George Frideric Handel: Messiah December 14 at 3PM & December 15 at 3PM bachgrounder lecture 35 minutes before each concert Sonoma Bach Choir · Live Oak Baroque Orchestra Schroeder Hall, Green Music Center
Sonoma Bach doing Messiah? Of course, the piece is well-known to all of us; our Bach Choir has performed it on several occasions, extending back into the last millennium. But for the past 15 years or so, with guest ensembles performing the work here in December, we have developed a broad array of alternatives for our Early Music Christmas. Now we find the field is clear this coming Christmas, and we are delighted to step into the breach! Handel’s most famous composition is a deep dive on its own, a magnificent telling of the Christmas and Easter tales and beyond – largely through Old-Testament texts – which will be rocking Schroeder Hall this coming December. Note: We will perform a judiciously abridged version of Messiah
The Sonoma Bach Choir is a group of about 50 gifted singers drawn from throughout Sonoma County. The Sonoma Bach Choir specializes in the music of the Baroque period, with special emphasis on Johann Sebastian Bach; members and audiences alike thrill to the constant inventiveness and incredible degree of feeling in Bach's music.
Live Oak Baroque Orchestra is Sonoma Bach’s resident instrumental ensemble. Led by Baroque violin sensations Elizabeth Blumenstock and Aaron Westman, LOBO brings sumptuous tone and breathtaking flair to the one-on-a-part string-band repertoire of the 17th Century. Experience Baroque music at its finest—passionately performed by some of the country’s finest and most charismatic period instrumentalists, right here in Sonoma County.
