2011-04-01 April Follies

JEFFREY THOMAS music director

April Follies

J. S. Bach’s autograph manuscript of the opening of the “Coffee Cantata”

Brilliant Secular Treasures by Bach and Telemann

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Welcome from the Artistic Director Really big news!

Every once in a while, an organization such as ours has some Really Big News! And this is exactly one of those times. Read on …

Nearly twenty years ago, ABS established SummerFest in Belvedere. Those memorable evenings of chamber music, recitals, and lectures were treasured by our audiences, and soon San Francisco and Davis were added into the mix, each with its own combination of programs tailor-made for the venues. And last summer, we inaugurated our Academy – America’s newest and most prestigious summer training program for emerging professionals and advanced conservatorylevel students of early music.

Now, as the final piece of the puzzle falls so perfectly into place, we are thrilled to announce San Francisco’s very own annual summer Bach Festival.

The American Bach Soloists FESTIVAL & ACADEMY establishes San Francisco as one of the world’s centers for Bach performance and scholarship, bringing to Bay Area audiences the same rich breadth of summer musical activities that followers of similar festivals in Bethlehem (PA), Carmel, and Eugene (OR) have enjoyed for years. And like other programs – including those at Tanglewood, Ravinia, Marlboro, and Santa Fe – a highly respected and discriminating educational component for young artists is fully incorporated into the panoply of activities that are enticing, stimulating, and informative.

At the core of our summer programs – the very heart and soul – is the music of Johann Sebastian Bach including annual performances of Bach’s towering Mass in B Minor, cantatas, concertos, and sonatas. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg! Free lectures and master classes, open rehearsals, and annual colloquia on inspiring and timely topics provide a smorgasbord

Tel: (415) 621-7900 Fax: (415) 621-7920 facebook.com/americanbach

Jeffrey Thomas

of public events that will provide year after year of unforgettable musical experiences.

Turn to page 9 in this booklet to read about our programs for July 2011. Subscriptions and single tickets are on sale now … order yours soon! Last year’s performances of the Mass in B Minor, along with the “Academy-in-Action” series, sold out very quickly.

Meanwhile, ABS is busy participating at other important festivals and conventions. On page 17, you can find a list of our upcoming appearances with Chorus America, the American Guild of Organists, Cal Performances, and the American Musicological Society.

Finally, our Subscribers will soon receive renewal packets that provide details of next season’s programs: Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, a program of Bach Double Concertos, and the Easter and Ascension Oratorios.

You’ve told us why you value our performances so much. We’ve listened and reaffirmed our commitment to present the timeless music of Bach in performances that are thoughtful, meaningful, and passionate.

See you there!

AMERICAN BACH SOLOISTS 44 Page Street, Suite 504 San Francisco CA 94102-5973

americanbach.org info@americanbach.org twitter.com/americanbach

The American Bach Soloists are Artists-in-Residence at St. Stephen’s Church, Belvedere. © 2011 American Bach Soloists. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

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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 March 15, 2010 and March 15, 2011. We deeply regret any errors or omissions.

AMERICAN BACH SOLOISTS CIRCLE Corporate, Government, and Foundation Support $20,000 and above Grants for the Arts/San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation Charles Hosmer Morse Foundation $10,000-$19,999 E. Nakamichi Foundation National Endowment for the Arts $5,000-$9,999 Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation The Bernard Osher Foundation Wallis Foundation $2,500-$4,999 The Michael J. Weller Trust Cantors ($500-$999) Anonymous Gretchen Brosius Peter and Susan Browne Barbara Casey and Richard Siggins Donna Chazen Eunice Childs Garniss Curtis Mag Dimond Ayame Flint Cynthia Foster A. John and Paula Gambs Kathryn Hobart Hallie Holtzman Susan and Stafford Keegin Jessica Kinloch Richard and Patricia Taylor Lee Susan Mann Blair Martin Marian Metson Frank Pajerski Charles Quesenberry David and Mary Raub Colby and Katherine Roberts Rock Wall Wines Geerat and Edith Vermeij 4

Up to $2,499 AT&T Foundation Matching Gifts Program AXA Foundation Matching Gifts Program Clorox Foundation The McNally Family Trust Mechanics Bank Individual Support Royal Patrons ($10,000 and above) Anonymous (2) Hugh Davies and Kaneez Munjee Dan and Lee Drake Jan Goldberg Fraser and Helen Muirhead Bach Family Circle ($5,000$9,999) Jose and Carol Alonso Richard and Sharon Boyer John and Lois Crowe Delia Voitoff-Bauman and Steve Bauman Charles and Elizabeth Wilts ($250-$499) Anonymous Peter and Margaret Armstrong Eric Collier and Joseph Newell 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 William Lokke Lee and Hannelore McCrumb Andrew Morgan and Danny Richard Krista Muirhead and Barry Grossman

Angela Hilt and Blake Reinhardt Patricia and George Locke Kim and Judith Maxwell Jim and Jennifer Steelquist

Richard G. Fabian Thomas and Phyllis Farver Tom Flesher and Adam Verret Richard Forde Alfred and Irene M. Glassgold Capellmeisters ($2,500-$4,999) Connie Harden and Chuck O’Neill Wendy Buchen Benjamin and Lynette Hart David Cates and Cheryl Sumsion John F. Heil Judith Flynn Milton and Carol Hollenberg Marie Hogan and Douglas Lutgen James and Joan Kelly Paul and Sandra Ogden Valerie and Dan King Nancy Quinn and Tom Driscoll Norman Larson Richard and Shipley Walters Olaf and Jeanette Leifson Kwei and Michele Ü Lamar Leland James Meehan ($1,000-$2,499) Paul Morin Anonymous Virginia Patterson Peter Brodigan Mark and Katherine Perl Peter and Claudia Brown Ann Preston John and Jane Buffington Robert Ripps and Steven Spector Lisa Capaldini Martin and Elizabeth Secker David and Judy Covin Peter and Asiye Sonnen Silvia Davidson Roman Shi and Fred Stark Colin and Rebecca Drake Jeffrey Thomas Debra Nagy Lissa Nicolaus 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 Millicent Tomkins Rick Trautner Thomas and Ann Watrous Diana Wilks William and Gretchen Kimball Fund David Wilson Jerri Witt Foster and Betty Wright

Edward Betts Borden and Betty Bloom Jesse Blumberg and Rita Donahue Daniel and Diana Bort Roberta Brokaw David and Carol Brown Robert and Lynn Campbell Carde Blanche 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 Choristers ($100-$249) Nancy Dubois Anonymous Robert and Susan Flax Cheryl Arnold and John Frykman Thomas and Mary Foote Phyllis and Tom Baer Margaret Fuerst Judith Barker and Linda Mitteness Margaret Garms Jeff Bartak Phil Garratt Charles Beadle Jim and Laura Gregory Robert Berman Barry Grossman

Contributors Darrow and Gwen Haagensen David Hammer Lauri Harper Donna Heinle Daniel Hersh Ralph and Leny Heymann Robert and Kathleen Kaiser David G. King, M.D. Joseph and Jeanne Klems William and Janette Knick Marcia Kolb Thomas Koster Jane Lang 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 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 David Tayler and Hanneke Van Proosdij Robert Thompson Dean and Jeanice Tipps Barbara Van Slyke 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 Rachmael Ben-Avram Al Bernstein Ernst and Hannah Biberstein John Bingham Mary Bost Mary Brayton Irving and Karen Broido Leslie Brown Stephanie Cartwright

