6 minute read
Feature: Seraphic Fire and Bach
Patrick Dupre Quigley
SHARES HIS PASSION FOR BACH
By Beth Braswell
“Bach is the bedrock of music and Seraphic Fire.” As Quigley describes the music of Bach, it’s like watching a teenager wax passionately about their first love. There are pensive moments where he is remembering the exhilaration of past Seraphic Fire performances, and as he describes each composition, there is sincere adulation for the genius present in the music.
Seraphic Fire’s first performance of Bach’s Mass in B Minor – a ‘one-night only’ show in front of 1,000 people – was one of its greatest early accomplishments. Only a year earlier, Seraphic Fire did not exist. Being able to embrace the music of Bach wholeheartedly and with such success paved the efficacious path of Seraphic Fire. Similarly, collaborating with The Cleveland Orchestra on Cantata 34 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts was a defining triumph. The members of Seraphic Fire stood on stage with one of America’s greatest orchestras and were equals in their performance. It was exhilarating for everyone involved.
After almost 20 years of sharing Bach with South Florida audiences, Seraphic Fire will present three of Johann Sebastian Bach’s works during the ensemble’s annual Enlightenment Festival in February 2022. Cantata 147, Hertz und Mund und Tat und Leben, contains one of the most memorable melodies in all of music, “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.” Cantata 62, based on Martin Luther’s Advent hymn, Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, features arresting choruses and luxurious arias. Bach’s Mass in G Minor is, effectively, a jewel box for his most favorite cantata pieces and not to be missed. Seraphic Fire’s members are recognized as stellar Bach singers. In fact, they are required to audition with Bach repertoire. As just one example, Seraphic Fire soprano Nola Richardson has the distinction of having won first place in the three major Bach competitions in the US.
Likewise, Seraphic Fire’s period orchestra is supremely talented. The violins, violas, and cellos use gut strings as they would have in the Baroque period, in contrast with modern metal strings. The earthy quality, the warmth and overtones in historical instruments are readily audible and completely different from today’s instruments. Seraphic Fire audiences, listening to Bach played on copies of original
–Patrick Dupre Quigley
“Performing on period instruments helps clear away some of the soot and varnish to get back to what Bach originally heard,” said Quigley.
Quigley emphasizes that it’s important that everyone perform this historically relevant and revered music, not just Seraphic Fire. There is not much argument on the worth of Bach’s art. His music is widely accepted as the standard to which all composers strive to achieve. Bach’s music speaks profoundly in very few notes; those notes are simultaneously new and reverent of the past. Although prolific in his compositions, Bach wrote little besides notes and tempo on the page, with an economy of articulation and dynamic indications. Nonetheless, the arresting nature of Bach’s music is so universal that it has been quoted in jazz, in popular music, and even commercials.
This season, Seraphic Fire’s Enlightenment Festival includes the breadth of Bach’s compositions. Listeners will hear very complicated and virtuosic writing for voice and instruments and, equally compelling, Bach provides supremely simple, yet majestic moments.
Cantata 62. Translated as “Savior of the Nations Come,” this cantata is written for the Advent season. The listener can hear and feel from the first heraldic notes of the oboe that something magnificent is about to happen.
G Minor Mass. Many people are unaware that Bach wrote more than just the B Minor mass. Concerned about where his music fit into music history next to Vivaldi, Pergolesi, and particularly Palestrina, Bach references the counterpoint of the Renaissance but brings it into the Baroque period.
Cantata 147. Quigley describes this cantata as one of the pinnacle experiences for lovers of Bach and Seraphic Fire. The opening movement features a trumpet concerto that seamlessly interacts with contrapuntal music for the chorus. Conversely, the piece that divides it and ends it—Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring—is a very simple melody played in the orchestra. This composition ranks as one of the most recognizable melodies of all time.
–Patrick Dupre Quigley
Nola Richardson, soprano
As a singer, I love that Bach really treats the voices as instruments. They are interwoven so beautifully with the entire ensemble; the choir is never a separate soundscape. Seraphic Fire is a masterful choir; they love understanding harmony and listening to the other singers and instruments. They perform as expertly and cohesively as Bach intended. Your brain can almost hear the calculus going on; your part is just one beautiful thread within the entire tapestry.
Josh Cohen, Baroque trumpet
I have played across the country with groups who perform on original instruments, and I hear a lot of choruses. Patrick only picks the best of the best of the best singers, so it’s a thrill to hear the highest quality Bach performances in the US, right here in South Florida. The advantage of the Baroque trumpet, because of its 2.5 - foot length, is that it has twice the overtones, sounding 2 times bigger than the modern trumpet. It is, however, a difficult instrument to master. With no buttons, a different tension in your lips is how the sound is made to climb higher or descend.
David Webb, Seraphic Fire patron
I have been attending Seraphic Fire performances since 2007 and am a donor as well. It is incredible that this ensemble has never ceased to impress. The singers that Patrick pulls in are always high, highlevel artists. I float out after every Seraphic Fire concert; I am so elevated spiritually. Bach is so inspiring and exhilarating that I listen to him on a daily basis. My ear loves the sound of the original instruments. It’s a purer tone, less strident. It sucks you into the music.
Join Nola Richardson and Josh Cohen on the Seraphic Saturday podcast as they share more insights into their performance of Bach. Available using the Apple Podcast app, Spotify, or any platform where fine podcasts may be found.
