According to the Big Choral Census published by charity Voices Now last summer, there are more than 40,000 choirs in the UK, equating to over 2.14 million people singing in them. It's around the same number of people in the UK who swim each week and 300,000 more than those playing amateur football on a regular basis. That's a lot of singers. For those who are keen to join the big singing party, Edinburgh based Ludus Baroque has recently launched a new project, taking four of Bach's gloriously vibrant cantatas as its starting point. Specialist period instrumentalists and a top notch quartet of soloists will lead the way, but the joy of singing Bach chorales will be opened up to those who simply want to take part and sing.

'Each of the four cantatas will be performed on the specific day Bach composed it for,' says artistic director Richard Neville-Towle, 'and we are inviting you, the choral singers and enthusiasts of Edinburgh and further afield to take part in this project.' Organised so that each cantata is rehearsed and performed informally across the course of a Sunday afternoon and early evening – one a month over January, February, March, April – there are different levels of participation. For those who would like to be part of the action but might not quite have the confidence to hold a vocal line, there is the option of singing only in the final chorale.

Why do so many people sing? According to Voices Now, and a whole range of other growing evidence, singing in choirs is hugely beneficial in terms of physical and mental health and bringing together communities. For Ludus Baroque's project there is all that plus a rare opportunity to get under the skin of this most magical music. To take part or for more information, contact [email protected]

Bach Cantata Project, St Andrew's and St George's West Church, Edinburgh , Sun 18 Feb, Sun 18 Mar & Sun 15 April.