Dr. and Mrs. Dikran L. Chamlian Ann Cheng Roger and Ana Chretien Richard and Evelyn Clair Julie Coffin Carol Copperud JP Crametz and T. Ravid 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 Basil Guy 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 Shelley Johnson Don and Diane Johnston Charles and Paige Kelso Isik Kizilyalli George Knudson George Kovatch and J. Robert Wiskotzil Natalie Krawczyk Jennifer Lane William Langley Lark Theater Harold and Helene Lecar Robert Levin Sally Levinson Joseph Lifschutz Deana Logan and Joseph C. Najpaver Laura Louis Larry Marietta Noreen Mazelis Ann McCown Stepheny McGraw Jesse and Catherine Miller Minako Miyazaki Barbara Molloy Michael and Jennifer Moran Diane and John Musgrave Paul Nettelman Michael and Elfrieda O’Neill Judith Ostapik Mary Osterloh Arie Perry Thomas Ramos Eugene and Libby Renkin 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 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 Tributes Phyllis and Thomas Baer, In honor of Katherine McKee Roberts Sharon and Richard Boyer, In memory of Mamie F. Vercelli In memory of Edward T. Smithburn In memory of Rosemary Pollastrini Cynthia Foster, In honor of Andrew Morgan and Katherine McKee Janice Masterton, In honor of Jim and Jennifer Steelquist In memory of Larry Masterton Libby and Gene Renkin, In honor of Harriet and Bill Lovitt Robert Ripps and Steven Spector, In honor of Don Scott Carpenter Colby and Katherine Roberts, In memory of Patricia Wolf In Memory of Perry Foster Peter and Susi Browne Mary Brayton Nancy and Penn Butler Michael Chappell Sarah C. Chase Jane Lang Stepheny McGraw The McNally Family Trust Jeffrey Thomas The Michael J. Weller Trust

In-Kind Support Businesses and Organizations American Conservatory Theater Amy Schwab Designs Anchor Brewing Company 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 San Francisco Opera Smith-Rafael Film Center Tafelmusik Trumer Brauerei Twisted Silver UNT Collegium Ward St. Cafe Waters Edge Hotel Wildfox Restaurant Community Individuals Carol Alonso Johanna Baruch Sharon Boyer Barbara Casey Silvia Davidson Kaneez Munjee Cynthia Foster Ken Hoffman Kevin D. Harrington Ken Hoffman Shelley Johnson Elfrieda Langemann Jennifer Lane Raymond Martinez Paul Morin Lissa Nicolaus Katherine Roberts Perl Nancy Quinn and Tom Driscoll Ann Rosenfeld Millicent Tomkins Michele and Kwei Ü Heidi Waterman David Wilson 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

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

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 (value $50 per ticket) 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

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JULY 15 TO JULY 23 2011 • SFBACHFESTIVAL.ORG Masterworks Series Annual performances of Bach’s Mass in B Minor and selected works from Baroque opera and oratorio.

Chamber Series Virtuoso performances of favorite and lesser-known masterpieces by Bach and his contemporaries.

Academy Series “Academy-in-Action” performances featuring the next generation of early music virtuosi as they perform Bach cantatas and chamber music by masters of the Baroque.

Lecture Series Join the faculty and students of the American Bach Soloists Academy for a series of enlightening and informative free public lectures.

Master Class Series The ABS Academy opens its doors to the public to witness the artistic transformations that make Master Classes so tremendously exciting. You’ll take with you knowledge and insights usually known only to performers and their master teachers.

Public Colloquia Engaging forums for performers, presenters, and their public supporters. featured performers include Elizabeth Blumenstock violin • Max van Egmond baritone Corey Jamason harpsichord • Katherine Kyme viola • Steven Lehning violone Judith Malafronte alto • Robert Mealy violin • Sandra Miller flute Debra Nagy oboe • Elisabeth Reed violoncello • John Thiessen trumpet Jeffrey Thomas conductor • Tanya Tomkins violoncello Yulia Van Doren soprano • ABS Academy Orchestra American Bach Choir & Festival Chorus

FRIDAY JULY 15 5:30 p.m. Opening Night Gala 8:00 p.m. Chamber Series Music by J. S. Bach

• Suite VI in D Major for Unaccompanied Violoncello • Brandenburg Concerto V in D Major • Sonata in E Minor for Violin and Basso continuo • Concerto for Oboe and Violin in C Minor • Arias from Cantatas

SATURDAY JULY 16 3:00 p.m. Public Colloquia “Early Music: Making it Happen!”

8:00 p.m. Chamber Series Music by J. S. Bach • Sonata II in A minor for Unaccompanied Violin • Sonata III in E Major for Flute and Basso continuo • Concerto for Oboe in G Minor • Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen

Photo ©Tim Griffith

All events take place at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music 50 Oak Street at Van Ness

SUNDAY JULY 17 2:00 p.m. Masterworks Series Bach: Mass in B Minor

THURSDAY JULY 21 2:30 p.m. Master Class Series 5:00 p.m. Lecture Series

MONDAY JULY 18 2:30 p.m. Master Class Series 5:00 p.m. Lecture Series 8:00 p.m. Academy Series Bach Cantatas and works by Baroque masters

FRIDAY JULY 22 2:30 p.m. Master Class Series 5:00 p.m. Lecture Series 8:00 p.m. Masterworks Series Handel: Ariodante

TUESDAY JULY 19 2:30 p.m. Master Class Series 5:00 p.m. Lecture Series 8:00 p.m. Academy Series Bach Cantatas and works by Baroque masters WEDNESDAY JULY 20 2:30 p.m. Master Class Series 5:00 p.m. Lecture Series 8:00 p.m. Academy Series Bach Cantatas and works by Baroque masters

SATURDAY JULY 23 5:00 p.m. Lecture Series 8:00 p.m. Masterworks Series Bach: Mass in B Minor

Subscriptions and Single Tickets on sale now: SFBACHFESTIVAL.org or AMERICANBACH.org (415) 621-7900 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 period-instrument 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, 10

regular 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 2010, ABS began a collaboration with San Francisco choreographer Todd Eckert that will result in three new works using music by Bach, Telemann, and Purcell.

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, and is the educational component of the American Bach Soloists FESTIVAL. 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 Angela Hilt Helen Drake Muirhead Blake Reinhardt

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 Patron Services Manager James Stahlman Marketing and Public Relations Manager Lisa May Box Office and House Manager Keith Perry Academy Administrator Heli Roiha Bookkeeper Jimmy Featherstone Concert Coordinator

E.J. Chavez Stage Crew Joseph Sargent Writer Quinn Associates Development Consultants NEQA/Communications Publicists ADVISORY COUNCIL The Right Reverend Marc Andrus Irving 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

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church Vestry, Staff, and Parishioners The Reverend Robert Gieselmann, Interim Rector John Karl Hirten, Organist Jan Goldberg & Ken Hoffman James & Maxine Risley Ken & Marjorie Saur Dr. Kwei & Michele Ü Housing and Hospitality Patricia Wolf Jubillee Gee William Langley Office Volunteers

Media Partners

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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.

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Jeffrey Thomas, Music Director

. . .voices blended in a warming glow that filled the space. . . .this group has been delighting audiences for [over] 70 years.”

—SF Classical Voice

J.S. BACH Mass in B Minor with Jennifer Paulino, soprano Danielle Reutter-Harrah, mezzo-soprano Brian Thorsett, tenor Paul Murray, bass and the SFBC Baroque Orchestra

saturday, May 21, 8PM/sunday, May 22, 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 Violins

Violas

Flute

Elizabeth Blumenstock (leader) Andrea Guarneri, Cermona, 1660. *

David Daniel Bowes Richard Duke, London, circa 1780.

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

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

Janet See Martin Wenner, Singen, Germany, 2010; after Carlo Palanca, Turin, circa 1760.

Katherine Kyme (principal II) Johann Gottlob Pfretzichner, Mittenwald, 1791.

Violoncellos

Johanna Novom Masa Inokuchi, Toronto, 2005; partially based on Stradivari models, Cremona, 1700s.

Janet Strauss Matthias Joannes Koldiz, Munich, 1733.

