A duo of acclaimed soloists and two small ensembles perform virtuosic vocal and instrumental music from early seventeenth century northern Italy, including selections from Giovanni Paolo Cima's Concerti Ecclesiastici, Monteverdi's Selva Morale and Madrigali Guerrieri ed Amorosi, and stunning instrumental works by Tarquinio Merula and Salamone Rossi.
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
The Gathering of the Manna (1742)
Mozart Requiem: The Story of a Masterwork Friday, November 20 at 8PM, St Andrew Presbyterian Church, Sonoma Sunday, November 22 at 7PM, St Vincent de Paul Church, Petaluma
When Mozart died at the age 35, he left his Requiem Mass very much unfinished. The story of how the 'torso" of this work became one of the most beloved classical masterpieces is one of the great tales of music history. Our Bachgrounder will explore the compositional history of the Requiem; the concert will present, first, the work exactly as Mozart Left it, and then as it is known to the world, as completed by Mozart's student Franz Xavier Süssmayr.
Gentile da Fabriano
Adonizione dei Magi (1423)
Early Music Christmas: In Sweetest Joy Friday, December 11, 2015 at 8PM, Schroeder Hall, Green Music Center Saturday, December 12, 2015 at 8PM, Schroeder Hall, Green Music Center
Our fifth annual Early Music Christmas is built around the classic hymn of joy, In dulci jubilo. This hymn illuminates the themes of the season, around which we have gathered an array of pieces by Italian, German, and English composers -- Gabrieli, Schütz, Praetorius, Byrd, and Bach -- paired with solo works on Schroeder Hall's magnificent Brombaugh organ for this festive concert tradition!
Live Oak Baroque Orchestra completes its four-year Vivaldi project with the Autumn concerto from Four Seasons. Also featured is Elizabeth Blumenstock as the soloist in her reconstruction of a lost Bach violin concerto, which survives in Bach's hand only as an arrangement for harpsichord
Rousing Baroque Fold and Dance Music from Scotland, Ireland, and England: Musica Pacifica's arrangements of traditional Irish and Scottish folk tunes, dance suites from the English theater, Jacobean masque music, trio sonatas by Scots Oswald and McGibbon, as wells as works with a Scottish flavor by Matteis and Veracini, and Purcell's famous Three Parts Upon a Ground.
Jan van Eyck
Ghent Altarpiece detail (1432)
Sacred Realms: Song of Songs Saturday, April 16, 2016 at 8PM, St Seraphim of Sarov, Santa Rosa Sunday, April 17, 2016 at 3PM, St Seraphim of Sarov, Santa Rosa
Following last season's smash Angels Everywhere, our one-on-a-part Sonoma Bach Consort will once again join forces with the Green Mountain Singers, singing exquisite late Medieval, Renaissance, and early Baroque settings from the Song of Songs. This pair of concerts will take place in the visually and acoustically stunning church of St Seraphim, with readings from Ariel and Chana Bloch's strikingly beautiful translation of the song.
Ernst Haeckel
Kunstformen der Natur, Hummingbirds (1904)
Early Music Uncorked: On the Wing Saturday, May 7, 2016 at 8PM, Penngrove Clubhouse, Penngrove Sunday, May 8, 2016 at 3PM, Saturday Afternoon Club, Santa Rosa
Join us for a fun program exploring a fascinating range of poetry and music depicting birds, angels, and other flying objects. To “break the surly bonds of earth” has always been a human obsession, and early-music composers loved to set flight to music. Featuring secular and sacred works by Marenzio, Monteverdi, Gibbons, Byrd, and many others.
Emile Claus
Zonnegloed (1905)
Voices and Pipes: Hearts Aflame Friday, May 20, 2016 at 8PM, Schroeder Hall, Green Music Center Sunday, May 22, 2016 at 7PM, Schroeder Hall, Green Music Center
For our final concert of the season, we present music inspired by Martin Luther’s great Pentecost hymn Komm heiliger Geist. From the earliest version published in 1524, to pieces by JS Bach, hymn settings are interspersed with cantatas, motets, and organ works on the power of Spirit to ignite us to word and deed.
