Sunday 13 March 2022 at 800 PM
Edward Elgar The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38
Johann Sebastian Bach’s motet for double choir, Komm, Jesu, Komm BWV 229, dates from between 1723 and 1734. It is based on two stanzas of a funeral hymn originally written by Paul Thymich of Leipzig on the occasion of the death of a rector of St. Thomas’s School. The repeated calling "Komm" at the opening, in many measures and voices, communicates ardently the plea common to all humanity when facing grief or tragedy. Bach’s very joyful Cantata No. 147 invites listeners to offer “heart and mouth and deed and living as witness to Christ.” The Cantata, slated for use on the Feast of the Visitation, was composed in 1723, the first year of Bach’s long tenure as the Thomaskantor in Leipzig. As part of our anniversary celebration, this concert will also feature the premiere performance of commissioned works by alumni composers Jessica French and Nicolas Chuaqui.
