Curious, Chin asked why she was willing to part with so much money. His friend replied: “Because his music was a part of my memories growing up.”
This made Chin realise why classical musicians like himself always struggled to fill up seats at their shows: most people never have the opportunity to forge a personal connection with the works of Mozart, Beethoven, or other such musical maestros during their young and formative years.
Inspired, he created “Hello Mr Bach”, a family-friendly concert celebrating the great German composer.
The concert employs musical passages, activities, and theatrical elements to provide a deeper understanding of Johann Sebastian Bach’s life and music for the audience.
He said he wanted to change the impression that Bach was just “an old and grumpy white male with a powdered wig, writing extremely difficult music which is impossible to play”.
“Rather, I would like to show people the more human side of Bach, and how he and his music are actually more relatable to us than we think,” said Chin, who is also Artistic Director and conductor of Bachfest Malaysia.
He added that he hoped to bring Bach closer to the younger generation, in the hopes that in 10 or 20 years, these kids might become musicians, music lovers, or supporters and patrons of classical music.
Chin himself will be donning a fancy wig and buckled shoes to play “Mr Bach”, who will lead members of the Malaysia Bach Festival Singers and Orchestra as they perform the musician’s famous compositions.
Chin has abundant knowledge of Bach’s music, devoting his life to the study of the composer’s works.
Over the past three years, Chin has extensively documented Bach’s life, translated the latest Bach Pictorial Biography from German into Chinese, and was appointed by the Bach-Archiv Leipzig institution to produce the Chinese version of the largest Bach database website in the world.
Performances will be available in both English and Chinese, and the concert will run for 60 minutes, with 40 minutes of interactive activities.
Many of these activities will be based on prominent landmarks in the life of Bach: audiences can have a portrait with Mr Bach at the “Haussmann Portrait Studio”, visit the famous “Mirror Hall” at “Köthen Castle” for selfies, or step on the podium to conduct Bach’s orchestra, the renowned “Collegium Musicum”.
What kind of music would they be playing? Chin encouraged music lovers to come and discover for themselves.
“In general, the audience will find themselves enjoying some very familiar tunes which they might not know were written by Bach, but they will also discover, or perhaps even fall in love, with some less-performed selections from his cantatas and instrumental works,” said Chin.
As this is Bachfest Malaysia’s first ever family friendly concert, “Hello, Mr Bach!” is designed to be accessible to children, with a fast-paced story that is informative, interesting, and educational.
According to Chin, the reason Bach’s music is still relatable today is because of his unparalleled talent to express common human emotions, thoughts, values, and experiences in a multidimensional way, through the art of sound and time.
Chin said whenever he was having trouble in his personal life, he would always go “Bach” to the classical musician’s timeless music for solace and strength.
“When Bach uses a piece of music to describe a certain incident or emotion we have encountered, we can easily feel like we are experiencing exactly what he was going through.
“And one can always find hopeful, delightful, and mindful messages in his music in any circumstance. In some ways, Bach’s music brings us together as fellow human beings,” Chin said.
‘Hello, Mr Bach!’
Venue:
KuAsh Theatre,
Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad,
Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur
Showtimes:
In English:
- May 27 @ 3.00pm
- May 28 @ 7.00pm
In Chinese:
- May 27 @ 7pm
- May 28 @ 3pm
Tickets:
RM68 (children)
RM88 (adults 17 years and above)
Tickets can be purchased via CloudJoi here. Follow BachFest Malaysia on Facebook and Instagram.