Lisa Weiss Anonymous, 19th century; after Paolo Antonio Testore, Contrada, Larga di Milano, 1730s. * The 1660 Andrea Guarneri violin played by Ms Blumenstock, is made available to her through the generosity of the Philharmonia Baroque Period Instrument Trust.

William Skeen (continuo) Anonymous, Northern Italy, circa 1680.

Shirley Edith Hunt Anonymous, Milan, circa 1706.

Violone grosso Steven Lehning Hammond Ashley Luthiers, Seattle, WA, 1977; after 17th century European models.

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

Recorders Judith Linsenberg Friedrich von Huene, Boston, MA, 2010; after Jacob Denner, Nuremberg, circa 1720.

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

Harpsichord Corey Jamason Willard Martin, Bethlehem, PA, 1990; after François Blanchet, Paris, circa 1730.

celebrate the lives and mourn the passing of two dear friends.

Perry Foster was a devoted follower and supporter of American Bach Soloists. He and his surviving wife, Cynthia, worked tirelessly for ABS’ annual Gala events, and Perry’s generosity, kindness, charm, and enthusiasm will be missed by all who knew him.

Patricia Wolf first served as a volunteer for American Bach Soloists in the early ‘90s as Vice President & Housing Coordinator of the ABS Guild. She returned to ABS as a volunteer in the spring of 2008 and gave generously of her time on a weekly basis, providing invaluable assistance to the office. Her cheer and graciousness meant so much to us.

The board, staff, volunteers, and ABS community at large send their sincere condolences to the families of these great patrons.

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Tonight’s Program AMERICAN BACH SOLOISTS Yulia Van Doren, soprano Joshua Copeland, baritone Judith Linsenberg, recorder Johanna Novom, violin Jeffrey Thomas, conductor

April Follies

Brilliant Secular Music by Bach & Telemann Friday April 1 through Monday April 4, 2011 Belvedere • Berkeley • San Francisco • Davis These performances are generously sponsored by Jan Goldberg.

The Belvedere performance is generously sponsored by Wendy Buchen.

• Weichet nur, betrübte Schatten (“Wedding Cantata”), BWV 202

Johann Sebastian Bach 1685-1750

Concerto in G Minor for Recorder (“Harrach-Konzert”)

Georg Philipp Telemann

Allegro

1681-1767

Adagio Allegro Cantata oder Trauer-Music eines kunsterfahrenen Canarienvogels, TWV 20:37

Telemann

(“Ode on the Death of a Pet Canary”) - Intermission Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G Major, BWV 1049

Bach

Allegro Andante Presto Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht (“Coffee Cantata”), BWV 211

Bach

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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

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Bach & Lotti

Upcoming ABS Events ABS @ SF CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC

Tuesday April 5 at 7:30 pm Master class with flutist Janet See: Admission is free and no tickets or advance reservations are required.

BACH & LOTTI

Friday May 6 - Monday May 9 Belvedere | Berkeley | S.F. | Davis A perennial favorite and a West Coast Premiere featuring five young soloists from the ABS Academy. (See details at right.)

ABS @ CHORUS AMERICA

Thursday June 9 at 4:30 pm Kanbar Performing Arts Center, S.F. Choral-Orchestral Master Class with Jeffrey Thomas: Three specially selected Conducting Fellows will work with ABS instrumentalists and singers.

ABS @ AMERICAN GUILD OF ORGANISTS CONVENTION

Thursday July 7 at 8:00 pm St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, S.F. 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.

ABS FESTIVAL & ACADEMY

Friday July 15 - Saturday July 23 San Francisco Conservatory of Music Chamber Music Concerts, Free Public Lectures & Master Classes, Colloquia (“Early Music: Making it Happen!”), Handel’s Ariodante, & Bach’s Mass in B Minor

ABS @ CAL PERFORMANCES “FALL FREE FOR ALL”

Sunday September 25 at 4:00 p.m.

Hertz Hall, UC Berkeley Bach’s secular cantata “Non sa che sia dolore” and Orchestral Suite II in B Minor with soprano Christine Brandes and flutist Janet See.

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 May 6 2011 8:00 pm St. Stephen’s Church, Belvedere Saturday May 7 2011 8:00 pm First Congregational Church, Berkeley Sunday May 8 2011 7:00 pm St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, San Francisco Monday May 9 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.

americanbach.org (415) 621-7900

Program Notes Weichet nur, betrübte Schatten (“Wedding Cantata”) The survival of three complete cycles of church cantatas

by Bach has often obscured the fact that he was also a very prolific composer of secular vocal works. These were often commissioned by aristocratic and bourgeois patrons for particular celebrations, but sometimes Bach seems to have prepared them on his own initiative, to show his respect and gratitude to the person concerned. In any event, the scores for these pieces were not so securely stored as those for the church works, which could be reused according to the repeating sequence of the church’s year. Furthermore, many of the occasional pieces were probably presented to their dedicatees and thus separated from the corpus of Bach’s manuscripts. Although the music for a distressing number of these works (as evidenced by surviving texts and announcements) is lost, Bach does seem to have reused the music to a far greater degree than in the case of his church music. Thus, a certain amount of the music for lost occasional works survives in other contexts.

Of the four known wedding cantatas, only two survive in complete musical form. “Weichet nur” is preserved in a copy from 1730, but it almost certainly dates from before that time. Something of its style and notation points towards origins during Bach’s royal employment at Cöthen, or even Weimar; but the modest, humorous and almost rustic style of much of the music hardly suggest the wedding of one of Bach’s princely patrons. The frequently-observed relation of the third movement (“Phöbus eilt”) to the last movement of the G major sonata for violin and harpsichord, BWV 1019, hardly helps date the piece, since the latter movement comes from the final version of the sonata, written over a decade after the surviving copy of BWV 202. Certainly the detail and intimacy of the writing recalls much of the Weimar music; the recitatives which develop into arioso; the extraordinarily expressive depiction of winter in the opening movement and the concise thematic statements characterizing the later arias. The development of earthly love is poetically portrayed as the banishing of winter and the coming of spring, while the music becomes progressively more dancelike and regularly phrased. The final valedictory movement is unashamedly titled “Gavotte” with the vocal section inserted as a sort of “Double.” Interestingly, Bach would often use the same musical strategy in his church cantatas, the beneficial Christian message being exposed and developed with ever more light-hearted music.

Concerto in G Minor for Recorder, 2 Violins, Viola & Basso Continuo (“Harrach-Konzert”) Though Georg Philipp Telemann’s reputation has come a long way since early twentieth-century dismissals of his “polygraph” overabundance, getting a firm handle on his music remains a Herculean task. Not only was the composer 18

alarmingly prolific, authoring more than 3,000 pieces, but he was also a tireless self-publisher, issuing more than 40 volumes of his music between 1725 and 1740, many of which found wide distribution across Europe. Until the 1980s musicologists could not even make an accurate count of this composer’s work list, and to this day the tally is still being refined. In view of this fecundity, the discovery of a new Telemann concerto might not initially grab many headlines.

That the new composition is a recorder concerto probably doesn’t help the cause either, since Telemann is already known to have composed extensively for recorder, including such pieces as the Overture for Recorder in A Minor (TWV 55:a2) and concertos in C Major (51:C1), F Major (51:F1), and G Minor (43:g3). Yet Reinhard Goebel’s recent discovery of another G Minor concerto, the Concerto in G Minor for Recorder, 2 Violins, Viola & Basso Continuo, deserves careful notice. Goebel found the piece in a set of manuscripts of the Vienna state archives (Wien, Allgemeinen Verwaltungsarchiv, Archiv Harrach), comprising six parts for treble recorder (“flauto concertato”), violino I and II, viola, violoncello, and cembalo. The copyist, while anonymous, had an elegant hand and used a distinctive double-dot after the closing bar of each movement. Scholars are currently working with watermarks and other physical evidence to determine when the music was copied.

