DOCSLIB.ORG

Christmas Oratorio

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Christmas Oratorio Christmas Oratorio Sunday, December 18, 2011 • 3:00 PM First Free Methodist Church Orchestra Seattle Seattle Chamber Singers Hans-Jürgen Schnoor, conductor Maike Albrecht, soprano • Melissa Plagemann, alto Wesley Rogers, tenor • Steven Tachell, bass JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685–1750) Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248 Chorus: Jauchzet, frohlocket! auf, preiset die Tage Alto: Schlafe, mein Liebster, genieße der Ruh Evangelist: Es begab sich aber zu der Zeit Evangelist: Und alsobald war da bei dem Engel Alto: Nun wird mein liebster Bräutigam Angels: Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe Alto: Bereite dich, Zion, mit zärtlichen Trieben Bass: So recht, ihr Engel, jauchzt und singet Chorale: Wie soll ich dich empfangen Chorale: Wir singen dir in deinem Heer Evangelist: Und sie gebar ihren ersten Sohn Chorale: Er ist auf Erden kommen arm Chorus: Herrscher des Himmels, erhöre das Lallen Bass: Wer will die Liebe recht erhöhn Evangelist: Und da die Engel von ihnen gen Himmel fuhren Bass: Großer Herr, o starker König Shepherds: Lasset uns nun gehen gen Bethlehem Chorale: Ach mein herzliebes Jesulein Bass: Er hat sein Volk getröst’ Chorale: Dies hat er alles uns getan Sinfonia Duet: Herr, dein Mitleid, dein Erbarmen Evangelist: Und es waren Hirten in derselben Gegend Evangelist: Und sie kamen eilend Chorale: Brich an, o schönes Morgenlicht Alto: Schließe, mein Herze, dies selige Wunder Evangelist, Angel: Und der Engel sprach zu ihnen Alto: Ja, ja, mein Herz soll es bewahren Bass: Was Gott dem Abraham verheißen Chorale: Ich will dich mit Fleiß bewahren Tenor: Frohe Hirten, eilt, ach eilet Evangelist: Und die Hirten kehrten wieder um Evangelist: Und das habt zum Zeichen Chorale: Seid froh, dieweil Chorale: Schaut hin, dort liegt im finstern Stall Chorus: Herrscher des Himmels, erhöre das Lallen Bass: So geht denn hin —Intermission— Chorus: Fallt mit Danken, fallt mit Loben Alto: Warum wollt ihr erschrecken? Evangelist: Und da acht Tage um waren Evangelist: Und ließ versammeln alle Hohepriester Bass: Immanuel, o süßes Wort Trio: Ach, wenn wird die Zeit erscheinen? Chorale: Jesu, du mein liebstes Leben Alto: Mein Liebster herrschet schon Soprano and “Echo”: Flößt, mein Heiland, flößt dein Namen Chorale: Zwar ist solche Herzensstube Bass: Wohlan, dein Name soll allein Soprano: Jesu, meine Freud und Wonne Chorus: Herr, wenn die stolzen Feinde schnauben Tenor: Ich will nur dir zu Ehren leben Evangelist, Herod: Da berief Herodes die Weisen heimlich Chorale: Jesus richte mein Beginnen Soprano: Du Falscher, suchet nur den Herrn zu fällen Soprano: Nur ein Wink von seinen Händen Chorus: Ehre sei dir, Gott, gesungen Evangelist: Als sie nun den König gehöret hatten Evangelist: Da Jesus geboren war zu Bethlehem Chorale: Ich steh an deiner Krippen hier Wise Men: Wo ist der neugeborne König der Jüden Evangelist: Und Gott befahl ihnen im Traum Alto: Sucht ihn in meiner Brust Tenor: So geht! Genug, mein Schatz geht nicht von hier Chorale: Dein Glanz all Finsternis verzehrt Tenor: Nun mögt ihr stolzen Feinde schrecken Bass: Erleucht auch meine finstre Sinnen Quartet: Was will der Höllen Schrecken nun Evangelist: Da das der König Herodes hörte Chorale: Nun seid ihr wohl gerochen Please disable cell phones and other electronics. The use of cameras and recording devices is not permitted during the performance. Portative organ manufactured by Raphi Giangiulio, Tacoma WA: www.rwgiangiulio.com Orchestra Seattle • Seattle Chamber Singers • George Shangrow, founder PO Box 15825, Seattle WA 98115 • 206-682-5208 • www.osscs.org Guest Artists Ladies’ Musical Club, the Seattle Musical Art Society and the Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society, she holds degrees Guest conductor Hans-Jürgen Schnoor has served as cantor from the University of Victoria and Indiana University. and organist at the St. Jakobi Church in Lübeck, Germany, Tenor Wesley Rogers has been hailed by San Francisco where he is a leading performer of early keyboard music and Classical Voice as possessing the “kind of tenor that pours conductor of period-instrument performances of the works forth powerfully, effortlessly, seemingly for any length of of Bach and other Baroque masters. Currently professor time.” Next June he sings Don Ottavio in a new production for harpsichord, basso continuo, early performance practice of Don Giovanni with the National Theatre Opera Prague and music theory at the