2011-02-25 Now Does the Glorious Day Appear

JEFFREY THOMAS music director

Now Does the Glorious Day Appear

Mary II of England

Caroline of Ansbach Anne of Great Britain

Music for the Royal Women of Britannia

by Henry Purcell and George Frideric Handel

1

BOYER & COBERT FINANCIAL GROUP Helping our clients achieve their financial goals Retirement Planning Wealth Management Charitable Planning Strategies 1100 Larkspur Landing Circle, Suite 250, Larkspur, CA 94939 Tel: 415-461-4143 • Fax: 415-461-5402 richard.boyer@axa-advisors.com PPG 44875 (11/08) AXA Advisors, LLC member FINRA,SIPC. Boyer & Cobert Financial Group is not owned or operated by AXA Advisors,LLC. Boyer & Cobert Financial Group and AXA Advisors, LLC do not provide tax or legal advice.

TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR FINANCIAL FUTURE Understanding your unique vision is our top priority; making it a reality is our commitment to you. Let us help you realize your vision.

• Tax Planning • Financing Strategies • Cash Flow, Budgeting and Forecasting • CFO Services • Profitability Review • Business Development • Strategic Planning

www.ghirardocpa.com 7200 Redwood Blvd., Ste. 403, Novato, CA 94945 415-897-5678 2

655 Redwood Highway Suite 140 Mill Valley, CA 94941 415.381.1950

Welcome from the General Manager

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the American Bach Soloists performances of Now Does the Glorious Day Appear.

For the past four years, I served as General Director of the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, and now, having just arrived in San Francisco to become General Manager of American Bach Soloists, I am excited to join you and the artists of ABS in sharing the rich legacy and impeccable reputation of an exemplary organization in its third decade of promoting the highest standards of performance, recordings, and educational programs. I am committed to securing a strong future through careful and prudent fiscal management and to uphold the fine artistic values that are synonymous with American Bach Soloists. And I am equally excited to be joining my wonderful colleagues on the staff of ABS, including James Stahlman whom we welcome as our new Marketing and Public Relations Manager.

It’s not too early to purchase your tickets for our remaining two programs for 2011. Our season continues with April Follies, April 1-4, a program that includes Bach’s beloved Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 and the US premiere of Telemann’s Concerto in G Minor for Recorder, along with three secular cantatas featuring ABS Competition prize winners Yulia Van Doren, Joshua Copeland, and Johanna Novom. The season concludes with Bach & Lotti, May 6-9: Bach’s monumental Magnificat in D Major will be paired with the west coast premiere of Antonio Lotti’s recently discovered Mass for Three Choirs.

Don Scott Carpenter

Be sure to plan on attending the programs of the ABS Academy, July 11-23. Faculty and students will present public concerts of chamber music, Handel’s Ariodante and our annual performance of Bach’s Mass in B Minor. Details about the Academy and how you can support this Education and Outreach program can be found on page 25.

I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to all of our contributors, and especially to Angela Hilt & Blake Reinhardt who have generously sponsored this program, and to John & Lois Crowe and Richard & Shipley Walters for additional support of our Davis performance. It is the support of community-minded individuals, businesses, and foundations that enables the American Bach Soloists to present high-quality professional programming in the Bay area. I encourage you to consider joining this distinguished group of contributors through a donation to this year’s annual fund. Or, perhaps you’d like to get involved with ABS by becoming a volunteer. It takes all of us to ensure ABS’s future.

I look forward to meeting you and hearing about your musical experience with American Bach Soloists. Enjoy the concert!

On the cover: portrait of Mary II by Sir Peter Lely (1618-1680); portrait of Anne of Great Britain by Michael Dahl (1659–1743); portrait of Caroline Wilhelmina of Brandenburg-Ansbach by Jacopo Amigoni (1682–1752).

The American Bach Soloists are Artists-in-Residence at St. Stephen’s Church, Belvedere.

3

Contributors The American Bach Soloists gratefully acknowledge the generous support received from

Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation Nakamichi Foundation

This list represents contributions received between February 1, 2010 and February 1, 2011. We deeply regret any errors or omissions.

Corporate, Government, and Foundation Support $10,000 or more Grants for the Arts/San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation Charles Hosmer Morse Foundation E. Nakamichi Foundation National Endowment for the Arts

Capellmeisters: $2,500 - $4,999 Wendy Buchen David Cates and Cheryl Sumsion JP Crametz and T. Ravid Judith Flynn Marie Hogan and Douglas Lutgen Paul and Sandra Ogden Nancy Quinn and Tom Driscoll Jim and Jennifer Steelquist Richard and Shipley Walters

$1,000 - $2,499 Anonymous Peter Brodigan Peter and Claudia Brown John and Jane Buffington Lisa Capaldini $5,000-$9,999 David and Judy Covin Ann and Gordon Getty Silvia Davidson Foundation Colin and Rebecca Drake The Bernard Osher Foundation Richard G. Fabian Wallis Foundation Thomas and Phyllis Farver Tom Flesher and Adam Verret Up to $4,999 AT&T Foundation Matching Gifts Richard Forde Alfred and Irene M. Glassgold Program Connie Harden AXA Foundation Matching Gifts Benjamin and Lynette Hart Program John F. Heil Clorox Foundation Milton and Carol Hollenberg County of Marin James and Joan Kelly The San Francisco Foundation Valerie and Dan King Norman Larson Individual Support Olaf and Jeanette Leifson Lamar Leland Royal Patrons: $10,000 and above James Meehan Anonymous (3) Paul Morin Hugh Davies and Kaneez Munjee Virginia Patterson Jan Goldberg Mark and Katherine Perl Fraser and Helen Muirhead Ann Preston Martin and Elizabeth Secker Bach Family Circle: $5,000 - $9,999 Peter and Asiye Sonnen Jose and Carol Alonso Roman Shi and Fred Stark Richard and Sharon Boyer Jim and Jennifer Steelquist John and Lois Crowe Jeffrey Thomas Kevin and Peggy Harrington Angela Hilt and Blake Reinhardt Cantors: $500 - $999 Patricia and George Locke Anonymous Kim and Judith Maxwell Gretchen Brosius Kwei and Michele Ăœ Barbara Casey and Richard Siggins 4

Donna Chazen Eunice Childs Eric Collier and Joseph Newell Garniss Curtis David Davies and Ama Torrance Mag Dimond Ayame Flint Cynthia Foster A. John and Paula Gambs Kathryn Hobart Susan and Stafford Keegin Jessica Kinloch Richard and Patricia Taylor Lee William Lokke Susan Mann Blair Martin Marian Metson Frank Pajerski Charles Quesenberry David and Mary Raub Colby and Katherine Roberts Geerat and Edith Vermeij Delia Voitoff-Bauman and Steve Bauman Charles and Elizabeth Wilts $250 - $499 Anonymous Peter and Margaret Armstrong Uni Cordoba Joseph and Judy Craig Chauncey and Emily DiLaura Bob and Margaret Eldred Barbara Thomas Fexa David Franklin and Ruedi Thoeni Lowell and Nancy Froker Robert and Ann Goldberg David and Dorli Hanchette Steve and Randi Herman Philip and Ruth Hicks Ken Hoffman Norman and Rae Leaper Jennifer Lindsay Lee and Hannelore McCrumb Andrew Morgan and Danny Richard Krista Muirhead and Barry Grossman Debra Nagy

Mary Belle O’Brien and Georgia Heid Steven Peterson and Peter Jaret Bill and Ray Riess Christopher Robertson Cynthia Sawtell Gary Schilling and Stefan Hastrup Hart and Wilma Smith David Tayler and Hanneke Van Proosdij Millicent Tomkins Rick Trautner Barbara Van Slyke Thomas and Ann Watrous Diana Wilks William and Gretchen Kimball Fund Jerri Witt Foster and Betty Wright Choristers: $100 - $249 Anonymous Cheryl Arnold and John Frykman Phyllis and Tom Baer Judith Barker and Linda Mitteness Jeff Bartak Charles Beadle Robert Berman Edward Betts Borden and Betty Bloom Jesse Blumberg and Rita Donahue Daniel and Diana Bort Roberta Brokaw David and Carol Brown Nancy and Penn Butler Robert and Lynn Campbell Lynne Carmichael Lynne Carr Michael Chappell Gary Chock Mendel Cohen and Julia Vestal Robert and Mary Commanday Robert Cook and Blanca Haendler Cindy Cooper Lynne Crowell Caroline Damsky Jacqueline Desoer Lester and Elaine Dropkin Nancy Dubois

Contributors Robert and Susan Flax Thomas and Mary Foote Margaret Fuerst Margaret Garms Phil Garratt Jim and Laura Gregory Barry Grossman Darrow and Gwen Haagensen David Hammer Lauri Harper Donna Heinle Daniel Hersh Ralph and Leny Heymann David G. King, M.D. Joseph and Jeanne Klems William and Janette Knick Marcia Kolb Thomas Koster William and Emily Leider John and Kathleen Leones Malcolm and Natalie Mackenzie John Mark Pierre Martin Raymond Martinez Janice Masterton Robert McCaskill Sharon Menke Guy and Wende Williams Micco Abigail Millikan-States Jim and Julie C. Monson George Morgan Janet D. Morris Paul Nettelman Jerome Oremland Kay Pepitone Dove Pierce Lawrence and Erica Posner K. Rathke and D. Rogers Penelope Rink and Frederick Toth Ed and Maureen Rinne David Robinson Gary Roof Lisa Schaefer Charles and Janet Seim Sharie Shute Edith Simonson Jeanne Smith Scott Sochar Aline Soules Mariana Steinberg Gerald and Sandra Swafford Robert Thompson Dean and Jeanice Tipps Kurt Von Meier Effie Westervelt Richard White Dennis Wolframski Janet Youngblood Friends: $25-$99 Anonymous (2) Cindy Albers Shirley Armor Adrienne Austin-Shapiro Schuyler and Susie Bailey Johanna Baruch

