The first festival of the year, the International Music Festival bachFest Tallinn, taking place from January 1 to 6, is dedicated to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. But what would a festival be without the music of other Baroque composers? Let’s just name a few – François Couperin, Nicolas de Grigny, Antonio Vivaldi, with whom Johann Sebastian was also in close correspondence and music exchange during his time. At the festival concerts, we will hear brilliant works from various composers. The performers are renowned musicians from both Estonia and around the world. The festival’s opening and closing concerts are always framed by Bach’s great works – cantatas, orchestral suites, and concertos. Each year, the festival brings listeners several, if not world, then certainly Estonian premieres, even when it comes to centuries-old compositions. At the festival, you can listen to music played on traditional instruments such as the organ, violin, viola da gamba, piano, and guitar. However, there are also rarer instruments like the pan flute, psaltery, musette de cour, or theremin.