No programme of music from the high baroque would be complete without contributions from the master, JS Bach: the exuberant four-part motet Lobet den Herrn; the contemplative, lyrical Sinfonia that begins Cantata No. 156, Ich steh mit einem Fuß im Grabe; and, last but not least, Cantata No 150, Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich, with its melancholy opening sinfonia and its concluding mighty choral chaconne.
Alongside these great but rather neglected pieces we also present a Dixit Dominus by Bach’s contemporary Zelenka, a Bohemian-born composer who was educated in Prague and Vienna before settling in Dresden, and the Credo in F by Lotti, the work from which comes his most famous and rightly celebrated piece, the Crucifixus for eight-part choir.
Handel’s five movement Let God arise, the eleventh of his so-called Chandos Anthems concludes our programme. It was composed in 1717/18 for James Brydges, Earl of Carnarvon (who became the First Duke of Chandos in 1719) and for whom Handel was at the time serving as composer in residence at Brydges’ country seat, Cannons in Middlesex. The chapel at Cannons is still standing.
We will be joined by the Nonsuch Baroque Players, a professional orchestra drawn from amongst the finest baroque musicians of their generation.
We look forward to welcoming you to what promises to be a memorable evening of music making.