Ward and Patricia Belding Rachmael Ben-Avram Al Bernstein Ernst and Hannah Biberstein John Bingham Mary Bost Irving and Karen Broido Leslie Brown Stephanie Cartwright Dr. and Mrs. Dikran L. Chamlian Ann Cheng Roger and Ana Chretien Richard and Evelyn Clair Center For Learning In Retirement Julie Coffin Carol Copperud Jeffrey Martin Dickemann Steven Edwards Josh Eichorn and Sandra Whitney Marcella Fasso Cassandra Forth Sandra Francis Susan Garbini and Ian MacGregor Victor and Linda Gavenda David Goi Margaret Harding Cynthia Hearden Ingeborg Henderson Helen Henon Robert Herriot and Patricia Landman Ellen Hershey Peter Huson Bob Isaacson and Virginia Stearns Ann Jensen Elaine Johnson Laurel Johnson Don and Diane Johnston Charles and Paige Kelso Isik Kizilyalli George Knudson George Kovatch and J. Robert Wiskotzil Jeremy Kranz Natalie Krawczyk William Langley Harold and Helene Lecar Robert Levin Sally Levinson Joseph Lifschutz Deana Logan and Joseph C. Najpaver David and Carolyn Long Laura Louis Malcolm and Sandy Manson Larry Marietta Noreen Mazelis Ann McCown Jesse and Catherine Miller Minako Miyazaki Barbara Molloy Michael and Jennifer Moran Diane and John Musgrave Judith Ostapik Mary Osterloh Arie Perry

Thomas Ramos Gail Riley and Moira Little Thomas Robinson Roy Rosenthal Vicki and Robert Schaevitz Julius Otto Schindler Norman Schlossberg Robert Sensel Cecelia Shaw David Sheehan Nina Shoehalter Steve Siegelman Allegra Silberstein Harold Skilbred and Rochelle Matonich Dan Slobin Sam W. Smith Mason and Sandra Stober Jean Swearingen Li-Hsia Wang Heidi Waterman Peter and Barbara Winkelstein Suzanne Young Bach Kids Sharon and Richard Boyer, in honor of: Jake D. Sutter Keira N. Sutter Alexander J. Sutter Leah G. Sutter Jan Goldberg, in honor of: Cameron Gremmels Michael Goldberg Alexander Goldberg Dorli and David Hanchette, in honor of: Kevin Wottrich Meaghan Wottrich

Asian Art Museum of San Francisco Benissimo Restaurant Berkeley Repertory Theatre Bistro Ginolina Carde Blanche Chabot Space & Science Center de Luna Jewelry Delicious! Catering Fentons Creamery Grgich Hills Estate Heart O’ The Mountain Winery Jason’s Restaurant Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant Lark Theater Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Lo Coco’s Restaurant Marin Symphony Marin Theatre Meeker Vineyard Merola Opera Program Oakland A’s Penman Photographic Artists Rock Wall Wines Sam’s Anchor Cafe SF Opera and Andrew Morgan Smith-Rafael Film Center Tafelmusik Trumer Brauerei Twisted Silver Ward St. Cafe Waters Edge Hotel Wildfox Restaurant

Jose and Carol Alonso Johanna Baruch Sharon Boyer Barbara Casey David Cates Tributes Phyllis and Thomas Baer, in honor Silvia Davidson Hugh Davies and Kaneez Munjee of Katherine McKee Roberts Cynthia and Perry Foster Sharon and Richard Boyer, Jan Goldberg and Ken Hoffman in memory of Mamie F. Vercelli Kevin D. Harrington Sharon and Richard Boyer, in memory of Edward T. Smithburn Benjamin and Lynette Hart Ken Hoffman Sharon and Richard Boyer, in memory of Rosemary Pollastrini Marie Hogan Shelley Johnson Nancy and Penn Butler, Elfrieda Langemann in memory of Perry Foster Jennifer Lane and the UNT Michael Chappell, Collegium in memory of Perry Foster Cynthia Foster, in honor of Andrew Raymond Martinez Paul Morin Morgan and Katherine McKee Janice Masterton, in honor of Jim Helen Drake Muirhead Lissa Nicolaus and Jennifer Steelquist Katherine Roberts Perl Janice Masterton, Nancy Quinn and Tom Driscoll in memory of Larry Masterton Colby and Katherine McKee Roberts Jeffrey Thomas, Ann Rosenfeld in memory of Perry Foster Millicent Tomkins Michele and Kwei Ü In-Kind Support Heidi Waterman American Conservatory Theater David Wilson Amy Schwab Designs Anchor Brewing Company Rick Yoshimoto 5

TWO SPECIAL WAYS TO HONOR YOUR LOVED ONES BACH KIDS

TRIBUTE GIFTS

The music of J.S. Bach has been handed down from generation to generation. Its beauty and humanity inspires and enhances our lives. This rich legacy is currently under our watch—but the future belongs to our children.

All of us have treasured people in our lives who have been significant and meaningful. The teachers who went that extra mile, the family members who’ve given unqualified support, the mentors and colleagues who have enriched our work lives: they all hold special places in our hearts and minds.

ABS’ BACH KIDS program is the perfect way to cherish a child by investing on their behalf in performances of Bach’s music for audiences today and in the future.

Recognize these special people by making a donation to ABS in their honor or memory.

For each tax-deductible donation of $100 or more, we’ll list the name of your child, grandchild, niece, nephew, or any other young person in your life in a special section of our program booklets for one year.

•

A unique gift for any child: they’ll see their name in print!

•

When they’re old enough, bring them to ABS concerts with our special discounted Bach Family Tickets ($5 when accompanied by an adult with a regular-priced ticket).

For each tax-deductible contribution of $100 or more, you can have someone acknowledged in ABS’ program booklets for one year in our special Tributes section.

In addition to listing their names in our programs, we can also send a letter informing them or their family of your gift. Simply provide their address on a separate piece of paper.

Name(s) of Tributes

Name(s) of Bach Kids (Choose one:)

 in honor of

 in memory of

(Choose one:)

 in honor of

 in memory of

Donor Name Address City

State

Phone

Email

Zip Code

Enclosed is my donation of $_______ for a total of ______ Bach Kids and/or Tributes gifts  My check is enclosed, made payable to American Bach Soloists.

Please charge my:  VISA  Mastercard  Amex Card #

Expiration

Name on Card Signature

6



MAIL: American Bach Soloists - 44 Page Street, Suite 504 - San Francisco, CA 94102-5973 PHONE: 415-621-7900 FAX: 415-621-7920

Donor Benefits We can’t do it without you! American Bach Soloists strive to retain reasonable ticket prices even though sales cover only about 40% of the cost of presenting these outstanding concerts.

ABS is proud to receive significant government and foundation support, but the bulk of our contributed income comes from generous donations from individuals like you. As an ABS donor, you play a crucial role in bringing these wonderful programs to the widest possible audience.

Your gift in any amount is greatly appreciated!

Donor Benefits*

Choristers

Cantors

Bach Family

Capellmeisters

Royal Patrons

Exclusive sponsorship of a guest artist Sponsorship of an ABS program Invitation for two to a special ABS private “House Concert” performance Four complimentary Section A “companion” tickets to any ABS performance (other than Messiah) Invitation for two to an ABS rehearsal Complimentary copy of ABS Season Highlights CD Invitation for two to a post-concert reception with ABS musicians Acknowledgment in ABS programs for one year

*Gifts to American Bach Soloists are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. Certain benefits have a fair market value (indicated above) that must be deducted from your gift to determine the tax-deductible portion of the contribution. You may elect to decline all the benefits in your giving category, and receive a tax-deduction of the full value of your gift.

GIFTS OF STOCK We also welcome gifts of appreciated securities. To arrange transfers, please call (415) 621-7900.

VEHICLE DONATION Donating your used vehicles to ABS has never been easier thanks to our partnership with the Vehicle Donation Processing Center! You receive a tax-deductible donation and ABS gets cash! Call the VDPC at 800-390-4790 or visit their website: donatecarusa.com.

Yes, I want to help ABS thrive! Enclosed is my tax-deductible contribution of:  $25  $50  $100  $250  $500  $1,000  $2,500

 Other: _________

Please list my (our) name(s) as: Name Address City

State

E-mail

Phone

Zip Code

 My check is enclosed, made payable to American Bach Soloists.  Please charge my:  Visa  Mastercard  American Express Card #

 Discover

Expiration

Name on Card

Thank You!

Signature • • •

MAIL: ABS • 44 Page Street, Suite 504 • San Francisco, CA 94102-5973 PHONE: 415-621-7900 • FAX: 415-621-7920 ONLINE: use our secure server: americanbach.org/support 7

proud sponsor OF THE AMERICAN BACH SOLOISTS

Belvedere

415.789.5659

Kentfield

415.448.1100

Larkspur

415.945.6300

Mill Valley, Downtown 415.380.6100

Mill Valley, Strawberry

Ross 415.464.8686 415.461.8608 415.461.8686

PacUnion.com | A Member Of Real Living 8

415.383.1900

Win a trip for two to the BOSTON EARLY MUSIC FESTIVAL JUNE 2011 Grand Prize: A trip for two to the Boston Early Music Festival including round trip air fare, three nights in a Marriott Hotel, and two tickets to the June 15th performance of Steffani’s Niobe, Queen of Thebes.

