Missouri Choral Artists (courtesy Missouri Choral Artists)
Get ready for an “expansive celebration of beautiful choral works and magnificent arias” at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
In a fine example of collaborative music making, the established Bach Aria Soloists bring forward Missouri Choral Artists in an exciting mixed concert of choral and chamber works.
Bach Aria Soloists, now in their 26th season, have often played host to musicians from diverse genres, finding ties from around the world and across the centuries to their namesake inspiration from the Baroque era, Johann Sebastian Bach.
This season, Missouri Choral Artists joins them in an exploration of eras and styles for a concert at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, what Bach Aria Soloists founder and violinist Elizabeth Suh Lane called an “expansive celebration of beautiful choral works and magnificent arias.” Suh Lane is also BAS’ artistic director.
Vocalists have been a part of the BAS experience since it was founded. And collaborating with choirs is not a new venture for BAS, either, having performed in previous seasons with groups such as the Kansas City Chorale and Te Deum.
And many of the artists in the choir were in those same ensembles. Founded in 2016, Missouri Choral Artists is an invitation-based ensemble, with exceptional vocalists from across the region who have Missouri ties. Some grew up here, some studied at a Missouri-based music school. Some live in Missouri currently, as professional musicians and educators.
Missouri Choral Artists is a project-based group, which means instead of regular rehearsals, the individual members prepare on their own, then come together for a week (or weekend) of rehearsals and performances. The roster changes concert to concert, giving each performance a unique sound. Though the group is based in centrally located Springfield, Missouri, each season they present concerts in the Kansas City area.
“What began as a gathering of former college friends has since grown into a professional ensemble working with some of the nation’s finest artists and guest conductors,” said Kelly Garrison, co-founder and artistic director of Missouri Choral Artists.
These two groups are connected by soprano Sarah Tannehill Anderson, who has performed with BAS since 2014. She is also one of the founding members of Missouri Choral Artists and currently serves as board president. Anderson is a familiar voice in Kansas City, having performed with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, the Grammy Award-winning Kansas City Chorale, William Baker Festival Singers and more.
“Missouri Choral Artists is unique because we’re there to retreat from our lives and enjoy singing together,” said Anderson. “We are there to connect with each other and enjoy the process of making beautiful music.”
With her experience in both ensembles, she knew that together they would sound exceptional. The partnership was, agreed Garrison, “a natural fit.”
“This is our first collaboration with an instrumental group of this scope. We’re excited to present a program that blends MCA’s choral artistry with the instrumental brilliance of BAS, offering audiences a unique perspective on both traditional and collaborative repertoire,” said Garrison.
These collaborations not only open up new avenues for audiences but set an artistic challenge for the musicians. “The concept of broadening our own horizons, challenging everyone involved and introducing possible new music to our audiences with something new and fresh, is exhilarating.” said Anderson.
“I think we’ve all become really good at staying open-minded and flexible, because we know the end product will shine if we do.”
In keeping with BAS’ vision, “Bach is at the heart of the program,” said Garrison, though the concert draws from works across the centuries. Bach, of course, wrote for a wide variety of ensembles, and this concert, too, will showcase “a rich mix of instrumental, choral and collaborative works,” Garrison said.
From Bach’s massive oeuvre they’ll present a range of textures, including “Sei Lob und Preis mit Ehren,” BWV 231, for chorus and organ, and the Chorale from “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme,” BWV 140, for choir and continuo, as well as “Gott fähret auf mit Jauchzen,” featuring Anderson as soprano soloist, and the Domine Deus from Bach’s B minor Mass, for tenor, soprano and instruments.
Many pieces feature the versatile Bach Aria Soloist mainstay Elisa Bickers on keyboards, playing pieces on harpsichord and organ, such as James MacMillan’s “A New Song,” which pulls together many influences of church and folk music into a beautiful reflection, and an excerpt from Heinrich Schütz’s “Musikalische Exequien,” Op. 7.
Suh Lane performs with the chorus on James Pearson’s searing “Introit-Somnium.”
There will also be a few choir-only features, with Renaissance-era works by Luca Marenzio and Felice Anerio, as well as Cecilia MacDowall’s haunting lament “Standing as I do before God,” written in 2013.
And for chamber music fans, BAS will have a few highlight moments, familiar to their dedicated audience, adding a change of texture to the concert. Suh Lane and Bickers perform the “Allegro” from Bach’s Sonata in G minor, an opener Suh Lane called “pure joy.” As an interlude in the middle of the concert (and to give Bickers and the choir a break), Suh Lane solos on the brilliant “Danse des Ombres” from Eugène Ysaÿe’s Sonata No. 2.
They’ve also arranged a new chamber music treatment for Ottorino Respighi’s “Deità Silvane” specifically for this partnership, creating a piece Suh Lane called “exquisite,” for chorus, organ and violin, and showcasing many of the individual voices from MCA.
The finale brings all the forces together for Benjamin Britten’s exuberant “Jubilate Deo.”
“Bach Aria Soloists are a cornerstone of the Kansas City arts community,” said Garrison, “and we are honored to collaborate with them.” With this powerhouse of a connection, the performance promises to be a thrilling evening of music.
Bach Aria Soloists and Missouri Choral Artists perform at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 15. For more information visit www.bachariasoloists.com.
