It was 1932 and the Great Depression was in full swing when a group of University of Minnesota musicians decided to practice and perform the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.

With the help of a professor, Donald Ferguson, they founded the Bach Society of Minnesota. Eight years later, they launched their first Minnesota Bach Festival.

Flash forward to 2022 and the Bach Society is preparing to celebrate its 90th anniversary by reviving the Minnesota Bach Festival. Opening Friday, it will feature 15 concerts with a variety of fascinating collaborators before it concludes May 28. Here are some of the most promising concerts to catch:

Legends and Lies: The festival opener actually doesn't include music of J.S. Bach, instead traveling even further in the way-back machine. If you've only heard of the medieval-era trickster Till Eulenspiegel from Richard Strauss' tone poem, you should check out this collaboration between male vocal octet Cantus and musicians of the Bach Society, led by its artistic director, Matthias Maute. Full of music from the Renaissance and early baroque periods, it's interspersed with stories of old Till's exploits. (April 29-May 3 at five venues)

Bach's B-Minor Mass: What was Bach's consummate masterpiece? The consensus choice is this magnum opus bursting with awe-inspiring music for vocal soloists, choir and orchestra. Maute conducts. (7:30 p.m. May 14, Ordway Concert Hall, 345 Washington St., St. Paul)

Mobile Mini-concerts: Parks, porches, playgrounds … Bach's music will be popping up all over the Twin Cities May 18-22. Find out where at bachsocietymn.org.

The Baroque and the Spiritual: Baritone Angel Refuse will present a recital that explores common ground between the music of Bach and George Frideric Handel, early African-American spirituals and 20th-century Black composers. (7:30 p.m. May 28, Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, 285 N. Dale St., St. Paul)

Not feeling up for in-person concerts? That's understandable, what with a new COVID variant's recent surge. So attend some online instead. The "Legends and Lies" program with Cantus will be available from April 29 to May 8. Baroque trio Flying Forms will livestream a concert with violinist Kangwon Kim on May 13. And, after playing Bach and premiering a new Bach-inspired cantata by Paul Jacobson in Rochester on May 19, Lyra Baroque will livestream the program on May 20.

Minnesota Bach Festival
When: April 29-May 28.
Where: Various venues in the Twin Cities and Rochester and online.
Tickets: Free-$45, bachsocietymn.org.

Rob Hubbard is a Twin Cities classical music writer. wordhub@yahoo.com