Why is this new recorder concerto so significant? For one, the piece emerged from a somewhat unlikely source: the archives of the aristocratic Harrach family, members of the Bohemian and Austro-German nobility who ranked among the most prominent families of the Habsburg Empire. (The Vienna “Harrach Archives” became one of several repositories for the Harrach music collection when it was moved from the estate in the 1950s.) Telemann lived in Northern and central German cities throughout his life (chiefly Leipzig, Frankfurt, and Hamburg), while the Harrach family was based around Vienna, well south of Telemann’s environs—a prime example of Telemann’s exhaustive reach. The Harrach family was known for its generous musical patronage, both before and after Telemann’s lifetime. From the seventeenth through the nineteenth centuries, its members acquired a large and important musical library. Interestingly, the family also has a connection to one of musical history’s most famous composers, having employed Joseph Haydn’s mother as a cook. The other major point of intrigue for the new concerto is its distinctively Italianate style. Unlike Telemann’s other recorder concertos, this piece is filled with lyrical melodies, light textures, and thrilling harmonic sequences. These factors might raise questions about whether Telemann actually authored the work, as the composer could be outspoken in his distaste for Italian style. But proposing or rejecting attributions based simply on stylistic grounds is extraordinarily dangerous for someone like Telemann, a highly eclectic composer who habitually incorporated

Program Notes estimates of the number of sacred vocal compositions penned by Telemann—considerably more than 2,000 sacred cantatas, 52 liturgical passions (48 lost), 8 sacred oratorios, 32 psalms, 16 motets, and 20 masses and sacred services—we find that the ratio of sacred vocal compositions to secular ones is similar to that of Bach’s work. But, whereas Bach’s secular cantatas have become more or less well-known, Telemann’s secular cantatas remain obscure...with one exception.

Members of the Harrach Family by Johann Wilhelm Hoffnas (1727-1795)

aspects of French, Italian, and even Polish style. And in any case, the fact remains that no credible challenge to Telemann’s authorship has so far been mounted.

The concerto’s opening movement begins with a lively, two-part theme in the ensemble, followed by complimentary solo passages in the recorder, which expands upon the opening material with increasingly rapid figurations and a harmonic modulation to C minor. A return of the tutti brings the harmony back to G minor, where the second solo begins in similar fashion to the first before yielding to dazzling figurations over lengthy harmonic sequences in a sustained, tension-filled passage. The ensemble returns, again in C minor, and the recorder follows with a long and highly colorful solo passage, again over scintillating changes in harmony, before the piece returns for an exuberant final ritornello statement. For the second-movement cantilena Telemann writes exclusively for the recorder’s upper octave, its languorous melodies laid atop a bare, plucked string accompaniment. The final movement presents a vigorous triple-meter theme in the tutti, laden with propulsive energy.

The recorder’s solos often grow from thematic restatements into more lengthy figurations, alternating between delicate ornaments and dazzling virtuosity over abundant harmonic sequences.

Cantata oder Trauer-Music eines kunsterfahrenen Canarienvogels (Cantata or Funeral-Music for an artistically trained canary) Returning to the topic of Telemann’s prolificacy, his output of secular vocal music is quite impressive. According to the late musicologist, George J. Buelow, Telemann composed some 32 wedding cantatas and serenatas (of which 29 are lost), about 50 secular cantatas, at least 20 operas, and some 113 songs. When compared to our best

Thanks to two great German baritones, Dietrich FischerDieskau and Hermann Prey, Telemann’s quirky “Ode on the Death of a Pet Canary” enjoyed a rediscovery during the heydays of both singers’ prolific recording careers. Universally recognized as two of the most famous and most skillful vocal artists of the 20th century, they each recorded the cantata and presented it frequently in concert. The mournful yet comical cantata’s full title (Cantata oder Trauer-Music eines kunsterfahrenen Canarienvogels, als derselbe zum grössten Leidwesen seines Herrn Possessoris verstorben) translates to “Cantata or Funeral-Music for an artistically trained canary, whose demise brought the greatest sorrow to his owner.”

Even the title brings an embarrassed chuckle. Yet the music itself, despite its tongue-in-cheek subject matter, is of a very high calibre and shows Telemann to be, even in this context, the masterful composer that he was.

Composed around 1737, the work was probably the result of a commission or might have been composed “on a lark.” The late 1730s, however, had been a difficult time for Telemann. His wife, Maria Catherina, had accumulated rather insurmountable gambling debts that added up to more than Telemann’s annual salary. His friends came to the rescue and raised funds to pay off the debt and restore Telemann to solvency. But the marriage could not be redeemed—due in part to public knowledge of her infidelity—and by 1736 Telemann was living in a completely empty nest.

Scored for voice, strings, and Basso continuo (although in our performance we “double” the first violin part with oboe and/or flute), the opening movement is a dark, brooding siciliana, worthy of inclusion in any serious Passion setting.

Even traces of Pergolesi’s (then highly popular) idiomatic style can be heard. Recitatives fill in the details, yet these are blessedly short compared to Telemann’s usually extensive (i.e., lengthy) recitatives in sacred works. A lovely aria implores all canaries, indeed all birds, to sing of the mourner’s misery, and is followed with the first instance of rage against the feline perpetrator of the songbird’s demise, although the cat, per se, is not yet specifically identified as the murderous agent of death. More clever references are made to the culprit’s appetite in the form of a challenge against death to become sickened by its relentless hunger for living things.

We soon hear an exquisitely beautiful aria—one that rivals 19

Program Notes many Handelian largos—that belies its simple, colloquial text.

But as the sad owner of our avian dearly departed prepares its epitaph, unbridled rancor is let loose upon the alley cat whose sentence of punishment is sung in a dialect that indicates the complete casting aside of propriety for the sake of vengeance.

Brandenburg Concerto No 4 in G Major On 24 March 1721, a few days after his thirty-sixth birthday, J. S. Bach signed the dedicatory preface to a meticulously prepared and beautifully penned manuscript of “Concerts avec plusieurs instruments” (“Concertos with several instruments”), an offering to the Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg, who lived in Berlin. Bach did not compose these concertos specifically for this collection; indeed, the set can be seen as his selection of the best concerto movements he had written over the previous decade, as he encountered, emulated, and finally assimilated the concerto style of Vivaldi and other contemporary Italian masters.

Early definitions of the concerto as a musical genre alternatively (and ambiguously) translate the term as “disputation” and “agreement”—scarcely a sign of terminological clarity! Nevertheless, this contradiction does give a useful sense of the formal rhetoric of the concerto:

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the very differentiation of instrumental forces into tutti and solo groupings generates an immediate sense of opposition, or disputation, but the composer’s task is to render this opposition productive and agreeable. Bach and the composers of his day used the term “concerto” quite promiscuously: it is, for example, one of Bach’s customary generic titles for the works we now call “cantatas”—an acknowledgment of the contrasts between instrumental and vocal, or solo and choral forces, all functioning in “concert.”

Bach’s first essays in emulating the Italian concerto took the form of keyboard transcriptions, or arrangements, of published concertos by Vivaldi and others. The transfer of the idiom from the orchestral originals to keyboard, whether organ or harpsichord, radically narrowed the range of contrast possible between the opposing sonorities, but it still afforded ample experience in manipulating the formal and technical devices of the Italians. Most important among these was the use of ritornello form as a structural principle. (In this type of form, a memorable block of music returns in various guises at strategic points in the piece as an audible musical marker, simultaneously establishing shape and coherence through repetition, and generating considerable musical tension by being recalled in various keys.) This principle later informs not only Bach’s grasp of the concerto proper, but virtually every genre in which he composed.

