v; lJ:) ~ ~ ~ :::: en ....~ Co! 1:: - rl i4 .... Co! Q ~ tl)" ..1::< Q Q ~ a ,E ~ ~ N ..... Q tl\ Q a ~ t-...." ~ Ill - 1:: IJ:) ~ ~ ~ ~ - Co! ,.p 1:: :+.. ~ ~ ':!' ~ e ~ 1:: ~ tn ;:; tn :.... lJ:)" -;:; a a Q .s ...... @ ...e. 1:: i4 ....e" ~ (>! .... 1:: Q • (>! ......... ..... i4 ..... 1:: Ill ~ ...e. ~ ~ :::: $::; tl\ ~ .... (>! ~ :.... M " - (>! 1:: ~ (>! ..1::< ...e. ...e. $::; ~ ~ ...!:! tl\ ~~ E (>! $::; (>! O,f (>! ..... 1:: - ....e" .... tl\ ~ - ~ ] ~ :+.. ..1::< Q $::; 1:: tl\ 2rv ~ :.... i4 Q - ~ ..a 1:: ~ ~ ~ ~ at ~ THE BACH FESTIVAL COUNCIL PROGRAM NOTES Dr. Russell Hammar, Director Dr. \Veimer K. Hicks, Honorary Chairman Miss Barbara \Veller, Administrative Secretary by Lawrence R. Smith Dr. James Miller, Honorary Member Dr. Henry Overley, Director Emeritus First Concert Dr. Harold Harris, Executive Co-Chairman ( 1962-65) Mrs. R. Bowen Howard, Executive Co-Chairman ( 1963-66) The fifth of Bach's six Brandenburg Concertos displays as dramatically as any other work his intense mastery in fusing the traditions of the past, which he derived from the works of the ARTISTS COMMITTEE PATRON-SPONSOR COMMITTEE Venetian masters; the currents of his own time, in which his greatest single inRuence was from Mr. E. Lawrence Barr 1962-65 Mrs. Lester Start, Chairman Vivaldi; and his own forward-looking inventiveness. The colorful instrumentation of the work, Dr. J. M. Calloway Mrs. Russell Carlton 1963-66 using a string instrument, the violin; a woodwind, the flute; and a keyboard instrument, the Mrs. Maynard Conrad 1964-67 Mr. Neill Currie 1964-67 harpsichord, as the concertina group against the mass of the string ripieno, reflects the polychoral Mrs. Marion Dunsmore 1964-67 Mrs. John Correll 1964-67 productions of Gabrieli and his followers at Venice at the juncture of the Renaissance and Mrs. H. F. Mehaffie 1963-66 Mrs. Cameron Davis 1963-66 Baroque periods. The structure and texture, characterized by the interaction of the continuo, Mr. Richard Niessink 1962-65 Mrs. Lincoln Dupon 1964-67 with its implicit chordal concept, and the contrapuntal flow of independent imitative lines, bear Mrs. John Fetzer 1963-66 witness to the influence of Vivaldi. The virtuoso part for the keyboard performer, presaging DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE Mrs. Robert Friedmann 1964-67 the classical solo concerto, is purely Bach's invention. The six concertos were published in 1721, Dr. Lloyd Averill, Chairman 1962-65 Mr. Ben Morris, Jr. 1963-66 while Bach was capellmeister and director of chamber music to the court at Coethen. Mr. Irving Gilmore 1965-66 Mr. James B. Shumaker 1963-65 The cantata for Quinquagesima Sunday, "Du wahrer Gott," was also written while Bach Rev. Louis Grotl1er 1963-66 Mrs. George Slomp 1963-66 Mr. R. K. Jones 1964-67 was stationed at Coethen. But since the court at Coethen belonged to the austere Reformed Mrs. Harry Snow 1964-67 Church, which did not permit the use of music in the service, tl1e cantata remained unperformed Miss Sylvia Muehling 1964-67 Mr. Roger Longrie, Chorus President Dr. Harrison Nelson 1964-67 until 1724, after Bach had moved to Leipzig. The chorale tune found in the last movement of Mrs. Harold Petering 1962-65 PUBLICITY COMMITTEE the cantata, "Christe, du Lamm Gottes," was a favorite of Bach. This last movement, in fact, Dr. Louis Rowland 1964-67 Dr. David Collins, Chairman 1964-67 was originally written to serve as the final movement of the "Passion According to St. John." Mrs. Fred Stanley 1962-65 Dr. Elwyn Carter 1962-65 The chorale prelude on this tune will be heard in the fourth concert. Mr. John Coats, Chorus Vice President Karl Heinrich Craun (1701-1759) and Johann Friedrich Fasch (1688-1758), the two FINANCE COMMITTEE Mrs. Lawrence Field 1963-66 contemporaries of Bach represented on this program, stand in a relationship to each other similar Mr. Troy Carpenter, Chairman 1964-67 Dr. \iVilliam Emblom to the relationship of Bach to Handel. Their musical interests moved in generally different Mr. Harold Davidson 1962-65 Mr. Martin Flavin 1963-66 directions. Fasch's interest, like Bach's, moved in the direction of church music and music Dr. John Evans 1963-66 Mr. Ralph Patton 1962-65 for chamber groups. Craun, like Handel, while he wrote concertos and a variety of other Mr. Stuart Simpson, Treasurer 1963-66 Mr. David Squires 1964-67 types of music, produced mostly operas in the Italian style. The Craun motet, "Lift Up Your Mrs. Edwin Steen 1962-65 TICKET Cm1MITTEE Heads," shows a strong Handelian cast. Bach is known to have studied some works of F'asch. Dr. Ralph Deal, Chairman Manuscripts of a set of orchestral suites of Fasch in Bach's handwriting were found in the HISTORY and RESEARCH COMMITTEE Mrs. Eric Brown 1962-65 archives of the Thomasschule at Leipzig after Bach's death. Dr. Louis Rowland, Chairman 1964-67 Dr. George McMorrow 1963-66 The motet, "Fuerchte dich