Whidbey Island Music Festival: Bach Cantatas
$10-$20
Johann Sebastian Bach — Himmelskönig, sei willkommen, BWV 182
Johann Sebastian Bach — Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit, BWV 106 "Actus tragicus"
J.C. Bach – Ach, daß ich Wassers g'nug hätte
J.S. Bach – Cantata 182 Himmelskönig, sei willkommen
J.S. Bach – Cantata 106 Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit
Johann Christoph Bach, J.S. Bach's uncle, was the organist at St. Georg's in Eisenach where young Johann grew up. He was revered among the Bach family as a "profound composer." J.S. Bach contributed the following to his uncle's obituary... he "was as good at inventing beautiful thoughts as he was at expressing words. He composed, to the extent that current taste permitted, in a galant and cantabile style, uncommonly full-textured... On the organ and the keyboard [he] never played with fewer than five independent parts." This wrenchingly expressive solo cantata for alto is among J.C Bach's few surviving works.
Bach's Cantata 106 begins with an opening Sinfonia scored for recorders, gambas and continuo, and is one of the most mournfully poignant works in all of the cantatas. Cantata 182 is a joyful celebration of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem.
Catherine Webster, soprano
Reggie Mobley, alto
Zachary Finkelstein, tenor
Charles Robert Stephens, baritone
Tekla Cunningham, baroque violin
Romaric Pokorny, viola
Vicki Boeckman, recorder
Miyo Aoki, recorder
Beiliang Zhu, viola da gamba and baroque cello
Todd Larsen, bass
Henry Lebedinsky, organ
About the festival
2015 marks the 10th Anniversary Season of the Whidbey Island Music Festival! WIMF presents vibrant performances on period instruments of repertoire ranging from Monteverdi to Beethoven on beautiful Whidbey Island, WA. Join in celebrating this milestone with four celebratory programs of Bach, Pergolesi and more.
The 2015 Whidbey Island Music Festival begins Friday, August 7th and runs through August 16th with two weekends of concerts.