Andrew Arthur, organ, Robert Farley, trumpet
Daniel Purcell, Trumpet Sonata in C
Henry Purcell, Voluntary for Double Organ, Z. 719
John Weldon, Suite from Judgement of Paris
George Frideric Handel, Fugue in C minor for keyboard, G83
John Stanley, Voluntary in C major for organ, No. 1, Op. 5
Jeremiah Clarke, Trumpet Suite in D major
The Festival’s first performance features two Baroque masters performing in beautiful Carmel Valley. Principal trumpet Robert Farley and principal keyboardist Andrew Arthur present “The King’s Trumpeter.” The title of the concert is taken from the name originally given to the head trumpeter, retained by the King, whose job it was to signal the attack in times of war. It is believed to go back to at least the 13th Century. St. Dunstan’s beautiful sanctuary and Dobson pipe organ will host this entertaining evening.
Franz Joseph Haydn, The Creation, HOB XXI:2
Mhairi Lawson, soprano; Thomas Cooley, tenor; Dashon Burton, bass-baritone
Haydn’s masterpiece, The Creation, majestically opens the 82nd Carmel Bach Festival. The performances feature the Festival’s entire company of musicians and will be sung in a Haydn-approved English translation.
Haydn considered The Creation his masterwork. It is the culmination of his creative life that produced more than 100 symphonies, and a plethora of string quartets, operas, masses and other works.
Haydn’s musical setting of the creation story is one of the best-loved works in the choral repertoire because of its dramatic gestures, bold orchestral colors and imaginative word painting. From the creation of light to Adam and Eve’s love duet, Haydn brings to life the birds, beasts and angels as they rejoice in soaring, life-affirming music.
The radiance of The Creation is experienced through the overpowering majesty of the choruses. Also, the composer’s tremendous word-painting skill with which he creates his descriptive canvasses, and the brilliant orchestration Haydn brought to his famous “London” symphonies and late Masses. Here the orchestration is employed to even more powerful effect, especially in some of the colorful writing for the winds. The orchestra in The Creation is every bit as much a protagonist as the soloists and chorus.
The work is part of the grand orchestral/choral tradition that is in the Festival’s DNA, as represented by such audience favorites such as Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, the Bach Passions, and Carmina Burana.
The Creation’s enduring place in the repertory is because of its appeal on so many levels: It is complex and intricate, yet highly accessible. It is spiritual, but profoundly human. It’s is Haydn’s great expression of gratitude to God, but also a lasting gift to humankind.
“I have lived with Haydn’s Creation all my life,” said Festival Artistic Director Paul Goodwin. “In performances as a boy chorister, as a solo oboist and as a conductor, reveling in its ever-changing colors and glorious architecture. This piece means a lot to me; I hope it will to you too!”
Orchestra, Chorale, Chorus and Soloists conducted by Paul Goodwin
J.S. Bach, The Christmas Oratorio, Part I and II, BWV 248
Mhairi Lawson, soprano; Meg Bragle, mezzo-soprano; Thomas Cooley, tenor; Dashon Burton, bass-baritone
Felix Mendelssohn, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Incidental Music, Op. 61
Francesca Faridany, actress
Two titans of Western culture—J.S. Bach and William Shakespeare—are paired in this program.
The first two cantatas of J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio open the relaxing and pastoral afternoon. Trumpets and timpani herald the birth of Jesus to begin the first cantata, a celebration and reflection on the birth of Jesus. Similar to the Matthew and John passions, the Oratorio includes a tenor Evangelist who narrates the story of the birth of Christ. These recitatives introduce and connect lyrical solo arias. The cantatas feature the entire Festival choral ensemble—the professional Chorale and volunteer Chorus—sometimes intoning the well-known Passion choral, which links the birth of Christ with the Passion saga, and more often singing in praise accompanied by a full Baroque orchestra featuring some of Bach’s most brilliant writing.
This realization mirrors Bach’s intent with the Christmas Oratorio, which was created to be performed over several days in Leipzig.
The Sunday programs kick off the complete presentation of The Christmas Oratorio. Two of the remaining cantatas are scheduled for Monday afternoon at All Saints, with the Festival’s four vocal soloists and a small Baroque ensemble directed by Andrew Arthur, and the remaining two cantatas will be presented Wednesday night at the Carmel Mission Basilica by the Chorale accompanied by Baroque strings, brass, and timpani with Andrew Megill, conductor.
The second half of the program is Mendelssohn’s Incidental Music to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, with actress Francesca Faridany providing Shakespeare’s narration. Faridany is an international film, TV and theater actress who appears in the movie blockbuster, Black Panther, and also on TV in NBC’s Manifest. She is a past winner of a Tony Award for Best Play (Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime), a Helen Hayes Outstanding Lead Actress Awardand an Outer Critics Circle Outstanding Featured Actress nominee, among many other credits. She has many connections to the Festival. Her grandmother Nancy Morrow, was an early supporter; her mother, Nana, was a longtime Festival administrator, and her sister, pianist Lucy Faridany is the Festival’s Chorus accompanist. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is the perfect complement to a tranquil summer afternoon in Carmel.
