Soloists reign supreme in Bach Cantata Choir concert

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.

Make it a SuperBach Sunday!

Portland’s Bach Cantata Choir will present a concert this Sunday afternoon (2 pm) at Rose City Park Presbyterian Church (NE 44th and Sandy). The program consists of Christoph Graupner’s Oboe d’amore Concerto and J. S. Bach’s Cantatas 19 and 41. Ralph Nelson will conduct the concert, and the oboe concerto features Paul Pitkin as the soloist.

Bach’s Cantata 19 is “Es erhub sich ein Streit” (“A battle arose”) and is based on the story of war in heaven in Revelation.

Canata 41 is “Jesu, nun sei gepreiset” (“Jesu, now let us praise Thee”) and is considered one of the most difficult of Bach’s cantatas.

In the Bach Cantata Choir’s newsletter (called “Bach Beat”), Pitkin writes this about the oboe d’amore:

The oboe d’amore was invented in the 18th century, and the Bach cantatas showcase the instrument at the apex of its popularity. Interestingly enough, the first composer to write specifically for the instrument was Christoph Graupner, whose Concerto for Oboe d’Amore will be heard in the BCC’s next concert. In terms of performance, the oboe d’amore is probably the most difficult instrument to play in a family of difficult instruments. This is due in large part to the fact that it has an unstable pitch and a scale that is very out of tune with itself, requiring a great ear and extreme flexibility of embouchure (use of facial muscles and lip placement) on the part of the performer.
Its darker, warmer tone is used to great effect in the cantatas, and you’ll most often find it paired with solo alto; the lush sound of both alto and oboe d’amore work beautifully together. This instrument gradually fell out of favor with the advent of the clarinet, which has a larger range and is much easier to play. Very little music has been composed for the oboe d’amore since the end of the Baroque. The most notable examples are to be found in Ravel’s “Bolero,” Richard Strauss’ “Sinfonia Domestica” and Mahler’s “Ruckert-Lieder.”

There is no admission charge for the concert, but donations will be accepted.

New scribblings in two publications

I've recently published a couple of articles on outstanding local musicians. One article is a profile of pianist Susan Chan, who also teaches at PSU. She performs a very diverse repertoire on concert stages (including Carnegie Hall) and performs much of the same pieces for retirement homes and hospitals. The article, "Generous Performer," appears in the fall issue of PSU Magazine, which is sent to all PSU alumni.

The other article describes conductor Ralph Nelson and his Bach Cantata Choir. Ralph is the founder of this 45-voice ensemble, which will sing all of Bach religious and secular cantatas over the next 20 years. That's because there's over 200 of these works to perform. The article - with a cheesy title - "Bach to the future!" appears in the Hollywood Star newspaper.

Both articles, I'm sorry to say, are not available on the web (although the PSU Magazine will post the Susan Chan story at a later date.

In the meantime, I'm happy to note that Ralph will be the director of the choir at First Immanuel Lutheran (Northwest 19th and Irving) where I sing. So, if you'd like to see what Ralph can do, stop by some Sunday at 11 am.