During the administration of Abbot Damian Jentges, O.S.B., who always encouraged musical talent, a retired couple introduced themselves here at Mount Angel. Their conversation eventually turned to music, which had always been one of his great interests. While he was rector of the seminary, he had scheduled what he liked to call a musicale every year, in which his students would present their talent for their parents, faculty, and friends. In fact, Abbot Damian used some of his spare time to study voice at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, where he had been sent to pursue graduate studies in theology.Conversing with Michel MacKay and her husband Alistair, the abbot discovered that for ten years Michel had worked among the office personnel of the Carmel Bach Festival in California. He asked her then if she would be willing to develop a festival here. The Abbey seemed to them both to be a perfect location for the idea to become a reality. She was willing to take up again the endless practical details that converge into a professional festival. Accordingly, the first annual Abbey Bach Festival was presented in 1972, making the 2007 Festival the 36th annual event. Through her full-time efforts to find quality musicians, arrange publicity, keep perfect financial records, and accommodate the audience, the Festival grew to be an accepted part of mid-summer at the Abbey.

The monastic enviromnent makes the Abbey Bach Festival unique among events of its kind. The format for the days designed at that time has remained unchanged because audiences as large as facilities can accommodate are still being attracted.

Each evening has a prayerful beginning with the Benedictine monks of Mount Angel singing the psalms of Vespers in their abbey church. Following is a one-half hour recital on the grand organ, or one of sacred polyphony, or an instrumental solo or duo.

The audience then goes outside for their supper baskets, which are prepared for groups of four, giving people who come alone or in couples an opportunity to meet and enjoy their meal with new acquaintances. The mall suddenly becomes an enormous picnic. A quantity of blankets and chairs are provided; some of the audience bring their lawn chairs and tables. They enjoy the gemütlichkeit, the view of the Willamette Valley, and five volcanoes of the Cascade Range which are usually in view.

After an hour the doors of the hall are opened and the 500 guests begin to take their seats in the Damian Center for the full-length featured concert of the evening. The menu for the supper basket as well as the musical presentations are different for each of the three evenings of the Festival. Because of this combination of features and experiences, unusual in North America, members of the audience come from a considerable distance. Several are here every year from Davis and other cities of California, Spokane and other cities of Washington, Vancouver and other cities in British Columbia.

The focus of the Festival is instrumental music of the Baroque Period, with Johann Sebastian Bach represented during each of the six sessions. Occasionally something will be played that is representative of the Classical or Romantic period. The appetite for Baroque music remains enthusiastic. Evidence for this is the long waiting list of others hoping for tickets through cancellations by people who may find they cannot attend. Selling tickets is always a satisfying pleasure, except when the point arrives that the 500 are gone and there are no more. Then the "sold out" letters are prepared, leaving many friends disappointed. On the other hand, some other presenters have said: "You could have worse problems."

The number of performers varies from solo to small orchestra. They are either fine up-and-coming young talent or established musicians who are already known internationally in concert halls and recordings. Always represented are musicians who live nearby and elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest. We have also been proud to present some who have come, for example, from Cleveland, New York, and Los Angeles, as well as England, Japan, and Canada.

Tickets for this end-of-July event are available through the Abbey Bach Festival's mailing list. Anyone who wishes to be on it may submit name, address and phone number either by telephone 800/845-8272 or 503/845-3066, fax 503-845-3075, or e-mail bach@mtangel.edu. A brochure announcing the program is put in the mail about the middle of March. It is accompanied by a form for requesting tickets. Tickets are sold only by mail.

The Abbey Bach Festival is a non-profit venture of Mount Angel Abbey. To assist in engaging superior talent and eventually providing a beautiful music hall, contributions are welcomed. These donations are tax deductible and for each one, however large or small, a receipt is issued with thanks. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor of the Abbey Bach Festival click here.