Lübeck Conservatory of Music, he and during the 2012–2013 season he will sing Belmonte in directs the Neumünster Bach Choir, Concerto Lübeck and Die entführung aus dem Serail with the Opéra de Liège in Bel- the Hamburg Consort (period instruments) and since 1980 gium. In the spring of 2011, Mr. Rogers made an important has been music director at the Vicelinkirche in Neumünster. debut as Belmonte at the Semperoper Dresden, followed Mr. Schnoor has given numerous performances of all of the by performances of the Berlioz Te Deum at the University great works of Bach, as well as: Handel’s Messiah; Mozart’s of California, Davis’ Mondavi Center, Bach’s St. Matthew Requiem, Mass in C Minor and Idomeneo; Beethoven’s Mass Passion with OSSCS, and a concert appearance as Belmonte in C Major; Brahms’ German Requiem; and the Monteverdi at the Théatre des Champs-Elysées in Paris. Performances 1610 Vespers. He has released many solo recordings, in- on the Seattle Opera mainstage include roles in Billy Budd, cluding music of Weckmann and Bruhns, and much of the La Fanciulla del West, Salome and Daron Hagen’s Amelia. Pre- keyboard repertoire of J.S. Bach. vious concert engagements include Handel’s Messiah and Soprano Maike Albrecht has performed numerous Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with the American Bach Soloists, concerts as a soloist in oratorio and as a member of var- Britten’s War Requiem with OSSCS and Mozart’s Coronation ious ensembles for early music, and sung such opera roles Mass with EOS Orchestra. as Idamante in Mozart’s Idomeneo and Dido in Purcell’s Dido Bass-baritone Steven Tachell studied at the Univer- and Aeneas. She studied piano at the Folkwang Hochschule sity of Washington and at the Vienna Academy of Music in Essen and voice at the Conservatory of Music in Lübeck and Performing Arts. His initial professional experience and in Salzburg, and particularly enjoys singing the lieder included two summers with the Santa Fe Opera in their of Mozart, Schubert, Wolf, Mahler and Schoenberg, among Young Singers Apprentice program, and continued with his others. engagement as resident bass-baritone with the St. Gallen Mezzo-soprano Melissa Plagemann has been praised Opera Theater in Switzerland. He appeared as soloist in by audiences and the press for her “clear, burnished voice” concerts and operas throughout Bavaria and performed fre- (Tacoma News Tribune) and “attractively expressive mezzo” quently with the Munich Savoyards. In the United States, (Crosscut Seattle). She performs frequently with the finest Mr. Tachell has performed with the Opera Orchestra of New musical organizations throughout the Pacific Northwest, York, conducted by Eve Queler, Opera New England, Ari- and is rapidly becoming known for the passion and musical zona Opera, New Jersey Opera and Chattanooga Opera, intelligence she brings to performances on opera and con- among others. He has also performed frequently with Seat- cert stages alike. A first-prize winner in competitions of the tle Opera. Program Notes sus as God’s Anointed One to the Gentiles, personified by the Magi, Persian priests known for their knowledge of as- Johann Sebastian Bach trology and their skills in dream interpretation). Imagine Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248 participating in six celebrations of six different events on six Bach was born in Eisenach, Germany, on March 21, 1685, different days: First, the birth of the Christ Child (December and died in Leipzig on July 28, 1750. He composed his Christ- 25), then the announcement of the birth to the shepherds by mas Oratorio in 1734, drawing upon music previously used in a host of angels (December 26), the adoration of the baby by earlier secular cantatas. The composer led the first performances the shepherds (December 27), the circumcision and naming in Leipzig between December 24, 1734, and January 6, 1735. In of Jesus (New Year’s Day), the coming of the Magi from the addition to vocal soloists and chorus, the six cantatas that com- East to find the child “born King of the Jews” (Matthew 2:2; prise the oratorio call for various combinations of two flutes, two the Sunday after New Year’s Day), and finally the Magi’s oboes (both doubling oboe d’amore), two English horns, bassoon, worship of the Holy Child with their gifts (January 6). On two horns, three trumpets, timpani, strings and continuo. each of these days, you are inspired by a cantata from Jo- For hundreds of years, Western Christianity celebrated hann Sebastian Bach that recounts one of these stories and the birth of