The Bach Collegium San Diego has announced it’s 16th season of early music, with works by Handel, Bach, and Purcell, some being performed for the first time locally.
In a break with tradition, music director Ruben Valenzuela has added one modern work—Swiss composer Frank Martin‘s 1963 Mass for Double Choir.
And for the first time in five years, the Bach Collegium will not present Handel’s Messiah during the holiday season, but instead Bach’s Christmas Oratorio.
“Bach’s Christmas Oratorio (which was actually composed for Christmas, unlike Messiah) contains portions of the Christmas narrative and is filled with some of Bach’s most thrilling music,” said Valenzuela. “It’s time to put Messiah away for a year, and keep our repertoire always fresh and vibrant.”
Works by Handel and Stuck are receiving their regional premiere, while the Christmas Oratorio and Purcell’s “King Arthur” will receive historically informed performances on period instruments for the first time in San Diego.
Valenzuela noted that Martin’s unique style draws on a wide variety of influences, including Renaissance music, French Impressionism, and Schoenberg’s twelve-note system, but above all from Bach.
Here’s a complete outline of the 2018-2019 season:
October 5 & 6
G.F. HANDEL: Apollo e Daphne HWV 122 — San Diego regional premiere
JEAN-BAPTISTE STUCK: Heraclite et Damocrite — San Diego regional premiere
including works by Rameau and J.S. Bach
December 14 & 15
J.S. BACH: Christmas Oratorio BWV 248 — Historically informed San Diego premiere
February 22 & 23
FRANK MARTIN: Mass for Double Choir
J.S. BACH: Motet: Komm, Jesu, komm BWV 229 including other works for Double Choir
MAY 3 & 4
HENRY PURCELL: King Arthur — Historically informed San Diego premiere
The Bach Collegium’s mission is to engage audiences with accessible, historically informed performances and educational programs featuring repertoire from the Renaissance, Baroque and early Classical eras.
The ensemble was founded by Valenzuela in 2003 and is the Ensemble in Residence at All Souls’ Episcopal Church in Point Loma.
