Annual Festival to Shine Spotlight on Bach’s Legacy
The Sixth Annual Chico Bach Festival, this year entitled “The Legacy of Bach,” will feature two concerts — Music of J.S. Bach at 7:30 p.m. on March 10 in the Rowland-Taylor Recital Hall; and Bach and Mendelssohn at 7:30 p.m. on March 11 in Harlen Adams Theatre.
A student recital scheduled for the afternoon of March 11 has been cancelled.
The 2008 festival will concentrate on Bach’s music through performance of his vocal pieces, said Chico State Department of Music professor David Scholz.
“It will examine through performances not only the original works of Bach, but also the contributions to his legacy made by Baroque composer Giovanni Pergolesi and Romantic Era composer Felix Mendelssohn.”
The concert on March 10 will feature solo vocal renditions of several of Bach’s pieces and highlight Pergolesi’s influence on him. Soprano Daun Hayes and alto Ruth Greenfield will perform Bach’s motet “Tilge, Höchster, meine Sunden.” This piece is based on Pergolesi’s “Stabat Mater,” but has a German paraphrase of Psalm 51 substituted for the Stabat Mater text.
“Along with the numerous composers who studied Bach’s music and attempted to attain his level of achievement, part of Bach’s legacy is the works by other composers that he collected and studied throughout his life,” Scholz said.
Also during the Monday night concert, soprano Dara Scholz and baritone Lawrence Weller will perform Bach’s famous secular cantata “Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht.” This piece, which is also known as the “Coffee Cantata,” features a humorous father-daughter satire about caffeine addiction.
At the March 11 concert the CSU, Chico Acappella Choir and Chamber Singers will present music from Bach and Mendelssohn. The Chamber Singers will open the concert with Bach’s motet “Lobet den Herrn.”
“The Chamber Singers will also perform what is arguably Bach’s most famous chorale cantata, “Christ lag in Todesbanden.”
“It was composed as part of his application for the church musician position in Mülhausen when he was only 20 years old.”
The Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn contributed to the revival of Bach’s music when it was forgotten after his death in 1750. Through his mentor Friedrich Zelter, Mendelssohn arranged a performance of Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion” and renewed artistic interest in his work.
After the Chamber Singers, the Acappella Choir will sing one of Mendelssohn’s eight chorale cantatas, “Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten.” After studying Bach’s cantata on the same text, Mendelssohn incorporated much of Bach’s style into his own setting.
The Acappella Choir will also perform the beautiful accompanied motet “Grant Us Thy Peace.”
“Although works of other composers will be performed on the festival, it is the music of Bach himself that forms the core of his legacy. noted Schotz. “We are excited to be presenting some of his most famous and original vocal works during the festival.”
Tickets are available at the University Box Office in Chico (898-6333). Advance tickets are (for each concert) $15 adults, $13 seniors, and $6 students/children. Add $2 for tickets purchased at the door. For disability-related accommodations, please call 898-4325.
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-Hillary Feeney