First Prize: Archival Quality Family Photograph - sitting & print - from Penman Photographic Artists

Jeffrey Thomas - Artistic Director

Second Prize: VIP Tour & Tasting at Cline Cellars Winery in Sonoma Third Prize: Two Tickets to any Midsummer Mozart Festival concert in 2011 Fourth Prize: Handcrafted Jasper necklace from Twisted Silver Proceeds will benefit the American Bach Soloists Academy, an advanced training program for emerging professionals and accomplished students of Historically Informed Performance Practice held annually at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Drawing will take place on March 7th, 2011. You need not be present to win.

For more information and official rules, visit: americanbach.org/raffle AMERICAN BACH SOLOISTS 2011 RAFFLE Send your personal check or money order in the amount of $20 per entry (payable to American Bach Soloists) to the address below.

Your raffle ticket entry stubs will be sent to you by return mail.

Name: Address: City/State/Zip: E-mail: Phone: mail to: American Bach Soloists 44 Page Street, Suite 504 San Francisco CA 94102-5973



9

About American Bach Soloists

“Superbly musical ... wonderfully suave ... fresh, different” — Gramophone “ABS is a rare, perhaps unique, organization that does something highly specialized and quite esoteric that still involves (and delights) a general audience…the houses were full and the concerts were rich, rewarding, and well-received.” — Marin Independent Journal “Thomas’ Bach orchestra is superb!” — Goldberg Magazine

The AMERICAN BACH SOLOISTS (“ABS”) were founded in 1989 with the mission of introducing contemporary audiences to the cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach through historically informed performances. Under the leadership of Co-founder and Music Director Jeffrey Thomas, the ensemble has achieved its vision of assembling the world’s finest vocalists and periodinstrument performers to bring this brilliant music to life.

For twenty-two years, Jeffrey Thomas has brought thoughtful, meaningful, and informed perspectives to his performances as Artistic and Music Director of the American Bach Soloists. Recognized worldwide as one of the foremost interpreters of the music of Bach and the Baroque, he continues to inspire audiences and performers alike through his keen insights into the passions behind musical expression. Fanfare Magazine proclaimed that “Thomas’ direction seems just right, capturing the humanity of the music…there is no higher praise for Bach performance.”

Critical acclaim has been extensive: The Wall Street Journal named ABS “the best American specialists in early music…a flawless ensemble…a level of musical finesse one rarely encounters;” San Francisco Classical Voice declared that “there is nothing routine or settled about their work. Jeffrey Thomas is still pushing the musical Baroque envelope;” and the San Francisco Chronicle recently extolled the ensemble’s “divinely inspired singing.”

The first public concerts were given in February 1990 at St. Stephen’s Church in Belvedere, where the ensemble serves as Artists-in-Residence. 1993 brought the debut of ABS’s first annual summer festival in Tiburon/Belvedere. By the fifth season, regular 10

performances had been inaugurated in San Francisco and Berkeley, and as a result of highly successful collaborations with the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, ABS’ full concert seasons expanded to the Davis/Sacramento region in 2005. As their audience increased, so the artistic direction of the ensemble expanded to include Bach’s purely instrumental and larger choral masterpieces, as well as music of his contemporaries and that of the early Classical era.

The American Bach Soloists present an annual Subscription Series with performances in Belvedere, Berkeley, Davis, and San Francisco. Their annual holiday performances of Handel’s Messiah, presented each December before capacity audiences since 1992, have become a Bay Area tradition. In addition to their regular subscription season, the American Bach Soloists have been presented at some of the world’s leading early music and chamber music festivals, and have appeared worldwide from Santa Fe to Hong Kong and Singapore. In 1998, in conjunction with the Fifth Biennial Berkeley Festival & Exhibition, ABS established the American Bach Soloists & Henry I. Goldberg International Young Artists Competition as a way to foster emerging musicians who wish to pursue a career in early music.

In conjunction with ABS’ 15th Anniversary Season in 2003-04, Maestro Thomas announced the “Bach Cycle,” an ambitious plan to present all of Bach’s major oratorios, including two Passions, the oratorios for Christmas and Easter, and the Mass in B Minor; the violin and harpsichord concertos, Brandenburg Concertos, and orchestral suites; the major cantatas from Bach’s years in Mühlhausen, Weimar, and Leipzig; and the sonatas and suites for violin, flute, cello, and viola da gamba.

About American Bach Soloists ABS has been a leader throughout the Bay Area in their commitment to artistic collaborations. Some recent examples include a collaboration with two San Francisco dance organizations, Xeno and Ultra Gypsy, at The Crucible in Oakland in 2004 and collaborations with the well-known Mark Morris Dance Group in 2004 and 1999. To celebrate their 20th Anniversary Season, ABS joined forces with San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral and Lighting Systems Design Inc. (based in Orlando FL) in a spectacular laser show rendering of Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks. And in 2011, ABS will collaborate with San Francisco choreographer Todd Eckert in three new works using music by Bach, Telemann, and Vivaldi.

The Chorus of the American Bach Soloists has shone in repertoire from the Baroque and early Classical eras. With the inception of the Choral Series in 2004, these fine singers have been featured on programs exploring over five centuries of choral music. To acknowledge this splendid work, the American Bach Soloists announced in 2006 a new name for their choral ensemble: American Bach Choir. Critics have acclaimed their “sounds of remarkable transparency and body.”

In July 2010, the American Bach Soloists inaugurated North America’s newest annual professional training program in Historically Informed Performance Practice. Drawing on their distinguished roster of performers, the American Bach Soloists Academy offers advanced conservatory-level students and emerging professionals unique opportunities to study

and perform Baroque music in a multi-disciplinary learning environment. The ACADEMY is held in the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s exquisite new facilities in the heart of the city’s arts district.

The American Bach Soloists have a discography of eighteen CDs on the Koch International Classics, Delos International, and American Bach Soloists labels, including six volumes of Bach cantatas, many performed one on a part. The ensemble’s critically acclaimed disc of Bach’s Mass in B Minor has been called a benchmark recording and a “joyous new performance” (The Washington Post). One of their most popular offerings is an historically significant version of Handel’s Messiah, recorded live during performances in 2004 at the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts at UC Davis, and released in November 2005 on the Delos International label. In 2007, ABS’ entire catalogue of critically acclaimed recordings of Bach’s Mass in B Minor, cantatas, and transcriptions of Italian music, Haydn Masses, choral and vocal works by Schütz, and other works was re-released on iTunes, Magnatune.com, Amazon, CDBaby, and ABS’ own excellent and resourceful web site, which features free streaming audio of most titles. The same year brought two new and much-anticipated releases: Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos. The most recent release, 1685 & The Art of Ian Howell, features the remarkable young countertenor (and recent winner of the ABS Young Artist Competition) in works by Bach, Handel, and Domenico Scarlatti.

Board of Directors, Founders, Staff, Advisory Council & Acknowledgments BOARD OF DIRECTORS

STAFF

Hugh Davies, President Lynette A. Hart, Vice President Jan Goldberg, Treasurer Marie Hogan, Secretary Jose Alonso Richard J. Boyer David Cates Cindy Cooper John H. Crowe Benjamin L. Hart Helen Drake Muirhead

Jeffrey Thomas Artistic Director

FOUNDERS Jeffrey Thomas Jonathan Dimmock Richard H. Graff The Rev. & Mrs. Alvin S. Haag Mr. & Mrs. Robert V. Kane Dr. & Mrs. Paul C. Ogden

Don Scott Carpenter General Manager Steven Lehning Music Administrator Katherine McKee Director of Patron Services James Stahlman Marketing and Public Relations Manager Lisa May Box Office and Concert Manager Keith Perry Academy Administrator Heli Roiha Bookkeeper Vijay Dutt Chalasani Stage and House Manager

E.J. Chavez Stage Crew

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Quinn Associates Development Consultants

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church Vestry, Staff, and Parishioners The Reverend Robert Gieselmann, Interim Rector John Karl Hirten, Organist

NEQA/Communications Publicists

University of California at Davis Instrument Loans

ADVISORY COUNCIL

Jan Goldberg & Ken Hoffman Kevin & Peggy Harrington Walter & Ellen Sanford Ken & Marjorie Saur Judith Stone Millicent Tomkins Housing and Hospitality

Joseph Sargent Writer

The Right Reverend Marc Andrus Irv Broido Karen Broido Corty Fengler Tom Flesher Phil Garratt John Karl Hirten Corey Jamason Sandra M. Ogden Don Roth Kwei Ü Elizabeth F. Wilts Charles E. Wilts

Patricia Wolf Jubillee Gee William Langley Office Volunteers

11

Education and Outreach MASTER CLASSES ABS will present three Master Classes in collaboration with the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, during our 2010-2011 Season. All Master Classes are free and open to the public. No tickets or advance reservations are required.

Jeffrey Thomas conductor Wednesday 16 February 2011 7:30 pm Kate van Orden bassoon Wednesday 16 March 2011 7:30 pm Janet See flute Tuesday 5 April 2011 7:30 pm San Francisco Conservatory of Music 50 Oak Street at Van Ness, San Francisco CA 94102

ABS WEB SITE - americanbach.org

Our excellent web site features over 200 artist biographies, links to program notes and concert repertory details, and options to listen to or purchase our celebrated series of critically acclaimed recordings.

Additionally, you will find information about how you can help ABS by volunteering, providing financial support, or purchasing ads in our concert program booklets. Educational resources are available, including information about early instruments, our education and outreach programs, and links to other organizations.

FREE PRE-CONCERT “INSIGHTS”

Learn more about the program! One hour prior to each performance from February through May, enjoy a free and informative lecture given by ABS musicians.