Jesus and the events surrounding it not with comments and reflects upon the events and their meanings a single feast day, but with a “season”—a number of spe- for the Christian individual and community. Now contract cial commemorations occurring on various days between these six days and six cantata performances into a single December 25 (Christmas Day) and January 6 (The Feast presentation, on a single afternoon, of the chief events of of the Epiphany, the celebration of the manifestation of Je- the Christmas story and their accompanying interpretative meditations, and you have Bach’s magnificent Christmas Or- remains unknown, but most scholars believe that Christian atorio as you will hear it today. Let it introduce you to, and Friedrich Henrici (who employed the pseudonym Picander), prepare you for, the rapidly approaching season of Christ- a German poet and the librettist for many of Bach’s Leipzig mastide and lead you, as you listen, to ask yourself, “How cantatas, probably assembled and arranged the texts.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Liturgical Drama in Bach's St. Matthew Passion
    Uri Golomb Liturgical drama in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion Bach’s two surviving Passions are often cited as evidence that he was perfectly capable of producing operatic masterpieces, had he chosen to devote his creative powers to this genre. This view clashes with the notion that church music ought to be calm and measured; indeed, Bach’s contract as Cantor of St. Thomas’s School in Leipzig stipulated: In order to preserve the good order in the churches, [he would] so arrange the music that it shall not last too long, and shall be of such nature as not to make an operatic impression, but rather incite the listeners to devotion. (New Bach Reader, p. 105) One could argue, however, that Bach was never entirely faithful to this pledge, and that in the St. Matthew Passion he came close to violating it entirely. This article explores the fusion of the liturgical and the dramatic in the St. Matthew Passion, viewing the work as the combination of two dramas: the story of Christ’s final hours, and the Christian believer’s response to this story. This is not, of course, the only viable approach to this masterpiece. The St. Matthew Passion is a complex, heterogeneous work, rich in musical and expressive detail yet also displaying an impressive unity across its vast dimensions. This article does not pretend to explore all the work’s aspects; it only provides an overview of one of its distinctive features. 1. The St. Matthew Passion and the Passion genre The Passion is a musical setting of the story of Christ’s arrest, trial and crucifixion, intended as an elaboration of the Gospel reading in the Easter liturgy.
    [Show full text]
  • THE BACH EXPERIENCE Performed During the Interdenominational Protestant Worship Service
    MARSH CHAPEL AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY University Interdenominational Protestant Service of Worship Sunday, November 15th, 2015 –11:00 a.m. The Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost The Reverend Doctor Robert Allan Hill, Dean THE BACH EXPERIENCE Performed during the Interdenominational Protestant Worship Service This program is an insert to your worship bulletin. Johann Sebastian BACH Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden, BWV 6 (1685-1750) Kim Leeds, mezzo-soprano Patrick T. Waters, tenor Ryne Cherry, baritone Heidi Braun-Hill, violin Guy Fishman, cello Elizabeth England, English horn MARSH CHAPEL CHOIR AND COLLEGIUM SCOTT ALLEN JARRETT CONDUCTING For more information about Music at Marsh Chapel, visit www.bu.edu/chapel/music. J. S. BACH Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden, BWV 6 (1725) Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach on 21 March 1685 and died in Leipzig on 28 July 1750. He composed hundreds of cantatas for both sacred and secular purposes, over 200 of which survive. This is the twenty-sixth cantata performed by the Marsh Chapel Choir and Collegium as part of The Bach Experience. BWV 6 was composed in Leipzig for Easter Monday and first performend on 2 April 1725. It is scored for two oboes, oboe da caccia (played today on English horn), violincello piccolo (played today on cello), strings, and contiuno. Its duration is approximately 20 minutes. — — — ! The weekend of Easter in 1725 witnessed yet another display of Johann Sebastian Bach’s compositional genius, but in some ways with a less radical bent than the prior year. A toned-down reprisal of the St.
