Music in the Flesh

We start from and in the bodies: the breathing, moving, fleshy, sensitive, interconnected bodies that make and receive the music. We use historical imagery and words to encourage flow, porousness, affective contagion, tears, dance. We show how the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and his contemporaries can still powerfully move and transform us now, by making us feel our fragile, fallible, precious shared humanity in our bones and hearts.

Unforgettably enriching and inspiring. ⎻ Nicholas Mulroy

This is a bold and brilliant idea. There’s work to be done: let’s move! - Tom Service, The Guardian, June 2026

At times, it felt as though the whole hall was moving. The sense of being inside the performance was completely unforgettable and mind-blowing! ⎻ Audience member, March 2024

The most engaging and moving musical occurrence I’ve ever been part of. ⎻ Student participant, June 2025

Affective contagion…passionate and impassioned performance…rituals and repression…compressed hearts…overflowing, porous bodies. These were just some of the things that came up during two days of powerful exploration and experimentation … It culminated in a performance of Bach’s St John Passion that left us gasping for breath, unable to speak, utterly changed. Bettina’s work on early-modern listening is going to transform the world of performance as we know it. We’ve started a revolution. ⎻ Rachel Stroud

Musically life-changing. ⎻ Margaret Faultless