FREE TICKETS FOR MUSIC EDUCATORS

All K-12 music educators are invited to attend one of our concerts free of charge in exchange for their input regarding our educational programs. And each educator may purchase one additional companion ticket at 50% off. For more information, please call (415) 621-7900 or go to: americanbach.org/educators

FREE CHORAL WORKSHOP

Each year, ABS presents a Choral Workshop designed specifically for experienced choral singers. Within a rehearsal environment under the leadership of ABS Artistic Director Jeffrey Thomas, historically informed performance practice and aesthetics regarding Baroque vocal technique, phrasing, tempos, choral balance, and rhetoric are examined and cultivated in a musically enlightening and enriching event.

Saturday 29 January 2011 10:00 am to 4:00 pm St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, San Francisco The annual workshops are provided completely free of charge, but space is limited so early registration is encouraged. For more information, please visit: americanbach.org/workshop

We Believe • • •

The experience of Art is a human right.

Music is essential to our quality of life.

Bach’s creativity and life epitomize ideals of artistic virtuosity, humanitarianism within changing worlds, and the primacy of education.

Every Arts Organization must: • educate present and future generations.

• uphold the highest aesthetic standards.

• enlighten its own and greater audiences.

• relate to the community and culture in which it thrives.

• inspire the intellects of its patrons.

• serve as a compelling model for other cultural organizations.

Arts Patrons want: • to have meaningful, memorable, and valuable experiences.

• to be empowered, knowledgeable, and informed consumers.

• to be involved as integral participants, not just observers.

The American Bach Soloists: • promote artistic excellence.

• sustain the musical heritage of historical cultures.

• value and respect the diversity of our patrons and sponsors.

• treasure the gifted instrumentalists and singers that we present.

• nurture young and emerging talent.

• support the efforts of all who endeavor to preserve history, celebrate culture, and ensure the accessibility of the Arts.

12

Jeffrey Thomas, Music Director

. . .voices blended in a warming glow that filled the space. . . .this group has been delighting audiences for [over] 70 years. A truly San Francisco tradition!

—SF Classical Voice

J.S. Bach A Choral Retrospective

Fürchte dich nicht (BWV 228) and favorite choruses including Wohl mir, daß ich Jesum habe (Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring from BWV 147); Aus der Tiefe (from BWV 131) and much more — with the SFBC Baroque Orchestra saturday, March 26, 8PM/sunday, March 27, 4PM Free Lecture, Sunday, 3PM Calvary Presbyterian Church, Fillmore & Jackson, SF Advance $28-$24 ($15 Student) Door $35-30 ($20 Student)

www.sfbach.org 415·441·4942 13

The Musicians and Their Instruments AMERICAN BACH SOLOISTS Violins Elizabeth Blumenstock (leader) Andrea Guarneri, Cermona, 1660. *

Contrabass Steven Lehning Anonymous, Austria, circa 1830.

Theorbo

Lisa Grodin Paulo Antonia Testore, Contrada, Larga di Milano, 1736.

John Lenti Klaus Jacobsen, London, 2001; after 17th century Italian models.

Katherine Kyme Johann Gottlob Pfretzichner, Mittenwald, 1791.

Harpsichord

Tyler Lewis Timothy Johnson, Hewitt, TX, 2009; after Antonio Stradivari, Cremona, 18th century.

Janet Strauss (principal II) Matthias Joannes Koldiz, Munich, 1733.

David Wilson Timothy Johnson, Hewitt, TX, 2007; after Antonio Stradivari, Cremona, 18th century. * The 1660 Andrea Guarneri violin played by Ms Blumenstock, is made available to her through the generosity of the Philharmonia Baroque Period Instrument Trust.

Violas David Daniel Bowes Richard Duke, London, circa 1780.

Katherine Kyme Anonymous, German, circa 1800.

Jason Pyszkowski Jay Haide, El Cerrito, CA, 2008; after Giovanni Paolo Maggini, Brescia, circa 1580.

Aaron Westman Dmitry Badiarov, Brussels, 2003; after Antonio Bagatella, Padua, circa 1750.

Violoncellos William Skeen Anonymous, Northern Italy, circa 1680.

Shirley Edith Hunt Anonymous, Milan, circa 1706.

Sopranos Michelle Clair Tonia D’Amelio Julia Earl Rita Lilly

Jeffrey Thomas Willard Martin, Bethlehem, PA, 1990; after François Blanchet, Paris, circa 1730.

Kaneez Munjee

Organ

Dan Cromeenes

Corey Jamason John Brombaugh & Associates, Eugene, OR, 1980.

Oboes Debra Nagy Randy Cook, Basel, 2004; after Jonathan Bradbury, London, circa 1720.

Stephen Bard Levin & Robinson, New York, 2003; after Saxon models.

Recorders Debra Nagy von Huene Workshop, Boston, MA 2002; after Thomas Stanesby, Jr., London, circa 1725.

Wim Somsen, Wageningen, The Netherlands, 1990’s; after Peter Bressan, London, circa 1690.

Stephen Bard Adrian Brown, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2000; after Jacob Denner, Nuremburg, circa 1715.

Bassoon Kate van Orden Peter de Konigh, Hall, The Netherlands, 1986; copy of Thierriot Prudent, Paris, circa 1770.

Trumpets

Viola da Gamba

John Thiessen Rainer Egger, Basel, 2005; after Johann Leonhard Ehe III, Nuremburg, 1748.

Steven Lehning Marcelo Ardizzone, Paris, 1992; after Edward Lewis, England, circa 1700.

Kathryn James Adduci Rainer Egger, Basel, 2006, after Johann Leonhard Ehe III, Nuremburg, 1748.

14

AMERICAN BACH CHOIR

Altos Elisabeth Eliassen Kevin Fox Katherine E. McKee Amelia Triest Tenors Edward Betts Andrew Morgan Mark Mueller Colby Roberts Sam Smith Basses Johan Andreasson Adam Cole Hugh Davies Thomas Hart Raymond Martinez

Tonight’s Program AMERICAN BACH SOLOISTS AMERICAN BACH CHOIR Elizabeth Weigle, soprano Ian Howell, countertenor • Clifton Massey, countertenor Aaron Sheehan, tenor • Jesse Blumberg, baritone Hugh Davies, bass Jeffrey Thomas, conductor

Now Does the Glorious Day Appear Music for the Royal Women of Britannia

Friday February 25 through Monday February 28, 2010 Belvedere • Berkeley • San Francisco • Davis These performances are generously sponsored by Angela Hilt & Blake Reinhardt and George & Patricia Locke.

The Davis performance is generously sponsored by John & Lois Crowe and Richard & Shipley Walters.

• Music by Henry Purcell (1659-1695) Now Does the Glorious Day Appear, Z. 332 (1689) Come, Ye Sons of Art, Away, Z. 323 (1694) • Music by George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) Te Deum (“Queen Caroline”) in D Major, HWV 280 (1714) Eternal Source of Light Divine, HWV 74 (1713) Birthday Ode for Queen Anne

15

April Follies

Brilliant Secular Treasures by Bach & Telemann Jeffrey Thomas - Artistic Director

2010-2011 Our 22nd Season San Francisco • Belvedere • Berkeley • Davis

Join us this concert season for some of our favorite music and discover exciting new works we know our audiences will love. You’ll hear two recently discovered Baroque treasures: the West Coast premiere of Antonio Lotti’s Mass for Three Choirs, and the first US performance of a recorder concerto by Telemann.

And this summer, look for the return of our Academy at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music when ABS joins the next generation of early music virtuosi in exciting collaborations, faculty and student recitals, and a performance of Bach’s Mass in B Minor.

Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G Major Weichet nur, betrübte Schatten “Wedding Cantata” Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht “Coffee Cantata” Telemann “Ode on the Death of a Pet Canary” Concerto in G Minor for Recorder (US Premiere) YULIA VAN DOREN soprano JOSHUA COPELAND baritone JOHANNA NOVOM violin JUDITH LINSENBERG recorder Bach had a tremendous sense of humor! His famous “Coffee Cantata” shows the Leipzig Meister to be a man of wit and comedy, and as au courant as any other. Three of our most brilliant ABS Young Artist Competition prizewinners and the Bay Area’s own virtuoso, Judith Linsenberg, will collaborate with the ABS orchestra in the best and brightest secular music

by Bach and Telemann, including the ridiculously absurd “Ode on the Death of a Pet Canary” and the US premiere of Telemann’s recently discovered Concerto in G Minor for Recorder and Strings.

Friday 1 April 2011 8:00 pm St. Stephen’s Church, Belvedere Saturday 2 April 2011 8:00 pm First Congregational Church, Berkeley Sunday 3 April 2011 7:00 pm St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, San Francisco Monday 4 April 2011 8:00 pm Davis Community Church, Davis Free Pre-Concert “INSIGHTS” by Jeffrey Thomas begin one hour prior to each performance.

These performances are generously sponsored by Jan Goldberg.

The Belvedere performance is generously sponsored by Wendy Buchen.

• Subscribe and Save! ABS Subscribers receive a discount of 15% • free • distinctive status • exclusive perks • and are guaranteed the

Bach & Lotti A West Coast Premiere

Bach Magnificat in D Major Lotti Mass for Three Choirs (West Coast Premiere) The 2010-2011 Season Finale will bring to the West Coast the premiere of a work that was discovered just a decade ago: the Mass for Three Choirs by the Venetian master Antonio Lotti. ABS maestro Jeffrey Thomas—recognized worldwide as one of the foremost interpreters of the music of Bach and the Baroque—will lead the celebrated American Bach Choir in this ravishing music from the great tradition of San Marco’s maestri di cappella, paired with one of J.S. Bach’s most joyous and universally popular works, the Magnificat in D Major.

