Just Bach

media release: "Motets and Community Chorales"



Eleanor Mayerfeld - Soprano

Amanda Lauricella - Soprano

Geoffrey Williams - Alto

John Bragle - Tenor

Ryne Cherry - Bass

Eric Miller - Cello

Bruce Bengston - Piano/Organ

Today’s "Motets and Community Chorales" program features vocal music from the Altbachisches Archiv, motets from Geistliche Chor-Music by Heinrich Schütz, and chorales by Johann Sebastian Bach. The Altbachisches Archiv is a collection of 17th-century vocal music, most of which was written by members of the Bach family. This catalog contains various motets, arias and cantatas, with J.S. Bach’s older cousins Johann Christoph Bach and Johann Michael Bach responsible for a majority of the compositional output. 

Heinrich Schütz’s 1648 publication Geistliche Chor-Music (Sacred Choral Music) is a collection of 29 German motets written for five to seven voices or instruments. Schütz, who is regarded as the greatest German composer before J.S. Bach, mentioned that these motets were composed in the old polyphonic style of the Renaissance period without the influence of the new Italian continuo style, a style that would eventually become the heartbeat of Baroque music.

Johann Sebastian Bach wrote over 400 chorales in his lifetime, showcasing his mastery of counterpoint, voice-leading, and harmony. Today, we have programmed a handful of Bach’s most famous chorale harmonizations in German and in English. Please join us in singing these wonderful four-part melodic gems.

This Just Bach Concerts program is funded in part by grants from the Madison Arts Commission and Wisconsin Arts Board, with additional funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment of the Arts. We would also like to thank our local sponsor Isthmus Eats, and our many generous donors and patrons!

All Grace Presents Concerts are FREE and open to the public!

Donations gladly accepted to support the ongoing series