There’s a trepidatious growl from the contra-bassoon. Soon, it is joined by French horns, strings and timpani; the sound rumbles, snowballs – and then: abrupt silence. The piano sings into the stillne

From espresso machine to percolator, there are many ways to make a cup of coffee, and such is the case with Bach’s cantata, too. Sporting just two soloists plus cameo narrator, tracking down a vocal d

After the premiere of his orchestral piece Coptic Light in 1986, Morton Feldman was described by an irate American critic as ‘the most boring composer in the history of music’. Listeners coming to his

Mocha? Flat White? Americano? Those patronising Zimmermann’s coffee house in 18th-century Leipzig would have been out of luck. But in the easy-going surroundings where the student Collegium Musicum me

The unconventional instrumentation favoured by Tortoise is an indicator of how many different lineups have always jostled for space under the jazz umbrella. The national treasure that is The Pete Alle

The Coffee Cantata wasn’t JS Bach’s sole foray into humour and social commentary. Written for a birthday celebration in 1742, his Peasant Cantata BWV 212 sets words by Picander in a 24-movement work f