This preview has been provided by Mallarmé Chamber Players.

The Mallarmé Chamber Players, in partnership with the Choral Society of Durham, will present Historical Bach Redux, a program that features the remarkable instrumental and choral music of Johann Sebastian Bach. The concert will feature four of Bach’s works performed on period instruments with baroque performance practices including two cantatas, a Brandenburg Concerto and a harpsichord concert. The performance will be at the historic Hayti Heritage Center – the former St. Joseph’s AME Church and a National Historic Landmark.

Harpsichordist Elaine Funaro will be performing as soloist in the Harpsichord Concerto No. 5, which contains the famous “Arioso” in the middle movement. Ms. Funaro is well-known in Durham and nationally as the artistic director of Aliénor, an organization that promotes new music for the harpsichord through concerts, commissions and a composition competition. 

Peter Lekx, baroque violinist and violist, hails from Cleveland, Ohio, and will perform the violin solos in the Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 on a violin piccolo, a smaller version of the standard violin. It was designed in baroque times to play higher-pitched passages and Bach specifically designated its use in this work; however it is rare to see it in use today as advances in violin technique have allowed players to play the high passages on the standard violin.

The Choral Society of Durham’s Chamber Choir, conducted by Dr. Rodney Wynkoop, will present Cantatas No. 79 and 131. Cantata No. 131, Aus der Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir (From the depths I call, Lord, to Thee), is an early sacred cantata with a small instrumentation including solo violin and oboe. Cantata No. 79, Gott der Herr ist Sonn und Schild (The Lord God is sun and shield), was written for Reformation Sunday and is an energetic work that includes strings, oboe, bassoon, horns and timpani. Several vocal solos will be sung by members of the Choral Society.

DATE, LOCATION, TICKETS:

Historical Bach Redux | Sunday, February 5, 2012, 3:00 PM
Hayti Heritage Center, 804 Old Fayetteville Road, Durham

$18 in advance | $20 at the door

$15 K-12 Educators | $5 Students at the door w/valid ID (subject to availability)

Purchase tickets: www.mallarmemusic.org or (919) 560-2788

Contact: office@mallarmemusic.org

ARTISTS:

CONDUCTOR:
Rodney Wynkoop

SOLOISTS:
Peter Lekx – violin
Elaine Funaro – harpsichord

ENSEMBLE:
Peter Lekx, John Pruett and Andrew Bonner – violin
Suzanne Rousso – viola
Stephanie Vial – cello
Robbie Link – violone
William Thauer, Alicia Chapman and David Hawkins – oboe
Kelsey Schilling – bassoon
Chris Caudill and Rachel Niketopoulos – horn
John Feddersen – timpani
Elaine Funaro and Jane Lynch – harpsichord

PROGRAM:

J. S. Bach:
Harpsichord Concerto No. 5 in F Minor, BWV 1056
Cantata No. 131 Aus der Tiefe rufe ich, Herr, zu dir
Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F Major, BWV 1046
Cantata No. 79 Gott der Herr, ist Sonn und Schild

This concert is sponsored by George Chandler

~The Mallarmé Chamber Players are a flexible ensemble of professional musicians based in Durham, North Carolina, whose mission is to enrich the lives of their community through outstanding chamber music. The ensemble distinguishes itself by its innovative educational programs, its commitment to creative collaboration with other organizations, its creation of significant new work and its dedication to serve a diverse population.

Mallarmé annually presents a series of five concerts that features great, diverse, multi-disciplinary chamber music. Mallarmé performs everything from Bach with period instruments to brand new works. In this past year alone, Mallarmé has presented two world premieres by composers Gwyneth Walker and Gabriela Lena Frank. In 2010, Mallarmé released a CD on Albany/Videmus records of chamber music by African American composers, to great acclaim.

Mallarmé Chamber Players is a nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization. The 2011-12 concert season is made possible in part by grants from the Durham Arts Council’s Annual Fund and funding from the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.

~Founded in 1949, the Choral Society of Durham (North Carolina) has a long-standing reputation for excellence in performing great choral literature with a professional orchestra and regionally and nationally known soloists. They also engage in outreach to music students in area public schools. The 32-voice Chamber Choir, often featured in portions of Choral Society concerts, also presents its own concerts and makes guest appearances in the community.

Their Christmas concerts feature classical works for the season and arrangements of traditional carols. Their spring concerts and collaborations with the North Carolina Symphony have featured such choral masterworks as the Requiems of Mozart, Brahms, Verdi, Berlioz, and Fauré; Bach’s B-Minor Mass andSt. Matthew Passion; Haydn’s Creation andMass in Time of War; Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis; Mendelssohn’s Elijah; Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil (Vespers); Bloch’s Avodath Hakodesh (Sacred Service); Vaughan Williams’s Dona Nobis Pacem; Janácek’s Glagolitic Mass;and Philip Glass’s Itaipú.