The current Choir of the Netherlands Bach Society was founded in 1983 and consists of about twenty singers. Most of them have completed vocal studies at one of the Netherlands conservatories. They have all become specialists in the performance of vocal music of the 17th and 18th centuries. The CD of the St. Matthew Passion under the direction of Jos van Veldhoven, a live recording from 1997 in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Netherlands Bach Society, received extremely favorable reviews. The solo ensemble Cappella Figuralis was founded in 1989 by Jos van Veldhoven and performs under the auspices of The Netherlands Bach Society. As was usually the custom in the 17th and 18th centuries, the ensemble almost always performs in a one-on-a-part disposition, varying from a total of two to ten singers and an equal number of instrumentalists. Most of the musicians in Cappella Figuralis have also acquired considerable individual reputations outside of the ensemble. During recent years, Cappella Figuralis have given regular performances of the music of famous Baroque composers such as Schtz, Monteverdi, Sweelinck, Buxtehude, and Bach. But the ensemble has acquired its greatest renown with adventurous programming with a particular emphasis on lesser known repertoire. Works by Netherlands composers of the Golden Century and Italian, French, German, and Netherlands dialogues of the 17th century were frequently on the program. Cappella Figuralis has produced literally dozens of contemporary premieres by composers, like Buns, Verrijt, Van Geertsom, Charpentier, Cozzolani, Piccinini, Cossoni, Grossi, Pfleger, Tunder, Hacquart, De Koninck and Kuhnau. The ensemble has made a number of recordings for radio and TV broadcast, and has recently edited its first CD recording: Saints & Sinners which got a very good press (Channel Classics Records).

Jos van Veldhoven studied musicology at the Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht and choral and orchestral conducting at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. Since 1983 he has been artistic director of The Netherlands Bach Society. In this capacity he gives regular performances of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and his contemporaries both in the Netherlands and abroad. Since 1989 Jos van Veldhoven has also been the conductor of the solo ensemble Cappella Figuralis, which concentrates particularly on the music of the 17th century. In addition Van Veldhoven conducts the Utrechts Barok Consort he founded in 1976. Together with all of his ensembles, he has made a large number of recordings for radio, television, and CD both at home and abroad, and has appeared at festivals in the Netherlands and many other countries in Europe. In recent years, Jos van Veldhoven has frequently attracted attention with performances of new repertoire in the early music field. Particular interest has been drawn by performances including oratorios by Telemann and Graun, the Vespers of Gastoldi, Netherlands repertoire from the Golden Century, and numerous unknown 17th century dialogue pieces. Jos van Veldhoven also conducted many contemporary premiers of Baroque operas by composers including Mattheson, Keiser, Bononcini, Legrenzi, and Scarlatti. He also has made his own reconstructions of lost compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach such as the St. Mark Passion and the so-called Kthener Trauer-Music. Jos van Veldhoven also has a considerable reputation as a teacher. He is associated with the Amsterdam Conservatory and the Royal Conservatory in The Hague as a professor of choral conducting and ensemble technique. He is also the director of the yearly summer course for choral conductors, the Kurt Thomas Course in Utrecht.

(...) De Mattheuspassie in topvorm (...) (...) Dit is een van de indrukwekkendste Mattheus-opnames van de laatste jaren. Afwisselend fel, teer, beschouwelijk, schrijnend en troostend musiceren, maar steeds heel muzikaal. (...) De Limburger, March 1998
(...) De vertolking o.l.v. van Veldhoven heeft iets innigs en straalt geluk uit. Buitengewoon knappe uitvoering die zich in positieve zin onderscheidt van anderen, de uitstraling wint het. (...) Bron komt nog, March 1998
(..) van Veldhoven is een begaafd volgeling van de 'authentieke' school (...) Hifi Video, March 1998
(...) and this is a really good, expressively-musical account, indeed, one of the very best. Early Music Review, April 1998
(...) a performance of exceptional intimacy (...) (...) the vocal soloists are generally excelent. (...) (...) The Netherlands Bach Society Choir is superb. Not only do they sing beautifully, displaying a smooth, blended tone, but it sounds as if they've really lived with this music (...) (...) this new recording offers a highly satisfying musical experience, and I urge those collectors who hold this masterwork close to their hearts to hear it. U.S.A. Music Boulevard, April 1998
(...) a rich expressive palette of the performers (...) BBC Music Magazine, May 1998
(...) a performance which is at once intimate and intense. Daily Telegraph, April 1998
There have been many fine readings of Bach's Passion but few as unmannered, unforced, unself-regarding or naturally paced as a new 'life' recording from the Netherlands Bach Society under Jos van Veldhoven. The choir sounds as if they are living the piece. Classic FM Magazine, March 1998
(...) Dies ist eine bemerkenswert eigenstndige Interpretation auf hohem Niveau. Klassik Heute, July 1998
(...) this is a beautifully recorded performance, that can and should be savored again and again. Goldberg, August 1998
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