“This concert begins the 2019 Christmas Oratorio journey,” said Paul Goodwin, “creating maximum variety with three concerts in three venues with three conductors and three formations. This concert places Bach’s most colorful and pastoral cantatas alongside Mendelssohn’s magical masterpiece, a Midsummer Night’s Dream. A concert that encapsulates the beauty of Carmel-by-the-Sea, looking both to the spirit and to nature.”
Neil Tatman, Ellen Sherman, oboe; Ginger Kroft, Erin Finkelstein clarinet; Laura Koepke, Britt Hebert, bassoon; Meredith Brown, Alicia Mastromonaco, horn; Kevin Neuhoff, percussion
Gordon Jacob, Divertimento
Arvo Pärt, Fratres
Ludwig van Beethoven, Octet, op. 103
The Sunday candlelight concerts at All Saints church are the perfect way to end your Festival weekend. The 2019 Festival offers two fascinating programs—woodwind octets from Gordon Jacob, Arvo Pärt and Beethoven the first Sunday, and “Songs of the Night,” presenting the men of the Festival Chorale and Chorus in a special program devoted to nocturnal music directed by associate conductor Andrew Megill.
Andrew Arthur organ
J.S. Bach, Fantasia & Fugue in C minor, BWV 537
Chorale Preludes for the season of Advent:
Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 659
Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 660
Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 661
Meine Seele, erhebt den Herren, BWV 648
Meine Seele, erhebt den Herren, BWV 733
J.S. Bach, Pastorella in F, BWV 590
J.S. Bach, Toccata & Fugue in D minor, “Dorian,” BWV 538
Andrew Arthur is the principal keyboardist and director of the Twilight in the Cathedral concerts. He is the director of music at Trinity Hall in Cambridge, England, the associate director of the Hanover Band, principal conductor of the Euterpe Baroque Consort and musical director of Orpheus Britannicus. His annual recitals at the iconic Carmel Mission Basilica are highlights of the chamber concert schedule.
Emlyn Ngai, violin
Thomas Baltzar, Prelude in D (from The Division Violinist, 1684)
Variation Thomas Baltzar, Divisions upon John come kiss me now
Stylus Fantasticus H.I.F. von Biber, Sonata No.1 The Annunciation (Mystery Sonatas)
Counterpoint – J.S. Bach, Sonata No.3 in C Major, BWV 1005: 2. Fuga
Galant style J. H. Roman, Assagio BeR10
Dance & style brisé Georg Philip Telemann, Fantasie Nr.9 in B minor: 1. Siciliana, 2. Vivace, 3. Allegro
J. S. Bach, Partita No1 B minor, BWV 1002: 1. Allemande; Double; 2. Corrente; Double
Fantasy & the spirit of improvisation – Nicolas Matteis, Jr., Fantasia in C minor
Giuseppe Tartini, Sonata d3 for violin senza basso: 1. Cantabile, 2. Presto
Andrew Arthur, organ and director; Mhairi Lawson, soprano; Meg Bragle, mezzo-soprano; Thomas Cooley, tenor; Dashon Burton bass-baritone, bass; Gonzalo Ruiz, Stephen Bard, oboe and oboes d’amore; Meredith Brown, Alicia Mastromonaco, horn; Cristina Zacharias, Marika Holmqvist, violins; Cynthia Black, viola; Eva Lymenstull, cello; Derek Weller, bass.
J.S. Bach, The Christmas Oratorio, Part IV and V, BWV 248
After the celebratory opening cantatas are performed on Sunday afternoons at Sunset Center, parts IV and V will be staged at All Saints Church on Monday afternoons. This is the best opportunity to hear the Festival’s four vocal soloists in an intimate setting, accompanied by a small Baroque ensemble under the direction of Andrew Arthur.
Featuring Concertmaster Peter Hanson with members of the Festival Orchestra
Edvard Grieg, Holberg Suite, Op. 40
John Adams, Shaker Loops
Bernard Herrmann, Suite from Psycho
Edward Elgar, Nimrod from Enigma Variations, (as heard in Dunkirk)
Henry Mancini, Moon River (TENTATIVE)
John Williams, Theme from Schindler’s List
Stanley Myers, Cavatina (Deer Hunter Theme)
J.S. Bach, Air (from Orchestral Suite No. 3)
Monday’s program stretches the imagination.
Concertmaster Peter Hanson continues to create imaginative programming with this concert, entitled Psycho!
