Venus’s Stove

On 30 August 2026, the Netherlands Bach Consort (NBC) will perform a new composition by René Veen at Podium Pfanner, in the MFA de Schans in Arcen. *Venus’s Stove* is based on recipes from an obscure 1936 cookbook full of aphrodisiac dishes. No saccharine love songs, but a musical exploration of sensory love: feeling, seeing, smelling, hearing and tasting. With music that provokes and stimulates, the audience is encouraged to reflect, whilst the experiment is not shied away from. This time, the NBC is performing 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 at its heart, the NBC presents programmes that tell a story. The Netherlands Bach Consort – founded in 2021 – consists of eight singers who have made their mark in both solo and small-ensemble singing. The ensemble performs without a conductor, which means the singers must listen very closely to one another during performances. Each project – this time ‘Het Fornuis van Venus’ – requires a different line-up. Instrumentalists and any actors or dancers are also invited on a project-by-project basis. This means that every concert offers a different line-up!