ONLINE: Madison Bach Musicians

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Estelí Gomez

Madison Bach Musicians director Trevor Stephenson and soprano Estelí Gomez.

It turns out that the orderly, rational progressions of Bach are a perfect calming soundtrack to the current moment. Enjoy the extraordinary work of Johann Sebastian Bach at the Madison Bach Musicians' 10th annual Baroque Holiday Concert. There will be other music, too, from Braun, Charpentier, Corelli, Dall’Abaco and Telemann. And more good news, for fans of Bach's solo cello suites: Baroque cellist James Waldo will perform Cello Suite No. 4 in E-flat major. This online event begins at 7:30 pm with a live lecture by MBM director Trevor Stephenson (pictured, left, with soprano Estelí Gomez). At 8 pm comes the hour-long concert, recorded earlier this month at venues around Madison. Finally there will be a live Q&A with the musicians from their homes. Find tickets ($15/household) here.

press release: Madison Bach Musicians invites you to join us from the intimacy and safety of your home for our 10th annual Baroque Holiday Concert of masterworks by Bach, Telemann, Corelli, Dall’Abaco, Braun, and Charpentier.

The concert opens with Grammy-award winning soprano Estelí Gomez and MBM director Trevor Stephenson on harpsichord performing nine of the prettiest selections from the Schemelli Songbook recorded in the beautiful Lawrence University chapel in Appleton. This collection was published in Leipzig in 1736 by Georg Christian Schemelli, a German Protestant church musician, in collaboration with J. S. Bach, who provided most of the bass lines and wonderful harmonizations. 

From the sanctuary of Grace Episcopal Church on the Capitol Square in Madison, baroque cellist James Waldo performs Bach’s magisterial Cello Suite No. 4 in E-flat major. Bach’s cello suites are today among the most recognizable and frequently performed pieces for solo cello. The fourth suite is considered one of the most technically demanding and, in Mstislav Rostropovich’s words, has a character of “majesty and opacity.”

UW-Madison School of Music bassoon faculty member Marc Vallon and esteemed baroque cellist Martha Vallon team up in Collins Recital Hall for a seldom heard Duo Sonata by Jean Daniel Braun (1703–1738). Marc also will play a solo bassoon transcription of two Telemann Fantasias originally for solo flute. Martha will perform the meditative Dall’Abaco Capriccio no. 4 in D minor.

The program concludes with MBM concertmaster Kangwon Kim joined by violist Micah Behr and cellist James Waldo at The Crossing in Madison performing their own arrangements of a panoply of Holiday favorites: Greensleeves; three dance-like instrumental selections from Charpentier’s Christmas Music for Instruments; the Adagio from Corelli’s Christmas Concerto Op. 6, no. 8; and two beloved carols—Lo! How a Rose and Sussex Carol. 

This online event begins at 7:30 pm with a live lecture by MBM director Trevor Stephenson about the repertoire, the composers, and the period instruments.  At 8 pm, viewers will see a 60-minute high-definition video of the concert portion of the program recorded December 1-6.  The evening ends with a live question and answer session with our musicians from their homes. Listeners should submit their questions (in advance or during the broadcast) via email to Karen Rebholz at madisonbachmusicians.manager@gmail.com.