Sunday 1 December 2019 Mathematical Institute

Bach, the Universe & Everything | The Creativity Code

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

‘When we see images of the strange mathematical beasts lurking at the heart of the natural world – fractal landscapes, the Fibonacci series, the strange attractors that beat at the heart of chaos – it is always the dizzying spirals of Bach that come to mind.’ Douglas Adams

Fresh from two successful seasons in London, Bach, the Universe and Everything visits Oxford for three dates in partnership with the University of Oxford’s Mathematical Institute.  Bach was known for being a ‘mathematical’ composer’, with intricate structures and symmetries in his music reflecting deep truths about the universe.

To explore this, each concert mixes some of Bach’s greatest music and a ground-breaking talk from a leading figure from the world of mathematics.  With a bit of communal singing and conversation, it’s a place where you can bond with music lovers and unravel the mysteries of our universe.

‘For over 30 years the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment has combined highbrow musicology with a tremendous sense of mischief ‘ New Scientist

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Music: Bach Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (Now come, Saviour of the gentiles I) BWV 61 

Speaker: Professor Marcus du Sautoy, Charles Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science and Professor of Mathematics, University of Oxford

The Science: Could computers put composers out of job? Professor Marcus du Sautoy’s latest book, The Creativity Code: How AI is Learning to Write, Paint and Think, explores creativity, algorithms, and whether artificial intelligence will ever be able to write a cantata quite like Bach.

The Music: For mark the start of Advent, the Orchestra plays one of Bach’s Christmas cantatas, full of anticipation for the big day. It’s an unusual cantata, bringing in element of secular French opera, such as an Overture, into church music.