American Bach

Our American Bach Soloists concert had a bigger chorus and a smaller orchestra. There was a violone which looks like a large viola da gamba with 6 strings. There was something called a taille which looked very much like an oboe da caccia. There were 4 other string players, an organist and three other double reeds.

The title of our concert was Bach's Legacy.

I
Sei Lob und Preis mit Ehren, Bach
Aus der Tiefen rufe ich, Bach
Sechs Sprueche zum Kirchenjahr, Mendelssohn
Der Geist hilft unser Schwchheit auf, Bach

II
Fest-und Gedenksprueche, Brahms
Komm, Jesu, komm, Bach
Komm, Jesu, Komm, Sandstroem
Verleih uns Frieden, Bach
Verleih uns Frieden, Mendelssohn
Komm, suesser Tod, Bach
Immortal Bach, Nystedt

The idea of the second half was to show a piece by Bach and then follow it with another later piece on the same text. This resulted in some fascinating contrasts, especially with the modern composers. The chorus is selected and trained for the music of Bach. I felt it worked very well for everything except Brahms whom I prefer in a more romantic style. Bach in our lives is basically due to Mendelssohn.