Friday, May 3
American Bach Soloists, Jeffrey Thomas, Conductor
ABS’s 30th Season concludes with J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos, Nos. 2, 4, 5, and 6, each one featuring the renowned Bach specialists of ABS. The second concerto brings together the disparate solo forces of trumpet, oboe, violin, and recorder in perfect interplay as only Bach could have achieved; the fourth concerto is a legendary showcase for virtuoso violino principale and two recorders; the fifth is supremely elegant in its scoring for violin, the gentle flauto traverso, and cembalo concertato, including the extravagant and even hair-raising cadenza for the harpsichordist; and in the sixth concerto Bach pits the old against the new as a pair of violas da gamba and violone take on their more “modern” counterparts, a pair of violas and violoncello, in repartee that is both rich in sonority and enlightening in its glimpse at a magical moment in history.
8 PM
St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church
3 Bay View Avenue, Belvedere
Tickets online $35–$89
800-595-4TIX (-4849)
East Bay Chapter, ARS
Monthly playing session with guest conductor Andrew Canepa. New members and guests welcome.
7:30–10 PM
Zion Lutheran Church
5201 Park Blvd., Oakland
http://www.symbolicsolutions.com
Resonance @ First Church Berkeley presents Elizabeth Forsyth, Organ
Go on a tour of Germany and France on First Church’s magnificent 5,000-pipe Petty-Madden organ! First Church organist Elizabeth Forsyth will trace how organists influenced each other from Dieterich Buxtehude in 17th century Denmark to Louis Vierne in 20th century France. Savor brilliant playing in a beautiful acoustic!
In 2014, First Church Berkeley, a premier venue for music performance in the East Bay, created its own exciting series of chamber and orchestral music concerts. Now in its fifth season, Resonance @ First Church has become a mainstay of the East Bay artistic calendar. Music has always been an important part of the life of First Church. It touches the soul and gives sound and voice to ineffable mystery. Derek Tam, First Church’s Director of Music, curates this exciting series.
8 PM
First Church Berkeley
2345 Channing Way, Berkeley
$15–$25
Tickets online or 510- 848-3696
http://www.firstchurchberkeley.org/resonance
University of California at Berkeley Music Department
University Baroque Ensemble, Christine Brandes, Director. Vocalists from the 168B studio, Nicholas Nackley, director, perform Henry Purcell, Dido and Aeneas.
7:30 PM
Hertz Concert Hall
101 Cross-Sproul Path, Berkeley
$16 General Admission, $12 non-UCB students, seniors, current/retired UCB faculty and staff, groups 10+, $5 UCB students
Saturday, May 4
American Bach Soloists, Jeffrey Thomas, Conductor
ABS’s 30th Season concludes with J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos, Nos. 2, 4, 5, and 6, each one featuring the renowned Bach specialists of ABS. The second concerto brings together the disparate solo forces of trumpet, oboe, violin, and recorder in perfect interplay as only Bach could have achieved; the fourth concerto is a legendary showcase for virtuoso violino principale and two recorders; the fifth is supremely elegant in its scoring for violin, the gentle flauto traverso, and cembalo concertato, including the extravagant and even hair-raising cadenza for the harpsichordist; and in the sixth concerto Bach pits the old against the new as a pair of violas da gamba and violone take on their more “modern” counterparts, a pair of violas and violoncello, in repartee that is both rich in sonority and enlightening in its glimpse at a magical moment in history.
8 PM
First Congregational Church
2345 Channing Way, Berkeley
Tickets online $35–$89
800-595-4TIX (-4849)
San Francisco Bach Choir, Magen Solomon, Director
“Wolfgang, Marianna, and John” The San Francisco Bach Choir is thrilled to present the first period-instrument Bay Area performances of Viennese keyboardist, composer, and singer Marianna Martines’ Dixit Dominus. Unjustly neglected, this talented and dedicated musician was a key figure in the musical salons of Vienna, and regularly played keyboard duets with Mozart. Dixit Dominus earned her the distinction of being the first woman admitted (100 years after its founding) to the Accademia Filarmonica of Bologna, an exclusive society of composers that still exists today. Martines’ masterpiece will be paired with her delightful concert aria “Pensa a serbarmi, o cara,” sung by tenor Kyle Stegall, who wowed Bay Area audiences as the Evangelist in last season’s St. John Passion by J.S. Bach.
