Bach Cantatas at St Michael & All Angels
West London Bach Consort and Players
The West London Bach Players and Consort, conducted by Sandy Burnett (right), are now on the final leg of their epic performing cycle of J.S. Bach’s sacred cantatas*. The hour-long concerts are free, with a retiring collection for projects run by the Upper Room (infoupperroom@yahoo.co.uk). Sandy talks about the Cantatas on YouTube and writes about them below.
Next performance - please note change of time: *3:30pm* on Sunday 11th July 2010
Sandy Burnett writes: The most important point to note about this Sunday’s concert, part of our complete performing cycle of JS Bach’s surviving sacred cantatas, is that it starts at the unusual time of 3:30pm. This is to accommodate the World Cup final which takes place later that evening. Would Bach be there in front of the TV supporting Schweinsteiger, Moller and the rest? A matter for conjecture …
Toby Gee (alto) sings one of the six surviving cantata that Bach wrote for solo alto. Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust BWV 170 has three arias and two recitatives, with the opening movement a stand-out treasure. Its serene music is a perfect counterpart to the lyrics, which state that we can only experience perfect peace in heaven.
Joining Toby as soloists in BWV 16 Herr Gott, dich loben wir are David Bellinger (tenor) and Graham Edwards (bass). Bach originally wrote this cantata to celebrate New Year’s Day 1726, and revived it on three further occasions. The mood of the cantata is suitably upbeat and celebratory, with some extraordinary pictorialism in the third movement. The vigorous music at the word “jauchzen” makes it sound as though the chorus is actually laughing with joy. And to accompany the word “crowns”, Bach create a musical figure that deliberately looks like a piece of regal headgear on the page. See my blog for a transcription in my own fair hand.
All performers in this cantata cycle, in which Sandy Burnett conducts the West London Bach Consort and Players give their services for free. There is no charge for admission, but there will be a retiring collection in aid of the Upper Room.
There’s more info on the whole concert on my blog - http://sandyburnett.posterous.com/
*2010 dates and performances
Date |
Cantatas |
Title |
|
9th May |
BWV 41 BWV 79 |
Jesu, nun sei gepreiset Gott der Herr ist Sonn und Schild |
|
13th June |
BWV 30 BWV 118 |
Freue dich, erlöste Schar O Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht |
|
11th July |
BWV 170 BWV 16 |
Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust Herr Gott, dich loben wir |
|
12th Sept |
BWV 173 BWV 98 BWV 181 |
Erhöhtes Fleisch und Blut Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan Leichtgesinnte Flattergeister |
|
10th Oct |
BWV 19 BWV 190 |
Es erhub sich ein Streit Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied |
|
7th Nov |
BWV 139 BWV 102 |
Wohl dem, der sich auf seinen Gott Herr, deine Augen sehen nach dem Glauben |
|
12th Dec |
BWV 78 BWV 62 |
Jesu, der du meine Seele Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland |
West London Bach Consort & Players
conducted by Sandy Burnett/*Giles Ridley
Another concert with a difference ended 2009: Sunday 13th December
BWV 157 Ich lasse dich nicht, du segnest mich denn
BWV 158 Der Friede sei mit dir
BWV 197a Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe
Hidemi Hatata (soprano), Kirsten Johnson (alto), Tom Cragg (tenor) and Paul Sheehan (bass)
Sandy Burnett writes: To end the 2009 season of Bach cantatas at St Michael’s on Sunday 13th December at 7:30pm, a concert with a difference: three small-scale cantatas performed not by choir and orchestra, but by single singers and players.
Why the reduction in forces? The cantatas in December's programme - BWV 157 Ich lasse dich nicht, du segnest mich denn; BWV 158 Der Friede sei mit dir; and BWV 197a Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe - were all intimate affairs, rich in solo arias and instrumental obbligatos. None of them had an expansive opening chorus with which we’ve become familiar; apart from the closing chorales, there would be nothing for a choir to do. So it seemed obvious to take a chamber music approach with this performance.
In any case, the distinction between orchestra and chamber group, and choir and solo singers, was much less clear-cut in the eighteenth century than it is now. This, along with the debate about whether or not to use period instruments in Bach performance, has become a musicological hot potato in recent years. For anyone interested in exploring this matter further, I would recommend Andrew Parrott’s excellent book, The Essential Bach Choir, which explores this in great detail.
For the record, this Bach cantata cycle of ours has included both one to a part and period instrument performances over the years. For me, what’s more important is to convey the spiritual and musical meaning of the cantatas, and to address issues of style and phrasing with whatever instruments are to hand.
A Leipzig memorial in 1727 saw the first performance of BWV 157 Ich lasse dich nicht, du segnest mich denn; its opening chorus sees tenor and bass clinging closely to each other in canonic imitation, reflecting the sense of the opening words from the book of Genesis: I will never leave you. BWV 158 Der Friede sei mit dir is rarely performed. It features the solo bass voice, and might even have been handed down to us incomplete. That’s definitely the case with BWV 197a Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe, which Bach probably composed for Christmas Day in 1728.
