The Calgary Bach Choir's "Bach and the Italian Style" is an entertaining and inspiring musical journey featuring works by composers who either directly or indirectly influenced the compositions of Johann Sebastian Bach.
The concert opens with a double choir/double orchestra Kyrie by Venetian composer Antonio Vivaldi, the style of which hearkens back to the early Baroque music composed for St. Mark's Basilica in Venice by Giovanni Gabrieli. Bach was inspired by Vivaldi's balance of serious musical forms, such as fugues and canons, entwined with his graceful turns of phrase. The Kyrie is followed by an Italian-influenced Kyrie-Gloria "missa brevis" (short mass) by Johann Pez--a German composer who spent his formative years in Italy. This fascinating little work caught J.S. Bach's attention, and he edited the work and later performed it for worship in Leipzig.
Closing the first half of the program is oboist David Sussman, who is the featured soloist in Alessandro Marcello's magnificent Oboe Concerto - a work that was beloved of Bach - so much so that he transcribed the piece for solo harpsichord. This solo keyboard version has become much loved by harpsichordists and pianists, particularly for its haunting and soulful middle movement. This piece may very well have been the inspiration for Bach's own famous "Concerto in the Italian Style" for solo keyboard.
After the intermission, Vivaldi's gripping "Credo" takes centre stage, with its brisk tempi and incisive upper strings that are reminiscent of his "Four Seasons". The orchestra follows with a dramatic yet eloquent sinfonia by Bach's son Johann Christoph Friedrich. J.C.F. Bach's music shows a mix of Germanic seriousness with Italian playfulness.
J.S. Bach as a master transcriber and editor can be heard in the D minor Sanctus, which began its life as the Gloria movement from Antonio Caldara's "Missa Providentiae". Bach loved the work so much that he reworked the orchestral accompaniment and rewrote the music to match the text of the Sanctus, all the while keeping it true to its original character and drama. It is believed that Bach used this Sanctus on several occasions at the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig.
The final works on the program are the Osanna, Benedictus and Agnus Dei from Antonio Lotti's "Missa Sancti Christophori". Bach greatly admired Lotti, found inspiration in his music, and several of Lotti's scores were to be found in Bach's library. The themes for the Osanna, Benedictus and Agnus Dei were conceived by Lotti, but they were completed by his pupil, Czech composer Jan Dismas Zelenka, specifically for performance at worship in Dresden at the royal court. Indeed, as we can witness in this concert, Baroque music in Central Europe was greatly influenced by Italian composers, and Bach himself played an integral role in this international synthesis of styles.
Written by Terry Edwards
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The concert takes place 3 p.m. on Sunday, June 11, 2023 at Knox United Church in downtown Calgary. Tickets are $25 (adults) and $20 (seniors). Free admission for children and students with valid student ID.
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