J.S. Bach: Bach Around Thirty May 31 at 3PM & June 1 at 3PM bachgrounder lecture 35 minutes before each concert Sonoma Bach Choir · Live Oak Baroque Orchestra Schroeder Hall, Green Music Center
In 1714, when Bach was working for the court at the city of Weimar, the young composer was given the opportunity to compose, rehearse and perform a cantata each month for the princely chapel, the Himmelsburg. Over the next several years, he created an amazing collection of these choral-orchestral works for various occasions. The moods of the pieces vary from soul-searching penitence to exuberant celebration, complemented by varying instrumentation and a dizzying succession of highly expressive musical ideas. We will perform a tour of three years of Bach’s musical life at the age of around thirty, including excerpts from Cantata 21: Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis; Cantata 147: Herz und Mut und Tat und Leben; and Cantata 80: Ein Feste Burg.
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.