Hidemi Hatata (soprano), Kirsten Johnson (alto), Tom Cragg (tenor) and Paul Sheehan (bass) were the singers. Continuing our tradition of inviting leading professional musicians to join us as occasional guests, the principal flautist of the BBC Concert Orchestra Ileana Ruheman performed amongst the small and select band of instrumentalists.
Concert: Sunday 15th November 2009
The penultimate concert of the penultimate year! This month's programme paired BWV 109 Ich glaube, lieber Herr, hilf meinem Unglauben with BWV 91 Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ - two substantial works which benefit (if that's the right word!) from elaborate and high-flying horn parts. Central to BWV 109 is the spiritual tension between belief and "unbelief", a polarity that Bach expresses in a number of musical ways with clear-cut differences in scoring and dynamics. While BWV 91 plays on a contrast of a different kind - the striking difference between Christ's majestic place in Heaven and the humble circumstances in which he entered the world. Food for thought indeed for the Leipzig congregation at the Christmas Day service in 1724 for which it was written.
Miranda Rogers (soprano), Clare McCaldin (alto), Jake White (tenor) and Martin Johnson (bass) are this month's soloists; and the West London Bach Consort and Players are conducted by Sandy Burnett.
Adults joined by St Michael's Junior Choir - Sunday 11th October 2009
On Sunday 11th October one of the greatest Bach cantatas of all, BWV 4 Christ lag in Todesbanden, was performed as part of the complete cycle at St Michael and all Angels featuring the West London Bach Consort and Players. For the first time ever in this project, the adult singers were joined by the young voices of the St Michael and All Angels Junior Choir.
Sandy Burnett said: "As well as being an astonishing compositional craftsman and dazzling church organist, JS Bach devoted much of his time to teaching students and bringing on the next generation of musicians. His weekly cantatas were sung by choirs made up of both adults and children. So I feel confident that the formidable Leipzig Kapellmeister would have approved of the Junior Choir joining us."
The young singers enjoyed it too. Pierre-Luc Coutin said: 'I enjoyed meeting the adults during the Bach Cantatas - they were helpful with the pronunciation of the German words as well as keeping us from losing our place. I quite liked sitting amongst all the instruments - especially as the oboe was in front of me. It was cool to watch him press all the keys. The soloists were good and I especially liked hearing the guy who sang alto -- I didn't know a guy could sing that high! Sandy was patient and didn't become frustrated with the kids so we felt less pressure.'
Charlotte Timmons agreed: "I was quite nervous to be singing with a proper adult choir and the orchestra but it was actually really good fun and exciting. Although we had practised on our own, when we all came together it sounded amazing. It was hard to see Sandy, our conductor, over the head of the trombone player but when I did it was reassuring to see him giving us the thumbs up."
And Rachael Evans said: "I really enjoyed it because we got to sing with a proper choir. I especially liked the last chorale when we all sang together with the orchestra. I hope we do it again!"
The Millennium Project - Spiritually satisfying, technically challenging, musically edifying, and always surprising!
Sandy Burnett writes: Working on a complete performing cycle of Bach’s surviving sacred cantatas with the West London Bach Consort and Players has been an absorbing experience on a number of levels. It is a musical journey that we began early in 1997; it has at times seemed like a never-ending pilgrimage, but as things now stand (October 2007), a mere twenty-five concerts remain before the cycle is complete in December 2010.
Which cantatas will be performed when is a task undertaken by one of the project’s guiding lights, cellist Ruth Ridley. She has eschewed the electronic advantages of the computer to draft out the schedule using a medium that Bach himself would have recognised, namely pencil and paper.
Our performances generally take place in St Michael’s on the second Sunday of each month, starting after Easter and continuing through until December. There is no performance in August, and the November concert takes place on the first Sunday due to Remembrance Sunday, which falls the week after.
Bach composed these extraordinary works at the rate of approximately one a week, often with the objective of illustrating and amplifying the spiritual message of the chief Sunday morning Lutheran church service, the Hauptgottesdienst. For our Chiswick cycle we are presenting Bach’s cantatas in sacred Sunday-evening concerts. Although the cantatas are sung in German, and some of the imagery can seem obscure, we precede each of the cantatas with spoken introductions which unlock some of the mysteries of the language! - while the vivid power of Bach’s music ensures that the central spiritual message of these cantatas, written almost 300 years ago, are just as direct and relevant today.
The concerts begin at 7:30 and last for under an hour; all performers give their services for free. There is no charge for admission, but as in previous years there will be a retiring collection for projects supported by the Upper Room, feeding the community in need in West London. Whether you are new to these concerts, or one of the growing band of regular audience members, you will be very welcome and we look forward to seeing you there.
ADMISSION FREE. Retiring collection for projects supported by the Upper Room, feeding the community in need in West London.
Charity registration no. 1004354. Email: infoupperroom@yahoo.co.uk