Program Notes Bach’s concerto transcriptions for keyboard arose during his employment as organist, and later Kapellmeister, at the ducal court of Weimar. Upon taking up duties as the Kapellmeister to the Prince of Anhalt-Cöthen in 1717, Bach was expected to compose regularly for the court orchestra, and he transferred the concerto style back to its native, orchestral habitat, now in music of his own composition. Thus by the time he copied out the manuscript for the Margrave, he would have had several years’ supply of orchestral works from which to draw. This may account, at least in part, for the diversity of style and instrumentation in the collection: from the smooth, sonorous agreement of all the instruments in the Sixth, to the highly developed contrasts of the Fourth, with its distinctive recorders, or the Fifth, with its three independent soloists, we can hear Bach experimenting with different realizations of the concerto idea.

Eager perhaps to offer a collection that would effectively compliment the Margrave’s excellent orchestra, Bach’s aims in revision and compilation seem to have been to present six entirely disparate solutions to the concerto genre, which was by no means fixed and which could imply many instrumental combinations. Never, in fact, was he to better his achievement here, and each concerto seems exhaustively to exploit a different aspect of the genre: no two share the same instrumentation.

The fourth Brandenburg Concerto opens with an extensive ritornello which not only introduces the basic material for the movement but also reveals the instrumental argument: a solo group is contrasted with the rest of the orchestra and within this solo group there is a dialog between the two recorders and the violin. This ritornello functions as a microcosm of the work as a whole, containing its own contrasts, departures and returns; only at the end of the movement do we hear it again complete. Intermediate returns of portions of the ritornello give the movement a sense of architecture, something to provide pillars between the episodes. However, rather than simply confining the solos to the episodes, Bach dislocates the solo argument from the ritornello structure: we simply cannot predict when the soloists will be strongly profiled, as they are continually weaving in and out of the larger orchestral texture. The second movement introduces a new concept of the concerto: here there is a close dialog between the solo group and the orchestra in which the contrast is highlighted by dynamics rather than material. The piece thus plays on the concepts of repetition and light and shade. With the final movement we hear yet another interpretation of the concerto style: the opening ritornello is essentially a fugue, the subject of which can subsequently be used in a variety of ways. Indeed there are only a few places where it is entirely absent. Thus the expected contrast of ritornello and episode is replaced by frequent contrasts of instrumentation, the fuller expositions of the subject providing the tutti sonority

usually associated with the ritornello. Furthermore another traditional feature of the concerto—virtuosity—is provided by the violin part, something that by its very nature turns a fugue (brilliant enough on its own terms) into a dazzling concerto movement.

Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht (“Coffee Cantata”) Virtually all the concertos Bach wrote in Cöthen he reused, and often rewrote, for his performances with the Leipzig Collegium Musicum, an ensemble comprised of students, amateurs, and professional musicians that had been founded by Telemann in 1702. Bach took over the directorship in 1729 and presented, in addition to concertos and purely instrumental works, a number of secular cantatas.

The performances took place inside or, in good weather, al fresco outside of Zimmermann’s newly founded coffee house in the center of Leipzig, a popular meeting spot for relatively wealthy citizens and a major outlet for the latest fashionable beverage, coffee. The libretto for Bach’s “Coffee Cantata” (BWV 211) was penned by Christian Friedrich Henrici (who used the pseudonym “Picander”) in 1732. By the time Bach set the text in 1734 or so, it had already been used by several other composers, so it was clearly a favorite of the time. It depicts a young lady (“Lieschen”) with a passion for coffee that causes her father (“Schlendrian” = old, routine way) considerable irritation. His strategy is to provide his impressionable daughter with a husband on condition that she forsakes coffee. In a closing scene that appears only in Bach’s setting, the daughter does indeed temporarily forsake coffee in return for a husband, but she ensures that the man concerned allows her to indulge her weakness. Bach shows his full assimilation of the lighter styles of German music of this time, evident in the syllabic banter and staccato accompaniment in Schlendrian’s opening aria and the delicate triplet figures in Lieschen’s aria in praise of coffee. The final trio, too, demonstrates one of the most popular idioms of the day, the dance-structure of the Bourrée.

Despite his adoption of popular styles in his setting of this amusing little drama, Bach seems to have cut no corners in musical quality. Indeed, recent opinions that the work does not come up to the quality of Bach’s sacred cantatas obscure the more certain fact that the music is simply too good for the task at hand (something which suggests he would have been unsuccessful as an opera composer). The central B-minor aria is as expressive and moving as any devotional piece, a fact that may be somewhat disturbing to those who see Bach’s music solely as a vehicle for religious dogma.

Notes by: John Butt, Joseph Sargent, Jeffrey Thomas, Alan Lewis, and Kristi Brown-Montesano.

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Texts and Translations Weichet nur, betrübte Schatten (“Wedding Cantata”), BWV 202 l. Aria

Weichet nur, betrübte Schatten, Frost und Winde, geht zur Ruh. Florens Lust will der Brust nichts als frohes Glück verstatten, denn sie träget Blumen zu.

Just vanish, mournful shadows, frost and wind, go and rest.

Spring’s delight wants to grant the breast nothing but joyous happiness as it brings flowers forth.

2. Recitative

Die Welt wird wieder neu, auf Bergen und in Gründen will sich die Anmut doppelt schön verbinden, der Tag ist von der Kälte frei.

The world is renewed, on the hills and in the valley the loveliness clings twice as beautifully, the day is free from cold.

3. Aria

Phoebus eilt mit schnellen Pferden durch die neugeborne Welt.

Ja, weil sie ihm wohlgefällt, will er selbst ein Buhler werden.

Phoebus hastens with swift horses through the newborn world.

And yes, he takes so much delight in it, that he, too, wants to fall in love.

4. Recitative

Drum sucht auch Amor sein Vergnügen, wenn purpur in den Wiesen lacht, wenn Florens Pracht sich herrlich macht, und wenn in seinem Reich, den schönen Blumen gleich, auch Herzen feurig siegen.

Therefore Cupid seeks his pleasure, too, when the purple meadows laugh, when the flowers blossom in dazzling beauty, and when in his kingdom, as do the lovely flowers, hearts win passionate battles.

5. Aria

Wenn die Frühlingslüfte streichen und durch bunte Felder wehn, pflegt auch Amor auszuschleichen, um nach seinem Schmuck zu sehn, welcher, glaubt man, die ser ist, daß ein Herz das andere küßt.

When the spring breezes sweep and blow through colored fields, Cupid steals forth, too, to find his treasure, which, one believes, is one heart kissing another.

6. Recitative

Und dieses ist das Glükke, daß durch ein hohes Gunstgeschikke zwei Seelen einen Schmuck erlanget, an dem viel Heil und Segen pranget.

And this is good fortune that through a lofty and favorable destiny two souls attain one treasure, on which shines much health and happiness.

7. Aria

Sich üben im Lieben, in Scherzen sich herzen ist besser als Florens vergängliche Lust.

Hier quellen die Wellen, hier lachen und wachen die siegenden Palmen auf Lippen und Brust.

To train oneself in love, to caress with pleasantries, is better than spring’s transitory desire.

Here run waves, here is laughing and watching, with the victorious palms on lips and breast.

8. Recitative

So sei das Band der keuschen Liebe, verlobte Zwei, vom Unbestand des Wechsels frei!

Kein jäher Fall noch Donnerknall erschrekke die verliebten Triebe!

So let the bond of chaste love, engaged pair, be free from fickleness and inconstancy!

No sudden fall, nor thunder may frighten your love.

Sehet in Zufriedenheit tausend helle Wohlfahrtstage, daß bald bei der Folgezeit eure Liebe Blumen trage!

May you have the pleasure to see a thousand bright and prosperous days, that soon in time to come your love will blossom.