    [Show full text]
  • Magnificat JS Bach
    Whitehall Choir London Baroque Sinfonia Magnificat JS Bach Conductor Paul Spicer SOPRANO Alice Privett MEZZO-SOPRANO Olivia Warburton TENOR Bradley Smith BASS Sam Queen 24 November 2014, 7. 30pm St John’s Smith Square, London SW1P 3HA In accordance with the requirements of Westminster City Council persons shall not be permitted to sit or stand in any gangway. The taking of photographs and use of recording equipment is strictly forbidden without formal consent from St John’s. Smoking is not permitted anywhere in St John’s. Refreshments are permitted only in the restaurant in the Crypt. Please ensure that all digital watch alarms, pagers and mobile phones are switched off. During the interval and after the concert the restaurant is open for licensed refreshments. Box Office Tel: 020 7222 1061 www.sjss.org.uk/ St John’s Smith Square Charitable Trust, registered charity no: 1045390. Registered in England. Company no: 3028678. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Choir is very grateful for the support it continues to receive from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). The Choir would like to thank Philip Pratley, the Concert Manager, and all tonight’s volunteer helpers. We are grateful to Hertfordshire Libraries’ Performing Arts service for the supply of hire music used in this concert. The image on the front of the programme is from a photograph taken by choir member Ruth Eastman of the Madonna fresco in the Papal Palace in Avignon. WHITEHALL CHOIR - FORTHCOMING EVENTS (For further details visit www.whitehallchoir.org.uk.) Tuesday, 16
    [Show full text]
  • J. S. Bach Christmas Oratorio
    J. S. BACH CHRISTMAS ORATORIO Bach Collegium Japan Masaaki Suzuki BACH, Johann Sebastian (1685–1750) Weihnachtsoratorium, BWV 248 142'19 (Christmas Oratorio) Disc 1 Part I: Jauchzet, frohlocket! auf, preiset die Tage 24'57 Christmas Day (25th December 1734) 1 1. Chor. Jauchzet, frohlocket! auf, preiset die Tage … 7'35 2 2. Rezitativ (Tenor [Evangelist]). Es begab sich aber zu der Zeit … 1'14 3 3. Rezitativ (Alt). Nun wird mein liebster Bräutigam … 0'56 4 4. Arie (Alt). Bereite dich, Zion … 5'05 5 5. Choral. Wie soll ich dich empfangen … 1'05 6 6. Rezitativ (Tenor [Evangelist]). Und sie gebar ihren ersten Sohn … 0'24 7 7. Choral und Rezitativ (Sopran, Bass). Er ist auf Erden kommen arm … 2'46 8 8. Arie (Bass). Großer Herr, o starker König … 4'30 9 9. Choral. Ach, mein herzliebes Jesulein … 1'10 Part II: Und es waren Hirten in derselben Gegend 28'31 Second Day of Christmas (26th December 1734) 10 10. Sinfonia 5'42 11 11. Rezitativ (Tenor [Evangelist]). Und es waren Hirten in derselben Gegend … 0'43 12 12. Choral. Brich an, du schönes Morgenlicht … 1'01 13 13. Rezitativ (Tenor, Sopran [Evangelist, Der Engel]). Und der Engel sprach … 0'42 14 14. Rezitativ (Bass). Was Gott dem Abraham verheißen … 0'39 2 15 15. Arie (Tenor). Frohe Hirten, eilt, ach eilet … 3'35 16 16. Rezitativ (Tenor [Evangelist]). Und das habt zum Zeichen … 0'20 17 17. Choral. Schaut hin! dort liegt im finstern Stall … 0'38 18 18. Rezitativ (Bass). So geht denn hin, ihr Hirten, geht … 0'57 19 19.