Friday 6 May 2011 8:00 pm St. Stephen’s Church, Belvedere Saturday 7 May 2011 8:00 pm First Congregational Church, Berkeley Sunday 8 May 2011 7:00 pm St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, San Francisco Monday 9 May 2011 8:00 pm Davis Community Church, Davis Free Pre-Concert “INSIGHTS” by CSU Sacramento lecturer Steven Lehning begin one hour prior to each performance.

These performances are generously sponsored by Hugh Davies & Kaneez Munjee and Jose & Carol Alonso.

The Davis performance is generously sponsored by Jim & Jennifer Steelquist.

ticket exchange and replacement • e best seats in the house •

Other Events

Master Classes at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music These master classes are open to the public. Admission is free and no tickets or advance reservations are required.

KATE VAN ORDEN bassoon Wednesday 16 March 2011 7:30 pm JANET SEE flute Tuesday 5 April 2011 7:30 pm

American Bach Soloists Summer Festival & Academy Two weeks of chamber music concerts, free public lectures, colloquia, “Academyin-Action” concerts, Handel’s Ariodante, and Bach’s Mass in B Minor.

Monday 11 July through Saturday 23 July 2011 San Francisco Conservatory of Music

American Bach Soloists at the American Guild of Organists Convention Music director Jeffrey Thomas will conduct members of ABS and organist Kimberly Marshall in a performance of Dialogues for Organ and Strings by Margaret Vardell Sandresky.

Thursday 7 July 2011 8:00 pm St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, San Francisco

americanbach.org (415) 621-7900

Program Notes The term “ode” usually conjures up an image of classical poetry; an elaborate homage addressing subjects ranging from a vaunted lover to a Grecian urn. For music history, however, the ode has a more focused meaning. In seventeenth- and eighteenth-century England, odes were substantial, ceremonial works, structured like cantatas with opening instrumental “symphonies” followed by assorted short movements for solo and ensemble singers. These elaborate pieces would be performed at suitably momentous functions: praising the reigning monarch on his or her birthday, expressing remorse upon the death of a ruler, offering thanks on other special occasions, or as tributes to St. Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians.

Court performance was a central feature of the genre, and having one’s music displayed in this venue was a sure sign of success. Not surprisingly, many of England’s court composers used odes and other laudatory pieces to deepen their relationships with royal patrons. In the early decades of the Reformation, William Byrd wrote music praising Queen Elizabeth I despite his personal Catholic leanings under her Protestant reign (a heresy that could be punishable by death). Henry Purcell’s career during the 1680s was heavily focused on court music for Charles II and James II; he also wrote numerous odes for the subsequent monarchs William III and Mary II, as well as some famously exquisite funeral music upon Mary’s death in 1695. And in the 1710s, George Frideric Handel managed to make a strong impression on Queen Anne during his initial travels to England, despite her being (according to the Duke of Manchester) “too busy or too careless to listen to her own band, and having no thought of hearing and paying new players however great their genius or vast their skill.”

Purcell began his ode-writing career with a series of welcome songs, launched in 1680 with an ode for Charles II’s return to London and continuing through James’s reign. When James was deposed eight years later in the Glorious Revolution, Purcell began cultivating odes honoring Mary’s birthday, which fell on April 30. Though he was never head of the Chapel Royal (responsibility for composing odes usually fell upon this position, titled the Master of the King’s or Queen’s Musick), Purcell enjoyed favored status that led him to regularly compose odes for the queen until her death.

For this program, the American Bach Soloists perform the first and last of Purcell’s odes to Mary—a repertory that embodies a new emphasis on expressiveness, virtuosity, and colorful instrumentation. Now Does the Glorious Day Appear is the first, composed in 1689 to celebrate the queen’s birthday and based on a text by Thomas Shadwell (which Purcell altered significantly). The instrumental scoring uses strings only but includes a second viola part, a touch that provides an especially rich orchestral texture. Another novelty appears in the tenor solo “This does our fertile isle,” where an extremely short ground bass of just two notes is later transformed 18

Henry Purcell (circa 1695) by John Closterman (1660-1711)

into an orchestral ritornello. For sheer emotional power, the countertenor solo “By beauteous softness” has few peers, combining a melancholy descending ostinato bass line with an exceptionally alluring melody. Rich counterpoint also features prominently at certain points in the ode, notably in the opening movement and first chorus “Now does the glorious day appear.”

Purcell’s last ode to Mary, Come, ye Sons of Art, Away, was also a birthday piece, composed in 1694 on a text by Nahum Tate.

In comparison to its predecessor, this is a more expansive work in both orchestral size (adding brass and woodwinds) and expressive range. Structurally, the ode is organized around three ground bass pattern movements, surrounded by an array of solo and choral sections. Purcell was fond enough of the opening three-part symphony to later incorporate a revised version into his opera The Indian Queen.

A jaunty setting of “Come, ye Sons of Art” for countertenor and chorus follows, leading to some vivid musical imagery in the countertenor duet “Sound the trumpet,” where the soloists mimic trumpet sounds over a lively ground bass, and the countertenor solo “Strike the viol,” with recorder obbligatos reflecting the internal textual phrase “inspire the flute.” The bass soloist and chorus next proclaim “The day that such a blessing gave,” an exhortation for jubilee celebration.

Subsequent movements elaborate upon this jubilee until the triumphant closing movement, “See Nature rejoicing,” combining soprano and bass with chorus and full orchestra.

(As a performance note, the only surviving copy of this piece

Program Notes dates from 1765, in a copy whose questionable scoring requires modern performers to make careful performance practice decisions.)

During Handel’s lifetime odes were routinely performed twice per year, for the New Year and on the reigning monarch’s birthday, but other events could occasion large celebratory pieces as well. The Te Deum in particular often served as a musical expression of national joy, thanks in no small part to Purcell’s impressive Te Deum in D. Handel’s own Te Deum in D Major of 1714, though given the sobriquet “Queen Caroline,” was originally associated with another monarch, King George I, who happened to be Handel’s previous employer as Prince George Ludwig, Elector of Hanover. George’s ascension to the English throne in August 1714, following the death of Queen Anne, could have proven awkward for Handel, who had left Hanover two years earlier to visit London and overstayed his welcome without George’s permission (ultimately being dismissed from his Hanover post in 1713). Evidently there were no hard feelings, however, and the piece was premiered on September 26, 1714, the first Sunday after George’s ceremonial arrival in London earlier in the week. As the London Evening Post reported, “On Sunday morning last, his Majesty went to his Royal Chapel at St James’s, and the Right Hon. Earl of Stamford carried the Sword of State; Te Deum was sung, compos’d

by Mr Hendel [sic], and a very fine Anthem was also sung.”

Another periodical, the Weekly Packet, similarly commented “Mr Handel’s Te Deum…was very excellently perform’d there, as was also a very fine Anthem.” As for Caroline, who became queen in 1727, she would become an ardent patron of Handel, and upon her passing Handel composed one of his most affecting pieces, the funeral anthem “The Ways of Zion do Mourn.”

Handel was a great admirer of Purcell, and certain aspects of this Te Deum harken back to his predecessor. The piece opens with a stately “We praise thee, O God” for choir and a trio of soloists, punctuated by a solemn declamation of the closing words “Holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth.” A briskly paced “The glorious company of the Apostles praise thee” finds the alto soloist negotiating some opera-like virtuoso figures in a minor key, followed by a choral declamation and a tripletime bass solo, now in major. An obbligato flute and alto solo solemnly proclaim “When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man,” and as the textual focus shifts from God to the people, the chorus enters to declaim, “O Lord, save thy people.”

Trumpet fanfares herald the majestic “Day by day we magnify thee,” with two choral outbursts surrounding a brief interlude for solo tenor and bass. Following this assertive movement, Handel’s plaintive setting of the text “Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this night without sin” is a delicate aria for alto in the relative minor key and at a more relaxed pace, appropriate for a text that asks for mercy and protection. The final “O Lord, in thee have I trusted” begins with a stately unison theme,

George Frideric Handel (circa 1727) by Balthazar Denner (1685-1749)

which Handel then distributes in different voices enveloped by rhythmic figurations, before a brief but forceful concluding utterance.

Handel’s Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne is both a birthday gift to the queen and a commemoration of the 1712 Treaty of Utrecht, which ended the War of the Spanish Succession. Both themes are combined in a recurring refrain that closes each choral section: “The day that gave great Anna birth / Who fix’d a lasting peace on Earth.” Composed at age 28 during Handel’s second sojourn to England, the piece was meant to be performed on February 6, 1713 (the queen’s birthday), but such a performance did not actually occur.

Nevertheless, the work’s ultimate premiere went a long way toward Handel’s gaining Anne’s favor, for she soon awarded him a pension of 200 pounds per year.

Structurally the ode comprises seven sections, each of which begins with a soloist and ends with the chorus. Stylistically, the ode shows several signs of Handel’s training in Rome, with melodic flourishes redolent of Italian opera and relatively straightforward choral writing. The idea of peace provides a thematic through-line for the ode, with an especially vivid expression in the closing movement “United nations shall combine,” where the chorus begins in antiphonal division before coming together both musically and symbolically for the final refrain.

— Joseph Sargent 19

About Early Instruments

S

everal decades ago, a movement began in the classical music industry to perform music on the instruments that were used during the composer’s lifetime. Unquestionably advanced by the advent of CD recordings in the early 1980s, this marriage of scholarship and style became known as “historically informed performance practice.” But it encompasses more than just the proper choice of instruments for the performance of music from the Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical eras. Fine points of expression, articulation, and even the way instruments are tuned play a large role in what you are hearing tonight.

