Bach at One

This afternoon, hear Musikalische Exequien, op. 7, by the great German composer Heinrich Schütz, a funeral piece that parallels the traditional Latin Requiem in expressing mortality, comfort, and hope. This collection of motets, one of the finest choral cycles of the 17th century, had a far-reaching impact. You’ll note a similar style while listening to Bach’s Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf.  

Trinity Choir; led by Avi Stein, organ

To usher in Ascension Day, celebrating the anniversary of Trinity Church’s consecration, Trinity Baroque Orchestra and Trinity Choir perform Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Ascension Oratorio,” or Lobet Gott in seinen Reichen. The magnificent work is set to passages from Luke, Mark, and Acts of the Apostles. Also on this Tuesday’s program: Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden, which was set for four voices to Psalm 117. 

Trinity Choir; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; Melissa Attebury, director  

Join us as Trinity Choir and Trinity Baroque Orchestra, led by organist Avi Stein, perform Bach’s beautiful Ich hab in Gottes Herz und Sinn (Cantata 92), a sacred work that references the soul’s surrender as the way to heaven. Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D Major — Bach’s first major work for solo harpsichord and orchestra — is also on the program.  

Trinity Choir; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; led by Avi Stein, organ

Experience a beautiful cantata written by Johann Sebastian’s older cousin, Johann Christoph Bach. Mein Freundin, du bist schön is a joyous setting of love poetry from the Song of Songs. Most likely performed at the wedding of Johann Sebastian’s older brother, it’s one example of the prodigious talent that preceded J. S. Bach and ran through generations of the Bach family.  

Trinity Choir; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; led by Avi Stein, organ  

Hear pieces from two distinct phases of Bach’s prolific Leipzig period, when he wrote most of the cantatas we perform today. Nun is das Heil und die Kraft represents his first few years in the German city, when he composed sacred works. Meanwhile, grand Cantata 207, Vereinigte Zwietracht der wechselnden Saiten, highlights the phase when he turned his focus to the Collegium Musicum, a public concert series. He continued to write cantatas, but the texts came from poetry rather than scripture. The latter includes an ingenious reworking of the first Brandenburg concerto.  

Trinity Choir; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; led by Avi Stein, organ  

This Bach at One is the first installment of Trinity’s Divine Muse series celebrating Saint Cecilia, whose spirituality and martyrdom have inspired countless works of art, literature, and music. Director of Music Melissa Attebury leads the Trinity Choir and the Trinity Baroque Orchestra in a tribute that includes Bach’s Komm, Jesu, komm; Gott der Herr ist Sonn und Schild, and Benjamin Britten’s Hymn to St. Cecilia — one of the best-known musical tributes to the saint. 

Trinity Choir; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; Melissa Attebury, Director 

The Trinity Choir performs one of Bach’s most complex choral pieces, Jesu, meine Freude (“Jesus, my Joy”) as well as two modern Gabriel Kahane pieces of the same title: We are the Saints. The first Kahane work (a New York premiere) grapples with our relationship with nature. The second, a world premiere arrangement of the composer's popular song, weaves personal narratives and social commentary into a compelling reflection on homelessness. 

This special Bach at One is part of the 2024–25 NOVUS Renewal: Shelter series, which highlights the experience of the unhoused and the complex systemic failures that lead to homelessness. 

Trinity Choir; Gabriel Kahane, soloist and composer; Melissa Attebury, director 

Bach never wrote an opera, but this concert features the closest approximation we have: the exquisite monologues and duets of his cantatas Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust and Liebster Jesu, mein Verlangen. Cantata 32 uses the poetry of the Song of Songs to model a dialogue between Jesus, the expression of the divine, and Soul, embodying humanity.  

Elisse Albian, soprano; Elisa Sutherland, alto; Enrico Lagasca, bass; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; led by Avi Stein, organ 

In his last post as a music director in Leipzig, Bach led a concert series — in a coffeehouse in winter and a beer garden in summer — that featured works like George Frideric Handel’s fiery Concerto in D Minor, as well as such visiting virtuosi as violinist Georg Pisendel, whose arrangement of Jean-Féry Rebel’s Les Caractères de la danse is a medley of popular French dances of the time. Today’s program also includes a suite of opera hits by Jean-Philippe Rameau, and Bach’s own Prelude and Fugue in E Minor. 

Trinity Baroque Orchestra; led by Avi Stein, harpsichord 

Considered one of Christianity’s greatest statements of hope, the Magnificat is arguably Bach’s most popular choral work. Combining colorful orchestration with a large choir, the jubilant Magnificat is based on the Canticle of Mary from Luke’s gospel and centers on God’s love for the poor, humble, and oppressed.  

Trinity Choir; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; led by Avi Stein, organ