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BACH 52
Is Johann Sebastian Bach's music really for everyone?
BACH 52 is a web series and podcast hosted by Grammy-winning tenor Nicholas Phan, exploring that question one cantata at a time. Each episode pairs a performance of a Bach aria with a conversation between Nick and a guest from the worlds of music, medicine, theology, education, and beyond — people who bring unexpected perspectives to some of the most profound music ever written.
Bach composed over 200 sacred cantatas for the Lutheran church. BACH 52 is on a journey through that music — asking what this deeply Christian music means for believers and non-believers alike, and why it continues to resonate across cultures, faiths, and centuries.
Guests have included musicians, conductors, physicians, educators, clergy, and industry leaders — all united by a lifelong relationship with Bach's music and a willingness to explore what it means for the world we live in today.
Start anywhere — every episode stands alone.
Learn more: https://www.bach52.nicholas-phan.com/
Episodes
12 episodes
Death, Doubt & the Bach Institute
with Pamela Dellal, Bach Institute Director & Intellectual Resources Curator This week on BACH 52, Nicholas Phan sits down with Pamela Dellal — alto, master translator, and director of the Bach Institute ...
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Reginald Mobley on Race, Access & Why Bach Belongs to Everyone
Reginald Mobley on Race, Access & Why Bach Belongs to Everyonewith Reginald Mobley Grammy-nominated countertenor programming consultant, Handel & Haydn SocietyGrammy-nom...
Bach, Shakespeare & the Sins of the Past
with Steven Zohn general editor, American Bach Society musicologist, Temple UniversityIs it possible to separate great art from the flawed men who made it? In this episode of BACH 52, ...
Bach, Community, the International Pride Orchestra
Bach, Community, the International Pride Orchestrawith Michael Roest founder & director, International Pride Orchestra former Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, San Francis...
Bach as a Bridge-Builder
Carla Dirlikov Canales and I have known each other since we were teenagers growing up in the twin towns of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, Michigan — we even sang together as fellow voice majors at the University of Michigan. Since then, Carla has bui...
Why Bach Is a "Rorschach Test" | BACH 52
Violinist Owen Dalby (St. Lawrence String Quartet, Stanford artist-in-residence) on why Bach's music works like a Rorschach test — and how it became his spiritual home.Owen Dalby has spent a lifetime leading an extraordinarily multiface...
For Everyone Who Wants It
with Ellen Exner doctor of musicology former Vice-President, American Bach SocietyIs Bach's music really for everyone? Musicologist Ellen Exner — vice president of the American Bach So...
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 hu...
Can Singing Unite Us?
On bringing people together from three states and 92 zip codes through musicwith Matthew Swanson | director of choruses, Cincinnati May FestivalMatthew Swanson has spent the last several years working...
Bach, Faith & Radical Welcome with Reverend Pamela Werntz
How Sacred Music Holds Space for Everyonewith Reverend Pamela Werntz | rector, Emmanuel ChurchIs Bach's sacred music only for believers? Reverend Pamela Werntz, Rector of Boston's Emmanuel Church...