Gamut Bach Ensemble

The word Gamut, in music, is the complete range of notes in a system, an instrument or a particular piece.  It derives from “Gamma-Ut,” the lowest note on the medieval sequence of hexachords– the system used in the teaching of practical music well into the baroque period.  Paying tribute to the root of so much of what classical music is today, this ensemble brings you an evening of Bach “dialogue” cantatas.

The first ensemble with this name was formed in Tokyo Japan in 2005 as a period instrument group that consisted of young experts. Director Koji Otsuki, who now coaches Bach cantata rehearsals at the Marlboro Music Festival, has been seeking ways to collaborate with modern-trained young professionals who rarely get to perform this repertoire despite their wish. This Philadelphia version of Gamut Bach Ensemble was born as the place of the collaboration with its original vision of insightful and conscientious Bach.