Soprano; Oboe; Violin I/II; Viola; Basso continuo

Soprano; Basso continuo

Soprano; Basso continuo

Soprano; Basso continuo

Soprano; Violin solo; Basso continuo

Soprano; Basso continuo

Soprano; Oboe; Basso continuo

Soprano; Basso continuo

9. Gavotte Soprano; Oboe; Violin I/II; Viola; Basso continuo

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Texts and Translations Cantata oder Trauer-Music eines kunsterfahrenen Canarienvogels, TWV 20:37 (Cantata or Funeral-Music for an artistically trained canary) l. Aria

O weh, mein Canarin ist tot!

Wem klag’ ich meine Not, wem klag’ ich meine bittren Schmerzen?

Wer nimmt dies Leid mit mir zu Herzen, wem klag’ ich diese Not?

Oh, alas, my canary is dead.

To whom can I bemoan my misery?

To whom can I bemoan my bitter sorrow?

Who will take this grief to heart with me?

To whom can I bemoan this misery?

2. Recitative

So gehet’s mit der Vogelfreude, und mit den Dingen dieser Welt. Die Unlust ist den Lüsten beigesellt. Die Freud’ vergehet mit dem Leide! Ja, ja, der schlaue Vogel kann dies lehren. Er war mit seiner Kunst vortrefflich anzuhören und fast ein Wunder seiner Zeit. Der kleine Hals war wohlgeschliffen, und hat manch feines Lied gepfiffen zur Fröhlichkeit. Allein, die Freud’ ist aus! Er lieget nun gestreckt, und wird mit schwarzer Erd’ bedeck.

This is what happens to the joy of a little bird and to the things of this world. Aversion is bound up with desire, joy wastes away with sorrow. Yes, yes, the cunning bird can teach you this. His singing was delightful to hear and almost a miracle in his lifetime. His little throat was beautifully formed and whistled many a fine tune in happiness. But his joy is gone now. He lies prostrate and will be covered with black earth.

3. Aria

Ihr lieblichen Kanarienvögel, beklaget meine Freud’ und eure Zier!

Ihr Vögel, die ihr sonst so wunderschön mit künstlich lieblichem Getön den muntren Ohren pflegt zu dienen.

You lovely canaries, bewail my joy and your beauty.

4. Recitative

Was soll ich mehr zu deinem Lobe singen, o edler Canarin?

Du konnt’st dein helles Kehlchen also zwingen, daß aller Ohren, Herz und Sinn, die dich gehört, beweget wurden!

Nur dir, dir grausamer Tod allein konnt der verliebte Ton doch nicht beweglich sein; denn du hast grob und vermessen den teuren Bissen weggefressen!

What more can I sing to your praise, oh noble canary! You could extend your clear voice so that the ears, heart and mind of all who listened to you, were moved. Only you, you alone, cruel Death, were unmoved by the delightful sound; for you have cruelly and arrogantly devoured the precious little thing.

5. Aria

Friß, das dir der Hals anschwelle, Friß, du unverschämter Gast!

Daß dich der Vogel zerkratze, zerrisse und dir den Magen und Därme zerbisse, bis du ihn gespien hast!

Friß und berste auf der Stelle!

Eat, so that your neck swells up!

Eat, you impudent intruder!

Let the bird scratch you and tear you to pieces, and bite at your stomach and intestines until you spew them out!

Eat and burst on the spot!

6. Recitative

Allein, was will ich ferner klagen? Was wird wohl auch nach meiner Trauer fragen der strenge Bruder Tod! Er muß so einen Papagei als Raben, so einen Canarin als Sperling haben zu seinem Morgenbrot, und schonet keinen Vogel nicht! Wohlan, so fahre hin! Betrübtes Wort! Fahr hin, du mein geliebter Canarin! Sollt gleich das Glück mir seinesgleichen wiedergeben (wiewohl es kaum geschieht) so kommst du doch in meinem ganzen Leben mir nimmermehr aus meinem Sinn!

But what more can I say! What more will our harsh brother Death, inquire about my sorrow? He demands a parrot, or a raven, a canary, or a sparrow for his breakfast. He spares no bird. Very well, so depart. A melancholy word, depart, my beloved canary. If Fortune should ever give me his equal again (a thing that rarely happens) yet he will never fade from my memory as long as I live.

7. Aria

Mein Canarine, gute Nacht!

Eh’ wird das Federvieh sich in die See versenken, als ich an deinen treuen Fleiß nicht sollte denken, so gut hast du’s bei mir gemacht!

My canary, good night!

Before my little feathered friend goes away for good, I must think of your true diligence.

You made everything so nice for me.

8. Recitative

Nun dann, so nehmt die kleinen Glieder in eure Hand, und setzt den Vogel sanfte nieder in kühlen Sand; Macht, daß er sicher möge liegen; Um mich bei meinem Leide zu vergnügen so lasset dieses noch die letzte Ehre sein, daß ihr schreibt auf den Leichenstein:

Now then, so take the tiny limbs in your hand, and put the bird softly down in the cool earth. See that he lies in safety, to assuage my sorrow. Let us pay our last respects by writing on his tombstone:

9. Coda

[sung in dialect] Dat de der Hagel!

Hie ligt en Vagel, de kunn mann neerteck quinqueleeren, und alle Minschen konten teren.

Du Streckebeen! Als du wollst düssen Vagel freten, so wull ick, dat du wär wat an den Hals geschmeten!

Because of a devil, here lies a bird, who could sing so prettily, and brought joy to everyone.

You alley cat! Because you ate this little animal, my wish for you is death by stoning.

Bass; Violin I; Flauto traverso; Violin II; Viola; Basso continuo

Bass; Basso continuo

Bass; Violin; Oboe; Viola; Basso continuo

Bass; Basso continuo

Bass; Violin I; Flauto traverso; Violin II; Viola; Basso continuo

Bass; Basso continuo

Bass; Violin I/II; Viola; Basso continuo

Bass; Basso continuo

Bass; Violin I; Flauto traverso; Oboe; Violin II; Viola; Basso continuo

You birds, who always do our keen ears good with your excellent singing.

(“Coffee Cantata” texts and translations on pp 26-27...)

23

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

Cupid

&

Death

Our OPERA E ARL Y & A NCIE NT 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.

Millicent Tomkins

Aug ust 13, 14, 20 & 21, 2011

Musical Still Life & Giclée Prints

Performances in San Francisco, Berk eley & Palo A lto

Visit our website for de tails & ticke ts:

www.SFRV.org

THANK YOU

!

Artist

Email: millicenttomkins@earthlink.net Website: millicenttomkins.com Telephone: 415-383-7194

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ABS would like to extend special thanks to the members of its Davis Committee for their assistance in providing hospitality at our February, April, and May events.

John and Lois Crowe Ben and Lynette Hart Richard and Shipley Walters Irving and Karen Broido and all of our Davis volunteers If you would like to help us reach larger audiences in the Davis and Greater Sacramento areas, please call us at (415) 621-7900 or send email to jstahlman@americanbach.org.

24

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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 emerging professionals unique opportunities to study and perform Baroque music in a multidisciplinary 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.

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Each year, American Bach Soloists ACADEMY participants—the next generation of early music virtuosi—rehearse and perform side-by-side with the celebrated artists of the American Bach Soloists, leading to public concerts of chamber music, Baroque opera and oratorio, and annual performances of Bach’s Mass in B Minor. Additionally, selected ACADEMY lectures and master classes are open to the public.

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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.

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25

Texts and Translations “Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht” (“Coffee Cantata”), BWV 211

Dramatis personæ: Erzähler, or Narrator (tenor); Schlendrian (bass); Lieschen, Schlendrian’s daughter (soprano) l. Recitative

ERZÄHLER: Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht, und höret, was jetzund geschicht: Da kömmt Herr Schlendrian mit seiner Tochter Lieschen her; er brummt ja wie ein Zeidelbär; hört selber, was sie ihm getan!