    [Show full text]
  • Christmas Oratorio
    Conductor’s Notes 1 Conductor’s Notes: Christmas Oratorio © 2010 Ellen Frye Bach’s Christmas Oratorio is a series of six cantatas for the first, second and third days of Christmas, New Year’s Day, Epiphany, and the first Sunday after New Year. The first (and, so far as we know, only) performances of the complete oratorio during Bach’s lifetime were during the 1734–35 Christmas season. The Bach Study Group worked on the Christmas Oratorio from September 2009 through April 2010. The following notes, written for the musicians of that group, focus on the readings I found most interesting. Scripture Bach and his librettist (likely Picander) build the narrative of the Christmas Oratorio around the two gospels—Luke and Matthew— that offer detailed stories of Jesus’ birth. Cantata 1 (Luke 2:1‐7): Joseph and Mary travel to Bethlehem; the child is born in the manger. Cantata 2 (Luke 2:8‐14): The angels announce the birth of Christ to the shepherds. Cantata 3 (Luke 2:15‐20): The shepherds go to Bethlehem and tell what they have witnessed; Mary ponders in her heart. Cantata 4 (Luke 2:21): The child is circumcised and given the name Jesus. Cantata 5 (Matthew 2:1‐6): The Magi ask King Herod for the whereabouts of the new king of the Jews. Cantata 6 (Matthew 2:7–12): The Magi are directed to Bethlehem; they arrive at the manger and then return to their country. Another verse from Luke, the end of the Magnificat (Luke 1:51 “He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts”), runs through the sixth cantata.
    [Show full text]
  • Christmas Oratorio
    WASHINGTON BACH CONSORT Dana Marsh, Artistic Director Christmas Oratorio Weihnachts-Oratorium, BWV 248 Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) Nine virtual programs offer some of the finest works in the cantata and oratorio repertory. You’ll CHRISTMAS ORATORIO enjoy the Washington Bach Consort as you’ve never Weihnachts-Oratorium, BWV 248 heard them before, but you’ll also gain revelations Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) and insights into the music itself coming from our Dana Marsh, Artistic Director two resident Bach scholars, Michael Marissen and Daniel R. Melamed. Supported in part by grants Part I: The First Day of Christmas from the National Endowment for the Humanities Jauchzet, frohlocket, auf, preiset die Tage, BWV 248I and the J. Reilly Lewis Legacy Fund, Bach Friday, 12.25.20 at 8 p.m. YouTube & Facebook Interactions is a new digital concert experience offering the expressive heights of Bach’s musical Part II: The Second Day of Christmas language as well as the story behind its creation. Und es waren Hirten in derselben Gegend, BWV 248II The series features three renowned cantatas, Thursday, 1.7.21 at 8 p.m. on YouTube & Facebook Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140, Aus der Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir, BWV 131, and Nun komm, Part III: The Third Day of Christmas der Heiden Heiland, BWV 61, followed by all six parts Herrscher des Himmels, erhöre das Lallen, BWV 248III of Bach’s beloved Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248. Thursday, 1.14.21 at 8 p.m. on YouTube & Facebook Each part will be presented on its intended day of liturgical observance, over the twelve days of Part IV: New Year’s Day Christmas to the Feast of the Epiphany (January 6).
    [Show full text]
  • Christmas Oratorio
    Reflections on Bach’s “Christmas Oratorio” by John Harbison Composer John Harbison, whose ties to Boston’s cultural and educational communities are longstanding, celebrates his 80th birthday on December 20, 2018. To mark this birthday, the BSO will perform his Symphony No. 2 on January 10, 11, and 12 at Symphony Hall, and the Boston Symphony Chamber Players perform music of Harbison and J.S. Bach on Sunday afternoon, January 13, at Jordan Hall. The author of a new book entitled “What Do We Make of Bach?–Portraits, Essays, Notes,” Mr. Harbison here offers thoughts on Bach’s “Christmas Oratorio.” Andris Nelsons’ 2018 performances of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio are the Boston Symphony’s first since 1950, when Charles Munch was the orchestra’s music director. Munch may have been the last BSO conductor for whom Bach’s music remained a natural and substantial part of any season. In the 1950s the influence of Historically Informed Practice (HIP) was beginning to be felt. Large orchestras and their conductors began to draw away from 18th-century repertoire, feeling themselves too large, too unschooled in stylistic issues. For Charles Munch, Bach was life-blood. I remember hearing his generous, spacious performance of Cantata 4, his monumental reading of the double-chorus, single-movement Cantata 50. Arriving at Tanglewood as a Fellow in 1958, opening night in the Theatre-Concert Hall, there was Munch’s own transcription for string orchestra of Bach’s complete Art of Fugue! This was a weird and glorious experience, a two-hour journey through Bach’s fugue cycle that seemed a stream of sublime, often very unusual harmony, seldom articulated as to line or sectional contrast.
