Het Fornuis van Venus

On August 30, 2026, the Nederlands Bach Consort (NBC) will perform a new composition by René Veen at Podium Pfanner, in MFA de Schans in Arcen. "The Stove of Venus" is based on recipes from an obscure 1936 cookbook full of aphrodisiac dishes. Not sweet love songs, but a musical exploration of sensual love: feeling, seeing, smelling, hearing, and tasting. With music that rubs and stimulates, the audience is prompted to think while the experiment is not shunned. This time, the NBC will perform with four singers: soprano Heleen Koele, countertenor Sytse Buwalda, tenor Dolf Drabbels, and baritone Roele Kok, accompanied by Doris Hochscheid (cello), Renée Bekkers (accordion), and David van Ooijen (lute). With Bach as the centerpiece, the NBC presents programs that tell a story. The Nederlands Bach Consort - founded in 2021 - consists of eight singers who have made their mark both in solo and ensemble singing in small settings. The ensemble works without a conductor, requiring them to listen very carefully to each other during performances. Each project - this time “The Stove of Venus” - requires a different composition. Instrumentalists and any actors or dancers are invited per project. This way, one can expect a different composition at each concert!