In June of 2020 the Bach Cantata Choir (of which I am a member) was supposed to have sung at Bachfest, the international festival in Leipzig, Germany. COVID-19 put the kibosh on that event, but the choir has been reinvited to participate in 2024. In the meantime, the BCC has restarted performing at Rose City Park Presbyterian with its first in-person and livestreamed concert taking place this past Sunday afternoon (November 21). The program featured mezzo Hannah Penn, soprano Vakarė Petroliūnaitė, tenor Les Green, and bass Jacob Herbert – the four soloists who were scheduled to appear with the choir in Leipzig back in 2020 – in a selection of solos and duets, plus a chorale in which all four sang. An instrumental ensemble with artistic director Ralph Nelson at the helm accompanied each piece. I heard it all online.
The concert began with Penn warming things up with a mellifluous “Bekennen will ich seinen Namen” from Bach’s Cantata 200. Green followed with “Frohe Hirten” from the “Christmas Oratorio,” conquering the treacherously high passages with elan. Next came Penn, who delivered a lovely, soul-searching “Schliesse, mein Herz.”
In the duet “Seid wachsam, ihr heiligen Wächter” from Cantata 149, Penn and Green’s voices balanced exceptionally well. Afterwards came “Liebster Jesu, mein verlangen” from Cantata 132 with heartfelt singing by Petroliūnaitė, representing the soul and Hebert as Jesus. The concert concluded with the foursome in the final chorale from that cantata.
Portland is fortunate to have a cadre of top-tier professional singers who can handle the many challenges of singing Bach, including incisive diction. I expect that they will team up with the choir in a couple of years to show an international audience in Leipzig that Bach’s music is alive and well in the Pacific Northwest.
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For readers who would like to hear the choir, it will be in full force on December 17th for the Baroque Holiday Concert. I hope to see you there.
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