    [Show full text]
  • Bach's Christmas Oratorio
    Bach’s Christmas Oratorio Bach Collegium Japan Masaaki Suzuki Director Sherezade Panthaki / Soprano Jay Carter / Countertenor Zachary Wilder / Tenor Dominik Wörner / Bass Friday Evening, December 8, 2017 at 8:00 Hill Auditorium Ann Arbor 27th Performance of the 139th Annual Season 139th Annual Choral Union Series Choral Music Series Media partnership provided by WGTE 91.3 FM. Bach Collegium Japan records for BIS. Bach Collegium Japan appears by arrangement with International Arts Foundation, Inc. In consideration of the artists and the audience, please refrain from the use of electronic devices during the performance. The photography, sound recording, or videotaping of this performance is prohibited. PROGRAM Johann Sebastian Bach Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248 (excerpts) Part I Jauchzet, frohlocket, auf, preiset die Tage Part II Und es waren Hirten in derselben Gegend Intermission Part III Herrscher des Himmels, erhöre das Lallen Part VI Herr, wenn die stolzen Feinde schnauben 3 CHRISTMAS ORATORIO, BWV 248 (EXCERPTS) (1734) Johann Sebastian Bach Born March 31, 1685 in Eisenach, Germany Died July 28, 1750 in Leipzig UMS premiere: J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, nor any of the cantatas which make up the work, has ever been performed as part of a full concert program at UMS. However, arias from the oratorio have shown up on various recital programs over the past century: “Bereite dich, Zion” (Prepare thyself, Zion) on a Marian Anderson recital in Hill Auditorium (1954); “Was will der Hölle Schreken nun” (What will the terrors of Hell now) with the Bach Aria Group featuring soprano Eileen Farrell, tenor Jan Peerce, and cellist Bernard Greenhouse in Hill Auditorium (1960); and “Nur ein Wink von seinen Händen” (Only a wave of His hands) on an Anne Sofie von Otter recital in the Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre (2004).
    [Show full text]
  • DUNEDIN CONSORT JOHN BUTT Dunedin Consort John Butt
    DUNEDIN CONSORT JOHN BUTT Dunedin Consort John Butt Cantatas 1, 3 and 6 Cantatas 2, 4 and 5 Mary Bevan soprano Joanne Lunn soprano Clare Wilkinson mezzo-soprano Ciara Hendrick mezzo-soprano Nicholas Mulroy tenor Thomas Hobbs tenor Matthew Brook bass-baritone Konstantin Wolff bass-baritone 1 Disc 1 First Festival Day in Christmas Cantata 1 q Chorus: Jauchzet, frohlocket, auf, preiset die Tage ....................................................................7:51 w Evangelist: Es begab sich aber zu der Zeit ....................................................................................1:25 e Recit: Nun wird mein liebster Bräutigam ........................................................................................0:59 r Aria: Bereite dich, Zion, mit zärtlichen Trieben ............................................................................5:05 t Chorale: Wie soll ich dich empfangen .............................................................................................1:10 y Evangelist: Und sie gebar ihren ersten Sohn ................................................................................0:27 u Chorale and Recit: Er ist auf Erden kommen arm – Wer will die Liebe recht erhöhn ......2:48 i Aria: Großer Herr, o starker König ....................................................................................................4:24 o Chorale: Ach mein herzliebes Jesulein ...........................................................................................1:11 Second Festival Day in Christmas Cantata 2 a Sinfonia
    [Show full text]
  • Matthew Passion
    BACH Matthew Passion Alice Evans (Violin) Alice Evans Director Kristian Bezuidenhout Wed 12.4.17 - New Auditorium, Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow Thurs 13.4.17 - Perth Concert Hall, Perth Fri 14.4.2017 - The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh 2 MATTHEW PASSION BWV 244 MATTHÄUS-PASSION J.S. BACH (1685-1750) PASSIO DOMINI NOSTRI J. C. SECUNDUM EVANGELISTAM MATTHAEUM Dunedin Consort acknowledges with grateful thanks the generous support of the Dunard Fund whose financial assistance has enabled us to present this timeless masterpiece in Edinburgh for many years. MATTHEW PASSION 3 KRISTIAN BEZUIDENHOUT DIRECTOR, ORGAN & HARPSICHORD CHORUS 1 Rachel Redmond — Soprano & Maid Emilie Renard — Alto Daniel Norman — Tenor & Evangelist Robert Davies — Bass & Jesus Christ CHORUS 2 