know. Raised in the conservative Jewish tradition and now identifying as culturally Jewish and agnostic, she shares something deeply personal with me: how Bach's profoundly Christian music still resonates with her experience of humanity, grief, loss, and connection. We talk about why the St. Matthew Passion moves non-believers to tears, how baroque instruments create colors and emotions that modern instruments simply can't access, and what it means to find your life's calling through the intimate dialogue between voice and period instruments.We also explore the fascinating world of the baroque oboe and oboe d'amore, instruments that Debra describes as having "more color, more humanity, more emotion" than their modern counterparts. You'll hear the difference in our featured performance of BWV 166 "Ich will an den Himmel denken," a rarely-heard aria that showcases exactly why these historical instruments matter so much.This conversation is about more than just music. It's about how Bach builds community across time, how his cantatas speak to our deepest experiences of mortality and love, and why engaging with this music on its own terms opens up something profound and universal.Watch the episode and see full episode credits at https://www.bach52.nicholas-phan.com/episodes/ep2This project is a fiscally sponsored project of FRACTURED ATLAS.To find our more information and to make a TAX-DEDUCTIBLE donation to support the continuation of this project please visit:https://fundraising.fracturedatlas.org/nicholas-phan-recording-projects