Probably for most of us it is the use of these beautiful and, in most cases, truly antique and priceless instruments that brings the most unique quality to these performances. Rather than cataloguing all the wellfounded and essential reasons to use period instruments for this music, it is even more compelling to consider why the use of modern instruments would cheat us of the experience a composer like Handel meant to give to us.

Instruments have evolved and grown over the centuries, mostly because composers would present new challenges to instrumentalists, and therefore to those who built their instruments. When a composer like Bach or Beethoven would write the most difficult passages that would tax the limits of an instrument’s responsiveness, within a decade or so instrument builders found a way to accommodate the challenges.

In the Baroque period, musical phrases were made up of strong and weak notes, falling on strong and weak beats within a bar. When a violinist would move the bow in a downward stroke across a string, the sound was stronger than when the bow would be moved in an upward direction. But eventually the lengths of musical phrases grew, and more notes were meant to be played in a connected way, leading much further down the line to a phrase’s focal point. Accordingly, the bows for stringed instruments were then made to create the same amount

explore

of sound whether the bow was moving up or down. And, of course, concert halls grew in size, so instruments were made to play louder. In the 20th century, some composers required sounds that acoustic instruments simply could not produce; hence the genre of electronic music.

One of the most exciting sounds we hear from these “early instruments,” however, is the inherent tension during the most climactic moments in a musical work.

If you haven’t already done so, find a recording of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony played by an orchestra of period instruments—ABS’ own recently released recording comes to mind!—and listen to the most dissonant or loud moments. You’ll be glad to hear the instruments being pushed to their limits, and you just might find the ease and aplomb with which modern instruments and their players perform the same passages to be lackluster by comparison.

Finally, a short note about antiques and reproductions: While it is not uncommon to find violins and violoncellos (or ‘cellos as they are known today) that are more than 300 years old being played in orchestras like ours, very few surviving antique wind instruments are still playable. Consequently, period wind instruments are almost always copies of originals.

americanbach.org

tickets • CDs • free 24/7 audio player • artist bios • program notes • volunteer • support • mailing list 20

Texts Now does the Glorious Day Appear, Z. 332 (1689) Text: Thomas Shadwell SYMPHONY CHORUS Now does the glorious day appear, The mightiest day of all the year.

DUET (Tenor & Bass) Not any one such joy could bring, No, no, not that which ushers in the spring.

That of ensuing plenty hopes does give, This did the hope of liberty retrieve.

SOLO (Tenor) This does our fertile isle with glory crown, And all the fruits it yields we now can call our own, On this bless’d day was our restorer born; Far above all let this the calendar adorn.

CHORUS Now does the glorious day appear, The mightiest day of all the year.

SOLO (Bass) It was a work of full as great a weight, And did require the self-same power, Which did frail humankind create, When they were lost them to restore.

For a like act, Fate gave our Princess birth, Which adding to the Saints, made joy in Heaven, As well as triumph upon Earth, To which so great, so good a Queen was given.

SOLO (Countertenor) By beauteous softness mixed with majesty, An empire over every heart she gains; And from her awful power none could be free.

She with such sweetness and such justice reigns.

DUET (Basses I & II) Her hero to whose conduct and whose arms The trembling Papal world their force must yield Must bend himself to her victorious charms, And give up all the trophies of each field.

TRIO (Soprano, Countertenor, Tenor) Our dear religion, with our law’s defense, To God her zeal, to man benevolence; Must her above all former monarchs raise To be the everlasting theme of praise.

SOLO (Tenor) No more shall we the great Eliza boast, For her great name in greater Mary’s will be lost.

SYMPHONY CHORUS Now, now, with one united voice Let us aloud proclaim our joys; ‘Iô Triumphe’ let us sing, And make Heaven’s mighty concave ring.

❁ Come, Ye Sons of Art, Away, Z. 323 (1694) Text: Nahum Tate SYMPHONY SOLO (Countertenor) & CHORUS Come, ye Sons of Art, come away!

Tune all your voices and instruments play To celebrate this triumphant day.

DUET (Countertenors I & II) Sound the trumpet, till around You make the list’ning shores rebound.

On the sprightly hautboy play; All the instruments of joy, That skilful numbers can employ, To celebrate the glories of this day.

CHORUS Come, ye Sons of Art, come away, Tune all your voices and instruments play To celebrate this triumphant day.

SOLO (Countertenor) Strike the viol, touch the lute, Wake the harp, inspire the flute.

Sing your patroness’s praise, In cheerful and harmonious lays.

SOLO (Bass) & CHORUS The day that such a blessing gave No common festival should be.

What it justly seem’d to crave, Grant, o grant, and let it have The honour of a Jubilee. continued...

21

Texts SOLO (Soprano) Bid the virtues, bid the graces To the sacred shrine repair Round the altar take their places Blessing with returns of pray’r Their great defender’s care, While Maria’s royal zeal Best instructs you how to pray Hourly from her own Conversing with the Eternal Throne.

SOLO (Bass) These are the sacred charms that shield Her daring hero in the field; Thus she supports his righteous cause, Thus to aid his immortal pow’r she draws.

DUET (Soprano & Bass) & CHORUS See Nature, rejoicing, has shown us the way, With innocent revels to welcome the day.

The tuneful grove, and talking rill, The laughing vale, the replying hill, With charming harmony unite, The happy season to invite.

What the Graces require, And the Muses inspire, Is at once our delight and our duty to pay.

Thus Nature, rejoicing, has shown us the way, With innocent revels to welcome the day.

(Chorus) The holy Church throughout all the world: doth acknowledge thee; The Father: of an infinite Majesty; Thine honourable, true: and only Son; Also the Holy Ghost: the Comforter.

(Bass) Thou art the King of Glory: O Christ.

Thou art the everlasting Son: of the Father.

SOLO (Alto) & CHORUS (Alto) When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man: thou didst not abhor the virgin’s womb.

When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death: thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers.

Thou sittest at the right hand of God: in the glory of the Father.

We believe that thou shalt come: to be our judge.

We therefore pray thee, help thy servants: whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood.

Make them to be numbered with thy saints: in glory everlasting.

(Chorus) O Lord, save thy people: and bless thine heritage.

Govern them: and lift them up forever.

CHORUS Day by day: we magnify thee; And we worship thy name: ever world without end.

~ Intermission ~

SOLO (Alto) Vouchsafe, O Lord: to keep us this day without sin.

O Lord, have mercy upon us: have mercy upon us.

O Lord, let thy mercy lighten upon us: as our trust is in thee.

Te Deum (“Queen Caroline”) in D Major, HWV 280 (1714)

CHORUS O Lord, in thee have I trusted: let me never be confounded.

Te Deum Laudamus, circa 500 (Traditionally ascribed to Saints Ambrose and Augustine) English Text: Book of Common Prayer, 1662 SOLI (Alto, Tenor, & Bass) & CHORUS We praise thee, O God: we acknowledge thee to be the Lord.

All the earth doth worship thee: the Father everlasting.

To thee all Angels cry aloud: the Heavens, and all the Powers therein.

To thee Cherubin and Seraphin: continually do cry, Holy, Holy, Holy: Lord God of Sabaoth; Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty: of thy glory.

SOLI (Alto & Bass) & CHORUS (Alto) The glorious company of the Apostles: praise thee.

The goodly fellowship of the prophets: praise thee.

The noble army of martyrs: praise thee.

22

❁ Eternal Source of Light Divine, HWV 74 (1713) Birthday Ode for Queen Anne; February 6, 1713 Text: Ambrose Philips SOLO (Alto) Eternal source of light divine With double warmth thy beams display, And with distinguish’d glory shine, To add a lustre to this day.

SOLO (Alto) & CHORUS The day that gave great Anna birth Who fix’d a lasting peace on earth.

Texts SOLO (Soprano) & CHORUS (Soprano) Let all the winged race with joy Their wonted homage sweetly pay, Whilst tow’ring in the azure sky They celebrate this happy day: (Chorus) The day that gave great Anna birth Who fix’d a lasting peace on earth.

SOLI (Alto & Soprano) & CHORUS (Alto) Let flocks and herds their fear forget Lions and wolves refuse their prey And all in friendly consort meet, Made glad by this propitious day.

(Soprano, Alto, & Chorus) The day that gave great Anna birth Who fix’d a lasting peace on earth.

DUET (Alto & Bass) & CHORUS (Alto & Bass) Let rolling streams their gladness show With gentle murmurs whilst they play, And in their wild meanders flow, Rejoicing in this blessed day.

(Chorus) The day that gave great Anna birth Who fix’d a lasting peace on earth.

DUET (Soprano & Alto) Kind health descends on downy wings; Angels conduct her on the way.

T’our glorious Queen new life she brings, And swells our joys upon this day.

Kind health descends…

DUET (Soprano & Alto) & CHORUS The day that gave great Anna birth Who fix’d a lasting peace on earth.

SOLO (Bass) & CHORUS (Bass) Let envy then conceal her head, And blasted faction glide away.

No more her hissing tongues we’ll dread, (Chorus) Secure in this auspicious day.

The day that gave great Anna birth Who fix’d a lasting peace on earth.

SOLO (Alto) & CHORUS (Alto) United nations shall combine; To distant climes the sound convey (Double Chorus) United nations shall combine; To distant climes the sound convey That Anna’s actions are divine, And this the most important day!

(Chorus) The day that gave great Anna birth Who fix’d a lasting peace on earth.

Clerestory Distinctive voices blending in a gorgeous sound . . .

Americana: Into the West BERKELEY Sunday, March 27, 4:00 p.m.

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church SAN FRANCISCO Monday, March 28, 7:30 p.m.