Miriam Allan — Soprano, Maid & Pilate’s Wife Rory McCleery — Alto & Witness David Lee — Tenor & Witness Jimmy Holliday — Bass, Pilate, Priests, Peter & Judas ORCHESTRA 1 ORCHESTRA 2 Violins Sophie Gent (Leader) Violins Matthew Truscott Sarah Bevan Baker Hilary Michael Alice Evans Rebecca Livermore Sijie Chen Kristin Deeken Viola Alfonso Leal del Ojo Viola Oliver Wilson Cello/Gamba Jonathan Manson Cello Andrew Skidmore Violone William Hunt Violone Christine Sticher Oboes Alexandra Bellamy Oboes Joel Raymond Frances Norbury Tatjana Zimre Flutes Katy Bircher Flutes Amelia Shakespeare Graham O’Sullivan Fiona Ferguson Organ David Gerrard 4 MATTHEW PASSION PROGRAMME NOTE The tradition of singing one of the four Gospel greatest ironies about Bach’s Passions is that their Passion narratives on Good Friday and Palm original audiences were far less familiar with the Sunday stretches back to the beginnings of the genre than we are; moreover - as is the case with formalized Christian liturgy.
    [Show full text]
  • Johann Sebastian Bach's Easter Oratorio BWV
    1 Introduction The fact that Bach’s Easter Oratorio BWV 249 has not found the same high level of acceptance and appreciation that his other major vocal works have, works like the B-minor Mass, his St. Matthew and St. John Passions and the Christmas Oratorio, may be due to a number of reasons which will be investigated through the presentation and interpretation of all the critical sources beginning with Bach’s performance materials, including 19th and 20th century commentaries and concluding with some recent analyses by Bach experts. By examining the chronological development of the musical materials, most of which (excepting the recitatives) were composed at earlier times for quite different circumstances and not specifically for performances on Easter Sunday, it will be possible to begin to understand why Bach’s Easter Oratorio has failed to live up to the high standards that audiences have come to expect from a Bach vocal-instrumental composition celebrating one of the major feast days in the liturgical year. The Libretto for the Easter Oratorio The librettist for the Easter Oratorio remains unknown since no printed version of the text has survived. Nevertheless circumstantial evidence seems to point strongly toward the local poet, Christian Friedrich Henrici [his pen-name was Picander] (1700-1764) who had just begun his collaboration with Bach in February, 1725.2 For that secular event on February 23, Picander supplied the text for the Pastoral Cantata “Entfliehet, verschwindet, entweichet, ihr Sorgen” BWV 249a [see below for further details]. About five weeks later, Bach ‘recycled’ most of the music [not the recitatives which had to be newly composed] from that cantata for use during the Easter Sunday services in Leipzig on April 1, 1725.
    [Show full text]
  • Christmas Oratorio J.S
    DUNEDIN CONSORT JOHN BUTT Dunedin Consort John Butt Cantatas 1, 3 and 6 Cantatas 2, 4 and 5 Mary Bevan soprano Joanne Lunn soprano Clare Wilkinson mezzo-soprano Ciara Hendrick mezzo-soprano Nicholas Mulroy tenor Thomas Hobbs tenor Matthew Brook bass-baritone Konstantin Wolff bass-baritone 1 Disc 1 First Festival Day in Christmas Cantata 1 q Chorus: Jauchzet, frohlocket, auf, preiset die Tage ....................................................................7:51 w Evangelist: Es begab sich aber zu der Zeit ....................................................................................1:25 e Recit: Nun wird mein liebster Bräutigam ........................................................................................0:59 r Aria: Bereite dich, Zion, mit zärtlichen Trieben ............................................................................5:05 t Chorale: Wie soll ich dich empfangen .............................................................................................1:10 y Evangelist: Und sie gebar ihren ersten Sohn ................................................................................0:27 u Chorale and Recit: Er ist auf Erden kommen arm – Wer will die Liebe recht erhöhn ......2:48 i Aria: Großer Herr, o starker König ....................................................................................................4:24 o Chorale: Ach mein herzliebes Jesulein ...........................................................................................1:11 Second Festival Day in Christmas Cantata 2 a Sinfonia
    [Show full text]