The Bach Choir of Bethlehem presents the 116th Bach Festival May 10, 11 and May 17, 18 as an experience for the entire family.

Says Bach Choir of Bethlehem Artistic Director and Conductor Dr. Christopher Jackson, “I really want people to attend the festival for any single concert and leave feeling exceptionally happy about the music that they experienced and fulfilled on some deeper level by the art that we can bring them.”

The Festival, with programming held over two weekends, begins at noon May 10, Payrow Plaza, Bethlehem, with “Bach Outdoors” featuring Festival Artist-in-Residence Vincent Lauzer, a recorder player hailed for his sensitive interpretations.

Lauzer is Artistic Director of the Lamèque International Baroque Music Festival, New Brunswick, Canada, and Co-Artistic Director of the Montreal Baroque Festival.

“An incredible recorder player, I’ve found ways to sprinkle him throughout the Festival,” says Jackson.

For the Barnette Distinguished Scholar Lecture, 2 p.m. May 10 and 17, Zoellner Arts Center, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Bach scholar Dr. Michael Marissen will discuss how Bach’s church cantatas and secular music sometimes exalt instruments of erstwhile low degree (such as the recorder) and which surpass more prominent instruments (such as the violin). Marissen is the Daniel Underhill Professor Emeritus of Music at Swarthmore College.

The “Bach at 4” sessions, 4 p.m. May 10 and 17, Incarnation of Our Lord Church, Bethlehem, includes Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich,” BWV 150, ”Komm, Jesu, komm,” BWV 229 and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s “Sonata in F major, Wq 163, for bass recorder, viola and keyboard.”

“Chamber Music in the Saal,” 4 p.m. May 10 and 17, Moravian Museum, Bethlehem, features keyboard artist Charlotte Mattax Moersch performing Bach’s spellbinding “Goldberg Variations,” BWV 988.

“Bach at 8,” 8 p.m. May 10 and 17, Packer Memorial Church, Lehigh University, previews the Bach Choir’s June European concert tour, including “Leipzig Bachfest” at Thomaskirche, where J.S. Bach was cantor. The program includes “Herr Christ, der einge Gottessohn,” BWV 96 and “Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele,” BWV 180. Also on the Festival program are a cappella choral works by Rheinberger, Mendelssohn and American choral tradition pieces. Lauzer will perform for Bach’s “Brandenburg Concerto No. 4.

“As folks know, the Bach Choir travels to Leipzig, Germany, this summer to perform at the Bach Fest there,” says Jackson. “Our ‘Bach at 8’ concerts at Packer Memorial Church provide a preview of what we will be performing, including two Bach cantatas, Josef Rheinberger’s six-part a cappella short motet, ‘Abendlied,’ and an old American hymn tune, ‘Wondrous Love,’ arranged by American composer Alice Parker.”

The “Ifor Jones Chamber Music Concert,” 10:30 a.m. May 11 and 4 p.m. May 18, Baker Hall, Zoellner Arts Center, includes movements from Mozart’s “Serenade No. 5 in D Major,” K. 204/213a. Lauzer performs Telemann’s “Recorder Suite in A minor,” TWV55:A3. The program closes with J.S. Bach’s “Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F Major,” BWV 1047.

The Bach Festival includes Festival Luncheons with one of the Festival soloists or musicians, Festival Dinner Discussion with Dr. Larry Lipkis, Professor of Music and Composer-in-Residence at Moravian University, and a Chorale Sing outdoors at Packer Church with audience participation and members of the Bach Choir accompanied by the Main Street Brass.

“Zimmermann’s Coffee House” is at 7 p.m. May 11 and 18, Peter Hall, Moravian University. The concerts replicate Bach’s time in Leipzig, when he performed at Zimmermann’s Coffee House. Baroque chamber music will be performed by young musicians. Light refreshments are available for purchase.

The “Bach Vocal Competition for American Singers” will be held 1 p.m. May 19, Peter Hall. At the finals, each singer will present two Bach arias. The Bach Choir of Bethlehem and the American Bach Society sponsor the 12th biennial competition.

The May 11 and May 18 programs are the Bach Choir’s annual performances of J.S. Bach’s “Mass in B Minor,” BWV 232. The 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. May 11 performance is available live-streamed. Online ticketing closes at 2 p.m. on May 11. “Mass in B Minor” concert times are 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. May 18.

“The ‘Mass in B Minor’ is Bach’s compilation of his own favorite music toward the end of his life,” says Jackson. “He pulled things from many different individual compositions he’d written, put it all together and re-texted it to be this gigantic mass setting. Our line-up of soloists is exquisite.”

Guest soloists include Sherezade Panthaki, soprano; Meg Bragle, mezzo-soprano; Benjamin Butterfield, tenor; William Sharp, baritone, and Paul Max Tipton, bass-baritone.

Says Jackson, “Whether you’re returning to the Festival or if you’ve never been, the ‘B Minor Mass’ is the central point. We perform this year after year because it’s a life-changing work of spiritual and musical significance.”

116th Bach Festival of Bethlehem: ticket information, Bach Choir office, 440 Heckewelder Place, Bethlehem; office@bach.org; 610-866-4382, ext. 110 or 115; https://bach.org/tickets/

“Classical View” is a column about classical music concerts, conductors and performers. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com