Comment from the Chairman of the Choir, after the first performance: 

"Alles uiters geseënd! 208 gaste, goeie atmosfeer, etes lekker en betyds, het selfs 10 minute vroeg klaar gemaak. Eerste 4 dele was die koor die beste wat ek nog saam gesing het. Orkes fantasties. Soliste amper heeltemal foutloos en niks wat gepla het nie. Is met groot dankbaarheid in my hart in Wapad kerk op die oomblik. Het die timpani saam met my kinders langs die preekstoel gebêre vir Saterdag - simbolies die pen in die grond geslaan vir die volgende Kersfees-opwinding." 

Some people find Bach's music "heavy" and "difficult". Even for Bach enthusiasts, this music is intense. It takes concentration to follow the story. After a while, your attention wanders. Several listeners agreed that the frequent breaks, as required by the menu, were just the thing to get you fresh and eager to continue listening to the music. It was a relaxing evening. They agreed that sitting through 2 hours and 40 minutes of solid performance would have been taxing, to say the least. 

"Soon one starts to anticipate the next item on the menu, almost as much as the music!" 

"I am crazy about this arrangement with frequent intervals for refreshments. I am also crazy about Bach!"

"The catering organization was excellent. The food appears as if by magic whenever we leave the auditorium - the new course is just there. The tasty portions were enough to keep you going, without making you sleepy."

"It is clear that the choir had put in a lot of work."

"The orchestra really did a splendid job."

Very few people left before the end of the work; some did, after the first cantata. 

"Dit was bepaald een van die uitsonderlikste konserte van 2013." - Paul Boekkooi, Beeld 17 November 2013. 

"Die mees verkwikkende konsert [van 2013] was in die hande van amateurs: Bach se Weihnachts Oratorium is twee keer in sy geheel deur die Bach Koor Pretoria met 'n deeglik ingestudeerde orkes, asook merendeels besielende soliste, uitgevoer. Gerben Grooten het jou laat glo dat die werk waaskynlik só in Bach se tyd geklink het." - Paul Boekkooi, Beeld 4 Jan 2014.

Orchestra & Soloists