nicht," dates from 1726, and was probably written soon after Mrs. Robert Angerman 1964-67 Mrs. Henry \Veenink 1964-67 Bach moved from Coethen to Leipzig. Mrs. Herbert Butler 1964-67 Mr. George Tucker 1963-66 USHER COMMITTEE Dr. Richard Stavig, Chairman 1963-66 HOSPITALITY COMMITTEE Dr. Harry Ray 1963-66 Second Concert Miss Mildred Prestrud, Chairman 1962-65 TRUSTEES The cantata, "Also Hat Gott die Welt Geliebt," was written for Whit Monday in 1735, in Mrs. Bernard Bennink 1963-66 Mr. Wm. Burke Leipzig. As he often did, Bach used material from earlier works in composing this cantata. Mrs. Henry Ford 1963-66 Mr. Cameron Davis The soprano and bass arias have been traced to a cantata that Bach wrote for a hunting festival Mrs. Weimer Hicks 1961-64 Miss Sylvia Muehling in 1716, at Weimar. Mrs. Harold Petering 1962-65 Dr. T. T. Wylie Third Conce 1·t BACH FESTIVAL COUNCIL welcomes you to this, the Nineteenth Bach Festival. In Northern Gennany, Christmas is celebrated from December 25 through January 6. We hope you will find Bach's music as pleasurable to listen to as it is for the many people Bach's Christmas Oratorio, performed now as an extended concert work, was originally written involved in these concerts to perform. as six separate cantatas for use in services on six different days during this period. It is unlikely The Council also wishes to express its appreciation to all those people who, in a great that the six were ever performed on one day during Bach's lifetime. It is ,a little surprising to number of ways, have made this Festival possible. find, then, that this collection of cantatas does, indeed, hold together as a musical whole. In -DR. HAROLD J. HARRIS; MRs. R. BowEN HowARD, Co-Chairmen fact, as a musical and dramatic work, the Christmas Oratorio is at least as effective as many of the hundreds of real oratorios written by other composers during the same era. I should like to express appreciation to the persons who have been instrumental in carrying The text of the Christmas Oratorio, since it was intended for cantatas, and not for ilie quasi­ out the responsibilities of presenting this annual series of concerts. TI1e Bach Chorus, the operatic situation of the real oratorio, calls for fewer recitatives than it would oilierwise, and members of the Council and their chairmen, have functioned admirably during the past several there is little of the dramatic interplay of characters that the operatic form demands. Bach months to produce this great experience for both listeners and perfom1ers. seems to have felt that this lack of conversation in recitative presented a musical problem, which - RussELL A. HAMMAR, Director he solved by passing the responsibility of narration around among the soloists instead of reserv­ ing it solely for the tenor. [ 2] [ 3] It Bach wrote the Christmas Oratorio in 1734, his eleventh year at Leipzig. was neces­ SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8:30 P.M. sarily a common practice with him to borrow from previous works in writing his cantatas, FIRST CONCERT 28, because he had to produce a cantata for every Sunday and feast day of the liturgical year. STETSON CHAPEL For the material of the Christmas Oratorio, he relied most heavily on the many secular cantatas he had composed for birthdays, weddings, and similar occasions. One can well imagine a dis­ tinguished visitor to the court of Coethen being formally greeted with the outburst of trumpets I. BRANDENBURG CONCERTO NO. 5 BWV 1050 J. S. Bach and drums with which the oratorio opens. Bach, in his music, made no distinction between THE BACH FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA AND SOLOISTS "sacred" and "secular," so it cannot be considered inappropriate for him to have lifted a birthday Lynette Blanchard, flute; Voldemars Rushevics, violin; Sylvia Muehling, piano !cemb1lol; aria written for the celebration of some sponsor cr relative, and changed the words to fit a Muriel Matthews, continuo liturgical occasion. II. CANTATA "Thou Very God" (Du wahrer Gott) BWV 23 J. S. Bach Fourth Concert THE BACH CANTATA CHOIR AND SOLOISTS While Bach lived and worked at Weimar, his greatest energy went into playing and writing Edna Farthing, soprano; Joyce Thompson, contralto; William Struck, tenor for the organ. He had a magnificent instrument to work with here, and he was court organist DUET: Adagio Molto- Thou Very God, and David's Son in a vital and dynamic musical community. The Duke, Bach's employer, had a nephew, Prince RECITATIVE a tempo: Ah, pass Thou not now by me Johann Ernst, who was a talented young composer. Bach was attracted to three of the young CHORUS: Andante- All eyes are waiting, Lord, on Thee Prince's violin pieces, and transcribed them as concertos for organ and orchestra, just as he had CHORALE: Adagio, Andante - Lamb of God, Lord Jesus, transcribed some violin concertos of Vivaldi and others.