Music at Meyer: Temple Emanu-El

Listen, find concert info, join our email list, and buy tickets at

clerestory.org

23

Millicent Tomkins Artist

Musical Still Life & Giclée Prints Email: millicenttomkins@earthlink.net Website: millicenttomkins.com Telephone: 415-383-7194

San Fr ancisco Ren aissan ce V oice s Todd Jolly, Music Director

ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS OR SERVICE with

The Music of Joy *** EMA 25 th Ann ivers ary Conc ert *** We join with Ea rly M us ic A me rica , the national service provider to North American Early Music organizations to celebrate their 25th year with this concert featuring Tom ás Lui s de Vic toria’s “Missa Gaudeamus” & other joyful music of the Renaissance & Early Baroque including works by Talli s, Byrd, P urc el l & Josqu in Marc h 19, 20 & 27, 2011

The M us ic of L ov e Our OPERA EARL Y & ANCIENT series returns with Matthew Locke’s delightful masque “Cupid & Death.”

Featuring the libretto by Christopher Gibbons, Cupid & Death accidentally exchange arrows – lovers are struck dead & those whose time of passing has come are struck ardent – pandemonium ensues until Mother Nature & the god Mercury step in to make things right.

Aug ust 13, 14, 20 & 21, 2011 Visit our website f or de tails & ticke ts:

www.SFRV. org 24

Advertising with ABS allows you to support one of the finest early music ensembles in the country while getting your message to our highly educated patrons in a costeffective method!

415-621-7900 advertise@americanbach.org americanbach.org/advertise

In July 2010, the American Bach Soloists inaugurated North America’s newest annual professional training program in Historically Informed Performance Practice.

Drawing on their distinguished roster of performers— named “the best American specialists in early music”

by The Washington Post—the American Bach Soloists’ ACADEMY offers advanced conservatory-level students and young professionals unique opportunities to study and perform Baroque music in a multi-disciplinary learning environment. In addition to in-depth coachings and technical studies with masters of their particular instruments, string players, wind and brass players, continuo and keyboard players, and singers work together with all faculty members, gaining the perspectives of eminent and highly acclaimed professional artists from a variety of disciplines.

The ACADEMY is held in the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s exquisite new facilities, recently opened in the heart of the city’s arts district. Located two blocks from Davies Symphony Hall (home of the San Francisco Symphony) and the War Memorial Opera House (home of the San Francisco Opera and San Francisco Ballet companies), the Conservatory offers state-of-the-art performance halls, classrooms, practice rooms, and teaching studios.

The American Bach Soloists ACADEMY offers nearly two weeks of public events that present the celebrated artists of the American Bach Soloists performing sideby-side with the next generation of early music virtuosi.

Chamber Music Concerts ~ Free Public Lectures Handel’s Ariodante ~ Bach’s Mass in B Minor Colloquia ~ Open Master Classes

Join us this summer ... July 14–23, 2011 americanbach.org/academy

ACADEMY SPONSORS The American Bach Soloists ACADEMY Sponsors represent the San Francisco Bay Area arts community’s most culturally responsible patrons who are excited to provide uniquely challenging and artistically productive educational experiences to the world’s next generation of professional musicians specializing in the timeless repertoire of the Baroque era and, in particular, the music of Bach and his contemporaries.

Whether your passion is for the Arts, Education, or Music, your investment in the careers of the cream of the crop from conservatories around the globe will help ensure the future of great music that has inspired generations from all walks of life.

As a member of this essential and prestigious society, you will be invited to a special opening reception on the first day of the Academy to meet our students and faculty. You will also be invited to a special private reception at the conclusion of the Academy. And you will have first access to Priority Ticketing for all events.

25

Experience what the San Francisco Chronicle hails as “divinely inspired singing� by the American Bach Choir on these CDs...available for purchase during intermission.

Handel: Messiah

americanbach.org/recordings Beethoven: Ninth Symphony

26

Music Director Jeffrey Thomas JEFFREY THOMAS has brought thoughtful, meaningful, and informed perspectives to his performances as Artistic and Music Director of the American Bach Soloists for more than two decades. Recognized worldwide as one of the foremost interpreters of the music of Bach and the Baroque, he continues to inspire audiences and performers alike through his keen insights into the passions behind musical expression. He has directed and conducted recordings of more than 25 cantatas, the Mass in B Minor, Musical Offering, motets, chamber music, and works by Schütz, Pergolesi, Vivaldi, Haydn, and Beethoven. Fanfare magazine has praised his series of Bach recordings, stating that “Thomas’ direction seems just right, capturing the humanity of the music…there is no higher praise for Bach performance.” He has appeared with the Baltimore, Berkeley, Boston, Detroit, Houston, National, Rochester, Minnesota, and San Francisco symphony orchestras; with the Vienna Symphony and the New Japan Philharmonic; with virtually every American baroque orchestra; and in Austria, England, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Mexico. He has performed at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Spoleto USA Festival, Ravinia Festival, Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Berkeley Festival and Exhibition, Boston Early Music Festival, Bethlehem Bach Festival, Göttingen Festival, Tage Alte Musik Festival in Regensburg, E. Nakamichi Baroque Festival in Los Angeles, the Smithsonian Institution, and at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s “Next Wave Festival,” and he has collaborated on several occasions as conductor with the Mark Morris Dance Group.

Before devoting all of his time to conducting, he was one of the first recipients of the San Francisco Opera Company’s prestigious Adler Fellowships. Cited by the Wall Street Journal as “a superstar among oratorio tenors,” Mr. Thomas’ extensive discography of vocal music includes dozens of recordings of major works for Decca, EMI, Erato, Koch International Classics, Denon, Harmonia Mundi, Smithsonian, Newport Classics, and Arabesque. Mr. Thomas is an avid exponent of contemporary music, and has conducted the premiers of new operas, including David Conte’s Gift of the Magi and Firebird Motel, and premiered song cycles of several composers, including

two cycles written especially for him. He has performed lieder recitals at the Smithsonian, song recitals at various universities, and appeared with his own vocal chamber music ensemble, L’Aria Viva.

Educated at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Manhattan School of Music, and the Juilliard School of Music, with further studies in English literature at Cambridge University, he has taught at the Amherst Early Music Workshop, Oberlin College Conservatory Baroque Performance Institute, San Francisco Early Music Society, and Southern Utah Early Music Workshops, presented master classes at the New England Conservatory of Music, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, SUNY at Buffalo, Swarthmore College, and Washington University, been on the faculty of Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, and was artist-in-residence at the University of California, where he is now professor of music (Barbara K. Jackson Chair in Choral Conducting) and director of choral ensembles in the Department of Music at UC Davis. He was a UC Davis Chancellor’s Fellow from 2001 to 2006; and the Rockefeller Foundation awarded him a prestigious Residency at the Bellagio Study and Conference Center at Villa Serbelloni for April 2007, to work on his manuscript, “Handel’s Messiah: A Life of Its Own.”

In the Press...

“Thomas united enlightened historical performance practice with native musical intelligence.”

San Francisco Examiner

“Under the dexterous leadership of Music Director Jeffrey Thomas, the choir produced sounds of remarkable transparency and body.”

San Francisco Chronicle

“Thomas cast the music in winningly immediate terms…a performance marked by crisp rhythmic focus and tender lyricism.”

San Francisco Chronicle

“Thomas’ direction seems just right, capturing the humanity of the music…there is no higher praise for Bach performance.”

Fanfare Magazine 27

Artist Profiles

Jesse Blumberg JESSE BLUMBERG (baritone) is an artist equally at home on opera, concert, and recital stages. This past season he performed the role of the Celebrant in Bernstein’s Mass at London’s Royal Festival Hall under the baton of Marin Alsop, debuted with Boston Lyric Opera as Harlekin in Ariadne auf Naxos, and performed recitals in Paris with the Mirror Visions Ensemble. In 2007 he created the role of Connie Rivers in The Grapes of Wrath (recorded by P.S. Classics) at the Minnesota Opera, and later made his Utah and Pittsburgh Opera debuts in the same production. Other recent appearances include leading and featured roles with Annapolis Opera, Opera Delaware, Opera Vivente, and the Boston Early Music Festival.

In concert, Mr. Blumberg has been a featured soloist with American Bach Soloists, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Sacred Music in a Sacred Space, and the Berkshire Choral Festival. He has also given the world premieres of two important chamber works: Ricky Ian Gordon’s Green Sneakers (recorded by Blue Griffin Recording) and Lisa Bielawa’s The Lay of the Love and Death, the former at the Vail Valley Music Festival, and the latter at Alice Tully Hall. He has toured with the Mark Morris Dance Group and the Waverly Consort, and given recitals for the Marilyn Horne Foundation. Last season, he and pianist Martin Katz performed Schubert’s two monumental song cycles, Die schöne Müllerin and Winterreise, over one weekend in Ann Arbor, and will soon repeat this pairing in New York City. Mr. Blumberg has been recognized in many song and opera competitions, and in 2008 was awarded Third Prize at the International Robert Schumann Competition in Zwickau, becoming its first American prizewinner in over thirty years.

His 2010-2011 engagements include song recitals in New York, Boston, and Washington, D.C., debuts with New York Festival of Song, Clarion Society, University Musical Society, Green Mountain Project, and Apollo’s Fire, and returns to American Bach Soloists, Minnesota Opera, and the Boston Early Music Festival. He received a Master of Music degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and undergraduate degrees in History and Music from the University of Michigan. Mr. Blumberg is also the founder and artistic director of the Five Boroughs Music Festival, a new concert series in New York City.

