It’s back to back to back with Bach

THIRSTY for Bach? A pair of overlapping festivals dip into his influences, organ and choral works and chamber music, with concerts that continue through the month.

Opening the 34th annual Long Beach Bach Festival today at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 525 E. 7th St., is a program that explores the composer’s debt to organist Dietrich Buxtehude. Buxtehude’s organ recitals and improvisations were so legendary that Bach and Handel traveled -- on foot, in Bach’s case -- to Lübeck in northern Germany to hear them. Neither, however, was willing to marry Buxtehude’s daughter, a condition of succeeding him in his church organist’s job.

A brass and choir concert with music by Bach and other composers is on offer next Sunday at First Congregational Church, 241 Cedar Ave. And the festival concludes Oct. 21 with Los Angeles Philharmonic cellist David Garrett playing three of Bach’s six Solo Cello Suites (Nos. 2, 3 and 5) at Christ Lutheran Church, 6500 Stearns St. All programs begin at 4 p.m. Information: (562) 597-7326 or www.camerata.

The Los Angeles Bach Festival, now in its 74th year, will open Oct. 21 and run through Oct. 28, with related pre-festival concerts next Sunday and Oct. 20, all at First Congregational Church, 540 S. Commonwealth Ave., Los Angeles. The pre-festival events include a Bach-to-Mozart recital by Swiss violinist Chiara Banchini and keyboardist and Con Gioia Early Music Ensemble founder Preethi de Silva at 5 p.m. next Sunday. The Junior Bach Festival competition winners perform at 2:30 p.m. Oct. 20.

The official opening has Juilliard School organ department chairPaul Jacobs playing some of the master’s output for that instrument. His concert starts at 4 p.m.

Five free daily noon organ and chamber music concerts, beginning Oct. 22, lead up to the big choral finale on Oct. 28 at 4 p.m. when festival director Alexander Ruggieri conducts Parts 1, 2, 3 and 6 of the “Christmas Oratorio.” Information: (213) 385-1345, www.fccla.org.

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Chris Pasles