NARRATOR: Be quiet, do not chat and listen to what happens now: There comes Mr. Schlendrian with his daughter Lieschen; he is grumbling like a bear; hear for yourselves what she has done to him!

2. Aria

SCHLENDRIAN: Hat man nicht mit seinem Kindern hunderttausend Hudelei!

Was ich immer alle Tage meiner Tochter Lieschen sage, gehet ohne Frucht vorbei.

SCHLENDRIAN: Don’t our children cause us a hundred thousand problems!

Whatever I, every single day, keep telling my daughter Lieschen, it just has no effect at all.

3. Recitative

SCHLENDRIAN: Du böses Kind, du loses Mädchen, ach! Wenn erlang’ ich meinen Zweck: tu’ mir den Coffee weg!

SCHLENDRIAN: You naughty child, you loose girl.

Oh! When do I attain my goal: stop drinking coffee!

LIESCHEN: Herr Vater, seid doch nicht so scharf!

Wenn ich des Tages nicht dreimal mein Schälchen Coffee trinken darf, so werd’ ich ja zu meiner Qual wie ein verdorrtes Ziegenbrätchen.

LIESCHEN: Father, Sir, don’t be so hard on me!

If I can’t, three times a day, drink my cup of coffee I will become , out of my pain, like a dried up roast of goat.

4. Aria

LIESCHEN: Ei! Wie schmeckt der Coffee süße, lieblicher als tausend Küsse, milder als Muscatenwein.

Coffee muss ich haben; und wenn jemand mich will laben, ach, so schenkt mir Coffee ein!

LIESCHEN: Oh, how sweet the coffee tastes, lovelier than a thousand kisses, milder than muscatel.

I just need coffee; and if somebody wants to delight me, oh, then pour me some coffee!

5. Recitative

SCHLENDRIAN: Wenn du mir nicht den Coffee läss’st, so sollst du auf kein Hochzeitfest, auch nicht spazieren geh’n.

SCHLENDRIAN: If you don’t stop drinking coffee you may not go to any wedding, you may not even go for a walk.

LIESCHEN: Ach ja! Nur lasset mir den Coffee da!

LIESCHEN: Well, yes, just leave me with my coffee!

SCHLENDRIAN: Da hab’ ich nun den kleinen Affen! Ich will dir keinen Fischbeinrock nach jetzger Weite schaffen.

SCHLENDRIAN: What a little monkey! I won’t give you a whalebone skirt in the latest fashionable width.

LIESCHEN: Ich kann mich leicht dazu versteh’n.

LIESCHEN: That is easily acceptable.

SCHLENDRIAN: Du sollst nicht an das Fenster treten und keinen seh’n vorübergeh’n.

SCHLENDRIAN: You may not go near the window to watch people passing by.

LIESCHEN: Auch dieses. Doch seid nur gebeten und lasset mir den Coffee steh’n.

LIESCHEN: That is all right, too. But, please, I beg you, don’t take the coffee away from me.

SCHLENDRIAN: Du sollst auch nicht von meiner Hand ein silbern oder gold’nes Band auf deine Haube kriegen.

SCHLENDRIAN: And you won’t get a silver or gold ribbon from me for your coif.

Tenor; Basso continuo

Bass; Violin I/II; Viola; Basso continuo

Bass; Soprano; Basso continuo

Soprano; Flauto traverso; Basso continuo

Bass; Soprano; Basso continuo

26

Texts and Translations LIESCHEN: Ja, ja! Nur lasst mir mein Vergnügen.

LIESCHEN: All right, all right! Just let me have my pleasure.

SCHLENDRIAN: Du loses Lieschen du, so gibst du mir denn Alles zu?

SCHLENDRIAN: You loose Lieschen, so you give up everything else?

6. Aria

SCHLENDRIAN: Mädchen, die von harten Sinnen, sind nicht leichte zu gewinnen.

Doch trifft man den rechten Ort: o! so kömmt man glücklich fort.

SCHLENDRIAN: Strong-willed girls are not easy to win over.

But if you hit the right spot, oh, then you will have success.

7. Recitative

SCHLENDRIAN: Nun folge, was dein Vater spricht.

SCHLENDRIAN: Now obey to all your father tells you.

LIESCHEN: In allem, nur den Coffee nicht.

LIESCHEN: To everything, except for the coffee.

SCHLENDRIAN: Wohlan! so musst du dich bequemen, auch niemals einen Mann zu nehmen.

SCHLENDRIAN: Well then! You will have to renounce to ever have a husband.

LIESCHEN: Ach ja! Herr Vater, einen Mann!

LIESCHEN: Oh, yes, father, Sir, a husband!

SCHLENDRIAN: Ich schwöre, dass es nicht geschicht, ...

SCHLENDRIAN: I swear it won’t happen...

LIESCHEN: Bis ich den Coffee lassen kann?

Nun! Coffee, bleib’ nur immer liegen!

Herr Vater, hört, ich trinke keinen nicht.

LIESCHEN: Until I give up coffee?

Well, coffee, stay there!

Father, Sir, listen. I won’t drink any more.

SCHLENDRIAN: So sollst du endlich einen kriegen.

SCHLENDRIAN: Then you shall finally have a husband.

8. Aria

LIESCHEN: Heute noch, lieber Vater, tut es doch.

Ach, ein Mann! wahrlich, dieser steht mir trefflich an.

Wenn es sich doch balde fügte, dass ich endlich vor Coffee, eh ich noch zu Bette geh’, einen wakkern Liebsten kriegte.

LIESCHEN: Even today, dear Father, make it happen.

Oh, a husband!

It is indeed time for one.

Oh, if it only worked out soon, that I, at last, instead of coffee, and before I go to bed, had a gallant lover.

9. Recitative

ERZÄHLER: Nun geht und sucht der alte Schlendrian, wie er vor seine Tochter Lieschen bald einen Mann verschaffen kann; doch Lieschen streuet heimlich aus: „Kein Freier komm’ mir in das Haus, er hab’ es mir denn selbst versprochen und rück’ es auch der Ehestiftung ein, Dass mir erlaubet möge sein, den Coffee, wenn ich will, zu kochen.”

NARRATOR: Now old Schlendrian goes and seeks How he, for his daughter Liesgen, soon might acquire a husband; but secretly Lieschen spreads the word: “No suitor is allowed in my house except if he promises me himself and makes it part of the marriage contract that I shall be permitted to brew coffee whenever I want.”

10. Trio

Die Katze lässt das Mausen nicht, die Jungfern bleiben Coffeeschwestern.

Die Mutter liebt den Coffee brauch, die Großmama trank solchen auch, wer will nun auf die Töchter lästern.

The cat will always catch mice, the maidens will stick to their coffee.

The mother loves the coffee custom, the grandmother drank it, too, so who will now condemn the daughters.

(5. Recitative continued)

Bass; Basso continuo

Bass, Soprano; Basso continuo

Soprano; Violin I/II; Viola; Basso continuo

Tenor; Basso continuo

Soprano, Tenor, Bass; Flauto traverso, Violin I/II; Viola; Basso continuo

27

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...

28

“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

Artist Profiles

Yulia Van Doren YULIA VAN DOREN (soprano), consistently singled out by critics for her “perfect baroque voice” (Seattle Times), has established herself as a rising star of the new generation of Baroque specialists. A major highlight of the 2010-2011 season includes being a featured artist at the Cartagena International Music Festival, Colombia, where she appears in nationally televised performances of Bach’s Mass in B Minor with soprano Dawn Upshaw and the City of London Sinfonia, as well as Bach’s “Coffee Cantata” with the Brentano String Quartet.