28

Hugh Davies HUGH DAVIES (bass) was born and educated in England, and started his singing career as a boy chorister at St. Albans Abbey under the direction of Peter Hurford and Simon Preston. While a student at Cambridge University, he was a Choral Scholar at King’s College, where the director of music was David Willcocks. As a professional singer based in London, he appeared with Glyndebourne Opera and the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, and performed as a soloist with leading choirs and orchestras throughout Europe. He was a member of the Monteverdi Choir, the Schütz Choir and the John Alldis Choir, and made many recordings and broadcasts on television and radio. After teaching music in Australia for two years, Hugh moved to California in 1986. He now sings, mostly in the San Francisco area, both as a soloist and as a member of several professional ensembles, and has appeared with groups such as the American Bach Soloists, California Bach Society, Magnificat, Albany Consort, San Francisco Bach Choir, Santa Rosa Symphony, Sonoma County Bach Choir, Symphony Silicon Valley, and the Theatre of Voices. He has also appeared with Boston-based Cut Circle and, in Southern California, with Pacific Chorale and Musica Angelica. He is also President of ACFEA Tour Consultants, an organization that arranges international tours for amateur performing arts ensembles, and serves on the board of Chorus America and as President of American Bach Soloists.

Artist Profiles

Ian Howell IAN HOWELL (countertenor) sings with a warm and seamless tone rarely heard from countertenors. Praised by the New York Times for his “clear voice and attractive timbre” and San Francisco Classical Voice for his “flawless singing,” Mr. Howell took First Prize at the American Bach Soloists 2006 International Young Artists Competition with an acclaimed performance of Bach’s Cantata BWV 170, Vergnügte Ruh, and Third Prize at the Oratorio Society of New York’s Competition.

This Blacksburg, VA native can be heard with the all male chamber choir Chanticleer on one DVD and seven CDs, including the GRAMMY award-winning Lamentations and Praises and the GRAMMY award nominated Our American Journey. His 2009-2010 season featured solo debuts at the Ravinia Festival, in the Beginner’s Ear recital, Messiah with the Handel Choir of Baltimore, as Joacim in Handel’s Suzanna with The New York Metamorphosis, in Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater with Chatham Baroque, Bach’s St. John Passion with Musica Angelica in Los Angeles, and in recital at Ohio’s Columbus Guitar Society. He returns this season in performances with the American Bach Soloists, and with the Staunton Music Festival. Recent seasons have seen Mr. Howell appear with ensembles and orchestras across the USA and Canada, including American Bach Soloists, Oratorio Society of New York, Musica Sacra (NYC), Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia, Vancouver Chamber Choir, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Berkshire Choral Festival, Princeton Glee Club, Tableau Baroque, and The Choir of St Thomas 5th Ave (NYC). Mr. Howell’s debut solo CD with the American Bach Soloists was released in March of 2009 and featuring repertory by D. Scarlatti, J.S. Bach, and Handel. He is committed to spreading awareness of the countertenor voice and is an active teacher and clinician, maintaining studios in Philadelphia, at Swarthmore College, and in New York City. Mr. Howell graduated in 2006 with a Master of Music Degree in Voice offered jointly by the Yale Institute of Sacred Music and the Yale School of Music.

Clifton Massey CLIFTON MASSEY (countertenor) enjoys performing a variety of vocal styles with world-class musicians. Praised for his “depth of tone” by the Dallas Morning News and “expressive, moving” singing by San Francisco Classical Voice, he strives for informed interpretations of styles from the Middle Ages to newly composed pieces. Known for a deep commitment to musical excellence, Mr. Massey is often sought for oratorio and ensemble work throughout the Bay Area and beyond.

At home on the concert and opera stage, he has appeared as Apollo in Albinoni’s Il Nascimento dell’Aurora with City Concert Opera, the sorceress in Purcell’s King Arthur at the Bloomington Early Music Festival, and as soloist with notable period-instrument groups including American Bach Soloists, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Concert Royal NYC, and the Dallas Bach Society. He has collaborated with such renowned conductors as Jeffrey Thomas, Nicholas McGegan, Skitch Henderson, John Holloway, and Paul Hillier. A proponent of high-level ensemble singing, Mr. Massey performed with the award-winning ensemble Chanticleer with whom he sang in over 200 concerts in such settings as the Tanglewood Music Festival, Ravinia Festival, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Tokyo Opera City, and in a variety of the world’s finest concert halls.

With them, he can be heard as a soloist on their recording “Sound in Spirit.” In 2006, a group of alumni from that ensemble formed Clerestory, an a cappella men’s ensemble with whom he can be heard on their upcoming CD “Night Draws Near” available in October. As an educator, Mr. Massey seeks to instill a love of music and singing with young adults, and is often sought as a choral clinician and adjudicator.

Upcoming solo projects include this evening’s Purcell and Handel performance with the American Bach Soloists, and Bach’s Mass in B Minor with Pacific Collegium in Spring of this year. Mr. Massey is a native of Dallas, Texas and holds a music education bachelor’s degree from Texas Christian University and a master’s degree in Early Music vocal performance from Indiana University, where he studied with Paul Elliott, Alan Bennett and Paul Hillier.

29

Artist Profiles

Aaron Sheehan AARON SHEEHAN (tenor) is part of a new generation of early music vocalists that performs in projects ranging from Medieval to 20th Century music. His voice has been described

by Opera News as “Sinuous and Supple” and the Boston Globe says he “sings with musical charm and vocal aplomb.” He has appeared as soloist with the American Bach Soloists, Tragicomedia, Concerto Palatino, New York Collegium, Handel and Haydn Society, Aston Magna Festival, Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Clarion Music Society, Boston Cecilia, American Opera Theater, Intermezzo Chamber Opera, and the Lyra Concert Baroque Orchestra. His singing has taken him to many festivals including Tanglewood, Boston Early Music Festival, Regensburg Early Music Festival, Washington DC Early Music Festival, and Monadnock Summer Music Festival. Aaron has recorded and toured the U.S. and Europe with Paul Hillier’s ensemble, Theater of Voices, with which he still performs, Blue Heron Renaissance Choir, Fortune’s Wheel, and La Donna Musicale. Mr. Sheehan’s recently sung engagements include the role of Ivan in the Boston Early Music Festival’s production of Mattheson’s Boris Gudenow, the role of Enea in Cavalli’s Didone, the role of Pastor in a recording of Monteverdi’s Orfeo, and a recording of Lully’s Thésée with BEMF. Other engagements have included a Midwest tour of Handel’s Acis and Galatea, a St. John Passion at the National Cathedral, one on a part Bach cantatas with the American Bach Soloists, and the role of Amour in Lully’s opera Psyché with the Boston Early Music Festival. Mr. Sheehan teaches voice at both Wellesley College and Brown University.

30

Elizabeth Weigle ELIZABETH WEIGLE (soprano) is sought out for her unique vocal beauty and interpretive insight, which she lends to music ranging from the Baroque to the 21st Century.

Highlights of her recent and upcoming performances include: world premiere of Theofanidis’ Now is the Time that Hope Has Come at the Juilliard Theater in New York, Mahler’s Fourth Symphony with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Oliver Knussen Hums and Songs of Winnie the Pooh in Carnegie Hall, as Pat Nixon in Adam’s Nixon in China with the Opera Boston, Handel’s Messiah and Bach BWV 51 Jauchzet Gott in Allen Landen with the American Bach Soloists, Carmina Burana in Baltimore, Schumann’s Das Paradies und die Peri in Boston, Brahms Requiem, Bach’s Mass in B Minor at the Cathedral Choral Society National Cathedral in Washington D.C., Handel’s cantatas, La Lucrezia with New York’s Four Nations and Armida Abbandonata with the Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado. Ms. Weigle’s most recent recordings include Mozart’s Requiem with Apollo’s Fire (Koch), and the world premiere recording of 66 Times by Prix de Rome winning composer Shih-Hui Chen’s (Albany). A graduate of the Eastman School of Music where she studied with the late Jan DeGaetani, and coached extensively with Paul O’Dette and Christel Thielmann, Ms. Weigle received her Masters degree from the Manhattan School of Music with continued studies at The Juilliard School.

San Francisco, Berkeley, Atherton and Walnut Creek

March 4–9

Zheng Cao: The Life of a Singer

Acclaimed mezzo-soprano Zheng Cao s U.S. premiere of (SF Opera’s Bonesetter’s Daughter) perform ts.

Ligh Nathanial Stookey’s Into the Bright Tickets start at $30

philharmonia.org

April 9–13

Haydn’s Creation

(415) 252-1288

Haydn’s great masterpiece, featuring Philip Cutlip, and Dominique Labelle, Thomas Cooley, ott, director). the Philharmonia Chorale (Bruce Lam Tickets start at $25

Dietrich BuxtehuDe Membra Jesu Nostri A cycle of seven cantatas offers poignant Lenten meditations

Chamber chorus and strings, featuring Rachel Hurwitz and David Sego, violin

Friday, March 4, 8PM St. Mark’s Lutheran Church San Francisco

Saturday, March 5, 8PM All Saints’ Episcopal Church Palo Alto

Sunday, March 6, 4PM St. Mark’s Episcopal Church Berkeley

415-262-0272

www.calbach.org 31

American Bach Soloists Discography MASTERWORKS SERIES

Bach Brandenburg Concertos Bach Harpsichord Concertos Bach Italian Transcriptions Bach Mass in B Minor Bach Violin Concertos Beethoven Ninth Symphony Corelli Concerti Grossi Handel Messiah Haydn Masses Sch端tz Choral & Vocal Works Carols for Christmas The Art of Ian Howell

BACH CANTATA SERIES

Solo Cantatas Trauerode M端hlhausen Cantatas Cantatas for Easter Weimar Cantatas Favorite Cantatas

free

Listen to ABS streaming audio

americanbach.org/player

americanbach.org/media