Youngest son of J.S. Bach, Johann Christian Bach moved to London when he was just 27 years old. “John Bach,” as he was known in England, met the 8-year-old prodigy Mozart in London, and the two became fast friends and admirers of each other’s work. John Bach’s joyful and rarely-heard Magnificat beautifully illustrates his melodic, Italianate style, which was a strong influence on the talented young Mozart.
The concert concludes with Mozart’s powerful Requiem, commissioned by a mysterious, anonymous patron. Mozart, ill and convinced he was composing his own Requiem Mass, died before finishing the piece, which was completed from his extensive notes by his student Süssmayr. Marked by the dark colors of period-instrument basset horns, trombones, and bassoons, and by haunting harmonies, the Requiem remains one of Mozart’s most memorable and moving compositions.
4 PM
Calvary Presbyterian Church
2515 Fillmore St., San Francisco
$10 to $35 (youth under 19 always free)
Tickets online, 855-473-2224
Sunday, May 5
American Bach Soloists, Jeffrey Thomas, Conductor
ABS’s 30th Season concludes with J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos, Nos. 2, 4, 5, and 6, each one featuring the renowned Bach specialists of ABS. The second concerto brings together the disparate solo forces of trumpet, oboe, violin, and recorder in perfect interplay as only Bach could have achieved; the fourth concerto is a legendary showcase for virtuoso violino principale and two recorders; the fifth is supremely elegant in its scoring for violin, the gentle flauto traverso, and cembalo concertato, including the extravagant and even hair-raising cadenza for the harpsichordist; and in the sixth concerto Bach pits the old against the new as a pair of violas da gamba and violone take on their more “modern” counterparts, a pair of violas and violoncello, in repartee that is both rich in sonority and enlightening in its glimpse at a magical moment in history.
4 PM
St. Mark’s Lutheran Church
1111 O’Farrell Street, San Francisco
Tickets online $35–$89
800-595-4TIX (-4849)
San Francisco Bach Choir, Magen Solomon, Director
“Wolfgang, Marianna, and John” The San Francisco Bach Choir is thrilled to present the first period-instrument Bay Area performances of Viennese keyboardist, composer, and singer Marianna Martines’ Dixit Dominus. Unjustly neglected, this talented and dedicated musician was a key figure in the musical salons of Vienna, and regularly played keyboard duets with Mozart. Dixit Dominus earned her the distinction of being the first woman admitted (100 years after its founding) to the Accademia Filarmonica of Bologna, an exclusive society of composers that still exists today. Martines’ masterpiece will be paired with her delightful concert aria “Pensa a serbarmi, o cara,” sung by tenor Kyle Stegall, who wowed Bay Area audiences as the Evangelist in last season’s St. John Passion by J.S. Bach.
Youngest son of J.S. Bach, Johann Christian Bach moved to London when he was just 27 years old. “John Bach,” as he was known in England, met the 8-year-old prodigy Mozart in London, and the two became fast friends and admirers of each other’s work. John Bach’s joyful and rarely-heard Magnificat beautifully illustrates his melodic, Italianate style, which was a strong influence on the talented young Mozart.
The concert concludes with Mozart’s powerful Requiem, commissioned by a mysterious, anonymous patron. Mozart, ill and convinced he was composing his own Requiem Mass, died before finishing the piece, which was completed from his extensive notes by his student Süssmayr. Marked by the dark colors of period-instrument basset horns, trombones, and bassoons, and by haunting harmonies, the Requiem remains one of Mozart’s most memorable and moving compositions.
4 PM
First Congregational Church
2345 Channing Way, Berkeley
$10 to $35 (youth under 19 always free)
Tickets online, 855-473-2224
Mid-Peninsula Recorder Orchestra, Frederic Palmer, Director
Spring concert, featuring selections from Henry Purcell’s incidental music to A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream, a 13th-century motet from the Montpellier Codex, a ballade by the 20th-century composer Charles Koechlin, a 16th-century French chanson by Clément Janequin, and “The Glass Elevator” by the orchestra’s director, Frederic Palmer.
2 PM
Trinity Presbyterian Church
1106 Alameda de las Pulgas, San Carlos
Free
http://mpro-online.org/ or 650-591-3648
University of California at Berkeley Music Department
University Baroque Ensemble, Christine Brandes, Director. Vocalists from the 168B studio, Nicholas Nackley, director, perform Henry Purcell, Dido and Aeneas.
2 PM
Hertz Concert Hall
101 Cross-Sproul Path, Berkeley
$16 General Admission, $12 non-UCB students, seniors, current/retired UCB faculty and staff, groups 10+, $5 UCB students
Continue reading next week’s calendar . . .
