Founded in 1915 by the musicologist William Gillies Whittaker, the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Bach Choir is one of the oldest Bach choirs in the United Kingdom. This book celebrates the centenary of the choir with a multi-author account of the choir's contributions to musical life and the many personalities who made that possible. It contains almost 200 illustrations, many of them not previously seen.

Chapel Royal meets country choir in this collection of eleven strophic psalm-settings, one anthem and two Christmas hymns, for four-part choir without organ. These elaborate settings with fugal passages are suitable for a reasonably competent choir and could provide useful material for evensongs and concerts. The introduction attempts to explain how this London composer, who was trained in the Chapel Royal, came to write music for a country church in Hertfordshire.

This is the only English translation of this important book by the world's most distinguished Bach scholar. This work is widely regarded as the most authoritative and comprehensive treatment of the Bach cantatas. It begins with a historical survey of the seventeenth-century background to the cantatas, and performance practice issues. The core of the book is a work-by-work study in which each cantata in turn is represented by its libretto, a synopsis of its movements, and a detailed analytical commentary. This format makes it extremely useful as a reference work for anyone listening to, performing in, or studying any of the Bach cantatas. In this edition all the cantata librettos are given in German-English parallel text. The most recent (sixth) German edition appeared in 1995. For the English edition the text has been carefully revised to bring it up to date, taking account of Bach scholarship since that date.

Ken Matthews was working at the CEGB's Marchwood Engineering Laboratories near Southampton when, in 1977, a group of his colleagues, who were keen brass band enthusiasts, started "having a blow" during their lunchtime break. He went along and was soon given an instrument and taught the rudiments of playing. It was not long before this group decided to form a brass band and so Marchwood Brass performed its first engagement later that year. A sponsorship deal from Vodafone led to a name change in 1989 and the band is now well established as the New Forest Brass Band. Ken has been a playing member of this band ever since it started and, as he has access to a substantial amount of archive information, he has been able to write this account which traces the band's history from its inception to the present day. Along the way, the band has won many cups and performed in numerous concerts and other events. Ken has remembered incidents, both humorous and more serious, which have made his book a personal memoir rather than a chronological historical treatise.