Tallahassee Bach Parley Presents: The Berlin Friday Academy
📍 St. John’s Episcopal Church, 211 N. Monroe Street
📅 Sunday, February 22, 2026
🕒 3:00 PM
Join the Tallahassee Bach Parley for an afternoon of Baroque music by Janitsch and C. P. E. Bach, rooted in the vibrant musical culture of 18th-century Berlin.
🎟️ $10 suggested donation
🎥 Livestream available
👶 Free childcare provided
Tallahassee Bach Parley welcomes John Abberger with music from 18th -century Berlin. The Bach Parley concert on February 22 features the renowned Baroque oboist John Abberger. Music Director Valerie Prebys explains, “This is the third time John has joined us for a project, and this concert is bittersweet as we honor the memory of his brother Lester Abberger, a dedicated leader and long-serving Chair of our Board.”
The program is inspired by the Berlin Friday Academy, a lively music salon founded by composer Johann Gottlieb Janitsch (1708–1763). Held in Janitsch’s home, these gatherings brought together professional and amateur musicians to try out new works for an audience of aristocrats and curious music lovers. Composers from the court of Frederick the Great enjoyed a relaxed setting where music and conversation went hand in hand.
The concert features three works by Janitsch and one by his friend Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. Both composers wrote in the “sentimental style” (German: Empfindsamer Stil), known for its sudden shifts in mood and dynamics that heighten emotional expression. The program concludes with a Janitsch finale based on the “Passion Chorale,” a 16th-century melody by Hans Leo Hassler. The tune is familiar to many through J. S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and even echoes in Paul Simon’s “An American Tune,” memorably performed recently by Rhiannon Giddens.
Performers include John Abberger (oboe), Valerie Prebys (violin), Maya Johnson (viola), Kim Jones (cello), Shalev Ad-El (harpsichord), and Eva Amsler (traverso).
The Bach Parley performs on period instruments—gut-string violins, violas, and cellos, harpsichord, and historical woodwinds like the traverso. True to its name (the French word parley means “discussion”), Bach Parley concerts also feature commentary from Valerie Prebys and the musicians, offering historical context, insights into the instruments, and listening tips that invite audiences into the music and the joy behind it.