The season also includes return engagements to the Portland Baroque Orchestra (Messiah under Rinaldo Alessandrini), Seattle Baroque Orchestra (Pergolesi Stabat Mater), St. Thomas Choir of Men and Boys (Bach Mass in B Minor), Pacific Musicworks (Monteverdi Vespers), Seraphic Fire (Bach St. John Passion), American Bach Soloists (Bach and Telemann), Clarion Music Society (Haydn), Ottawa Chamber Music and Vancouver Early Music Festivals (Monteverdi with ensemble Les Voix Baroques), and two major roles with the Boston Early Music Festival: Belinda in Dido and Aeneas, and the role of Manto in the North American première of Steffani’s Niobe, BEMF’s centerpiece opera starring French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky. A winner of Astral Artists’ 2009 National Auditions, she will also be presented in recital with baritone Jonathan Beyer on Astral’s Philadelphia concert series. Passionate about 20th- and 21stcentury music, Ms. Van Doren recently sang the Hungarian première of Barber’s iconic Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, marking her European debut. She made her Carnegie Hall debut premiering a specially commissioned work

by Taiwanese composer Angel Lam, and created the role of Bird in British composer David Bruce’s opera A Bird In Your Ear at Bard Conservatory, which was subsequently showcased in New York City Opera’s prestigious VOX Festival. Dawn Upshaw is an important mentor; she was personally invited by the legendary soprano to be a member of the inaugural class of her graduate program at Bard College, from which Ms. Van Doren received her Master’s degree in 2008. Her discography includes two Grammy-nominated opera recordings with the Boston Early Music Festival, a disc of rare French baroque music with ensemble La Donna Musicale, and a forthcoming disc of early English music with Canadian ensemble Les Voix Baroques, to be released on the ATMA label in 2011. Born in Moscow and raised in the United States, Ms. Van Doren has been a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Festival, Villecroze Académie (France) and Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme (UK). She has been the recipient of numerous academic scholarships, including the prestigious Soros Fellowship for New Americans.

Joshua Copeland JOSHUA COPELAND (baritone) completed his Masters degree in voice at Yale University’s Institute of Sacred Music and his Artist Diploma at Yale Opera. A native of Knoxville, Tennessee, Joshua received a Bachelor of Music degree in Church Music from Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. Joshua is quickly developing as a specialist of Baroque music, particularly the works of Bach and Handel. In June 2006 he was awarded second prize in the American Bach Soloists International Young Artists Competition, first prize in the 2008 American Bach Society biennial Young Artist Competition at the Bethlehem Bach Festival, and spent the summer of 2008 as an Adams Masterclass Fellow at the Carmel Bach Festival.

As a resident Britten/Pears Young Artist at the Aldeburgh Festival in both 2009 and 2010, Joshua has appeared in performances of Bach’s St Matthew Passion and Handel’s Saul. An avid recitalist, Joshua gave his debut performance of Schubert’s monumental song cycle Winterreise in Yale’s Morse Recital Hall with pianist Ted Taylor. He has also taken part in a recital of Charles Ives songs at New York’s famed Weill Recital Hall, as well as recitals of English song and Wolf and Strauss Lieder as a Britten/Pears Young Artist. In the realm of opera he has appeared in Die Fledermaus as Falke, as Ramiro in Ravel’s L’Heure Espagnole, and has performed with the Orchestra Sinfonico Giuseppe Verdi in Milan, reprising Falke in Fledermaus and Bill in Kiss me Kate. Performances from recent seasons include the Mass in B Minor and the St John Passion with the American Bach Soloists; Bach Cantata 82 Ich habe genug with Seraphic Fire; Bach Magnificat and Christmas cantatas with Helmuth Rilling; a commerciallyreleased recording of the Bach St John Passion conducted by Simon Carrington; Messiah at Carnegie Hall with the Masterwork Chorus; Mozart Vespers with Sir Neville Marriner; Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem at the ACDA National Convention; Five Mystical Songs with the Mount Holyoke Orchestra; Handel La Resurrezione; Mozart and Faure Requiems; Prokofiev Lieutenant Kije; Barber Dover Beach; Mendelssohn Elijah; and the Brahms Requiem. Mr. Copeland’s appearances later this season include performances of Christmas cantatas with the Bethlehem Bach Festival, and the St John Passion with Chatham Baroque.

29

Artist Profiles

Judith Linsenberg JUDITH LINSENBERG (recorder) is director of the Baroque ensemble, Musica Pacifica, whose performances and eight recordings on the Virgin Classics and Dorian labels have received international critical acclaim, and have been described by the press as “some of the finest baroque musicians in America” (American Record Guide) and “among the best in the world” (Alte Musik Aktuell). She has been hailed for her “virtuosity” (The Washington Post), “expressivity” (Seattle PostIntelligencer), “fearless playing” (SF Classical Voice), and combination of “masterly control with risk-taking spontaneity” (Early Music). Ms. Linsenberg has performed extensively throughout the US and Europe, including solo appearances at the Hollywood Bowl and at Lincoln Center; and has been featured with such leading American ensembles as the American Bach Soloists, the Portland, Seattle, and Los Angeles Baroque Orchestras, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, the Bach Festival of Philadelphia, the Oregon and Carmel Bach Festivals, Musica Sacra of New York, Musica Angelica of Los Angeles, the San Francisco Symphony, San Francisco and Los Angeles Operas, the LA Chamber Orchestra, the Oregon Symphony, and others.

Ms. Linsenberg can also be heard on the Harmonia Mundi USA, Koch International, Sono Luminus, Reference Recordings, Musical Heritage Society, Drag City Records (with Joanna Newsom), and Hännsler Classics labels. A Fulbright scholar to Austria, she was awarded the Soloist Diploma with Highest Honors from the Vienna Academy of Music. Her teachers have included Frans Brüggen, Marion Verbruggen, Walter van Hauwe, and Hans Maria Kneihs.

She is a summa cum laude graduate of Princeton University, holds a doctorate in early music from Stanford University, and has been a visiting professor at the Vienna Conservatory and Indiana University’s Early Music Institute in Bloomington. She has taught at Stanford, the San Francisco Conservatory, and at numerous early music and recorder workshops throughout North America.

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Johanna Novom JOHANNA NOVOM (violin) is Associate Concertmaster of Apollo’s Fire, the Cleveland Baroque Orchestra. A first prize winner of the American Bach Soloists’ Young Artists Competition in 2008, Johanna appears as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral player with period ensembles throughout the country, such as the American Bach Soloists, Chatham Baroque, Dallas Bach Society, New York State Baroque, and the Trinity Wall Street Baroque Orchestra, and is a core member of the newer ensembles Flying Forms and the Sebastian Chamber Players. She has performed at festivals internationally, including the Carmel Bach Festival, Moscow’s Golden Mask Festival, the Magnolia Baroque Festival, and Le Festival de Sedières. Johanna completed her Master’s in Historical Performance at Oberlin Conservatory in 2007, where she studied on both historical and modern instruments with Marilyn McDonald. Currently based out of New Haven, CT, Johanna is a fellowship member of the Yale Baroque Ensemble under the direction of Robert Mealy.

30th Anniversary

Sea

son San Francisco • B erkeley Atherton • Walnu t Creek

philharmonia.or g (4 15) 252-1288

April 8-13

Haydn’s Creation

Haydn’s epic oratorio his monumental masterpiece! featuring Dominique Labelle, soprano • Thomas Cooley, tenor Philip Cutlip, baritone Philharmonia Baroque Chorale, Bruce Lamott, director

Johannes Brahms & the German LeGacy

Beautiful motets and partsongs of Brahms and his musical forebears Friday, april 29, 8pM

St. Mark’s Lutheran Church 1111 O’Farrell Street at Franklin San Francisco

Saturday, april 30, 8pM

All Saints’ Episcopal Church 555 Waverley Street at Hamilton Palo Alto

Sunday, May 1, 4pM

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church 2300 Bancroft Way at Ellsworth Berkeley

415-262-0272

www.calbach.org 31

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