The program’s first half presents the neo-Baroque classic Holberg Suite by Edvard Grieg, and Shaker Loops by America’s greatest living composer, John Adams. Shaker Loops was created in the composer’s unique minimalist style, and has a mesmerizing impact.
The suite from Psycho, composed by Bernard Herrmann begins a second half dedicated to great film music. Herrmann’s score is seen as the perfect match for the Alfred Hitchcock classic, and like other great film music, paints indelible images in the listener’s mind. Imagine the famous shower scene from Psycho without the chilling music?
Other movie classics in the second half include Henry Mancini’s beautiful “Moon River,” John Williams’s haunting violin solo from Schindler’s List and Elgar’s stunningly “Nimrod” movement from his Enigma Variations, which was used in the movie “Dunkirk.”
“This concert is a fusion of sound and vision,” said concertmaster Peter Hanson. “The first half of the concert is a collection that inspires visions and the second half is music that is inspired by vision. The Holberg Suite by Grieg is a visual portrait of a Scandinavian story, complete with landscapes and people; the Adams’ inspires one to see the music as slowly changing patterns of feelings in the air. The fantastic collection of music in the second half illustrates the emotions of film. Here the vision has inspired the music. It’s often the essence of the film concentrated into musical expression.”
Hanson is a period instrument specialist and recording artist. He is in his ninth season as concertmaster of the Carmel Bach Festival Orchestra. He has performed with modern and period instrument including the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and the London Symphony and served as concertmaster for Mstislav Rostropovich and the Philharmonia Orchestra as well as Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s Orchestre Revolutionaire et Romantique for more than 25 years appearing on nearly all its recordings and concerts.
Sarah Darling, viola
Christopher Hossfeld, Fantasie in C
(a reaction to the Bach 3rd Suite; world premiere of the version for viola)
Paul Hindemith, Sonata op. 25/1
J.S. Bach, Suite No. 3, BWV 1009
Jennifer Paulino, soprano; Stephen Bard, oboe; Edwin Huizinga and Adriane Post, violin; Sarah Darling, viola; Paul Dwyer, cello; Dan Swenberg, lute; Dongsok Shin, harpsichord
Henry Purcell, Fairy Queen and King Arthur, selections
Daniel Purcell and John Eccles, The Judgement of Paris, selections
Henry Purcell, Abdelazer or The Modern Beau, Suite of instrumental airs and dances
Orchestra, Chorale, Chorus, Soloists conducted by Paul Goodwin
Mhairi Lawson, soprano; Meg Bragle, mezzo-soprano; Thomas Cooley, tenor; Dashon Burton, bass-baritone; Francesca Faridany, actress-narrator
George Frideric Handel Acis and Galatea
Overture
Chorus : Oh the pleasure of the plains
Tenor Aria (Acis): Love in her eyes
Soprano Aria (Galatea): As when the dove
Bass-Baritone Aria (Polephemus) : I Rage – / O Ruddier than the cherry
Trio : The flocks shall leave the mountains
Tenor Aria: Help, Galatea, Help!
Chorus : Galatea Dry thy tears
Igor Stravinsky The Rake’s Progress
Instrumental Introduction
Tenor Aria: Here I stand
Chorus and Bass Solo: The Sun is Bright
Soprano – cabaletta: I go, I go to him
Mezzo-Soprano Aria : Come, sweet, come; Scorned, Abused
Chorus : Ruin, Disaster. Shame
Tenor aria : I Burn, I burn! I freeze; With roses crowned
Chorus: Mourn for Adonis
Epilogue
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart The Marriage of Figaro
Overture
Soprano and Bass-Baritone Duet: Cinque, Dieci, Venti
Bass-Baritone Aria: Se vuol ballare
Mezzo-Soprano Aria: Voi che sapete
Tenor Aria: In quagl’anni
Soprano, Tenor, Bass-Baritone Trio: Cosa sento
Chorus : Gio Vani liete
Georges Bizet Highlights from Carmen
Overture
Mezzo-Soprano Aria: Gypsy song
Tenor Aria: La fleur que tu m’avais
Mezzo-Soprano and Chorus: Habanera
Soprano Aria: Je dis que rien
Bass-Baritone and Chorus: Toreadors Song
“All opera is about saints, sinners, seducers, victims and death! In this evening of drama and excitement we present four contrasting operas that show elements of all these traits that make opera so compelling,” said Paul Goodwin
The Tuesday evening performances explore the saint and sinner characters as depicted by four major opera composers. The evening begins with the story of the beautiful Galatea’s (Mhairi Lawson) love for the shepherd Acis (Thomas Cooley), and of the monstrous giant Polyphemus (Dashon Burton) jealousy and desire for Galatea.
Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress is a neo-Baroque work, and is nothing like you might have heard before from the Russian master. The story tells of Tom Rakewell (Thomas Cooley), an impressionable young man who jilts his fiancée, Anne Trulove (Mhairi Lawson), for the get-rich-quick promises made by the sinister Nick Shadow (Dashon Burton), who really is the Devil. After several misadventures, all initiated by the devious Shadow, Tom ends up in Bedlam, an insane asylum. In true devotion to Tom, Anne Trulove rescues his soul at the opera’s conclusion.
Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro beings with one of the shortest but most memorable overtures in the repertory. The opera tells the story of the servants Figaro and Susanna, who get married. This spoils the efforts of their philandering employer, Count Almaviva to seduce Susanna, teaching the sinner Count a lesson in fidelity. Marriage of Figaro’s lighthearted and melodic sensibility has made it an audience favorite since its debut in 1786.
The evening concludes with Carmen, which has everything that makes for a beloved opera: passionate drama, great characters, a love story, and some of the best known and loved music. Bizet’s work is packed with great and instantly familiar melodies including the Habanera and the Gypsy Song—sung by the title character as performed by Meg Bragle— and concluding with the Toreador’s Song, as performed by our Toreador, Dashon Burton. The character of Carmen is both saint and sinner and serves as the perfect capstone for the evening. She is a seducer, yet is also a fragile victim and strong feminist.
Daniel Swenberg, lute, Dongsok Shin, lautenwerk
Exploring Bach’s music for the Lute and Lute-Harpsichord (Lautenwerk)
Sylvius Leopold Weiss, Duet in C: Andante, Minuet
J.S. Bach, Prelude (Grave, Vîte)—Lute, BWV 995
J.S. Bach, Prelude, Fugue, Allegro — lautenwerk, BWV 998
Johanna Novom, Evan Few, violin; Kyle Miller, Joseph Tan, viola; Dan Swenberg, lute; Dongsok Shin, harpsichord.
Biagio Marini, Passacaglia from Sonata a tre Op 22
Giovanni Battista Fontana, Sonata Seconda a violino solo
Johann Rosenmüller, Sonata Decima a 5
as well as sonatas for 2, 3, 4, and 5 parts by the likes of Dario Castello, Giovanni Gabrielli, and of course Antonio Vivaldi!
Peter Hanson, violin, Andrew Arthur, fortepiano
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonata for Violin and Keyboard in Bb Major, K 378
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonata for Violin and Keyboard in C Major, K 403
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonata for Violin and Keyboard in Bb Major, K 454
Enjoy three Mozart sonatas for fortepiano and violin, all three dedicated to important women who supported Mozart. Concertmaster Peter Hanson is the soloist, accompanied by principal keyboardist Andrew Arthur, performing on the fortepiano, the predecessor to the modern concert grand piano.
Orchestra and Chorale conducted by Andrew Megill
J.S. Bach, The Christmas Oratorio, Part III and VI, BWV 248
Arvo Pärt, Seven Magnificat Antiphons
The Christmas Oratorio’s third and final cantatas comprise the major portion of the annual Carmel Mission Basilica concerts. Interlaced with the two cantatas are Estonian composer Arvo Pärt’s Seven Magnificat Antiphons, a stunning a capella work with texts that would normally be sung individually as antiphons to the Magnificat at Vespers on the seven evenings preceding Christmas Eve. Pärt’s composition is hauntingly beautiful and is a perfect suited for the Carmel Mission Basilica.
The fifth cantata depicts the journey of the Magi, and was meant for performance on the first Sunday after the New Year and tells a story about unifying heaven and earth. All the elements of Bach’s great Passions are here, including an tenor evangelist to tell the story, beautiful chorales, and solo arias, all performed by members of the remarkable Festival Chorale.
The final cantata of The Christmas Oratorio was composed for the Feast of the Epiphany, or the final day of the Feast of Christmas. The work is one of joyful optimism, with a brilliant and festive chorus accompanied by an orchestra that continues the vivid and celebratory tone of the first cantata presented on the Sunday afternoon concerts. Trumpets and timpani close the Oratorio in a blaze of glory.
“This concert is the final chapter of the Christmas Oratorio journey, coupled with a set of beautiful a cappella works by Arvo Pärt, the great Estonian ‘spiritual minimalist.’ His Seven Magnificat Antiphons, sprinkled throughout the program, are meditative, trance-like, and transcendent,” said associate conductor Andrew Megill.
Andrew Megill is the artistic director of Fuma Sacra and serves as chorusmaster for the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. He is also music director of Masterwork Chorus and professor and director of choral activities at the University of Illinois. He is in his 12th season as associate conductor of the Carmel Bach Festival and director of the chorale and chorus.
Molly Quinn, Jennifer Paulino, soprano; Virginia Warnken Kelsey, mezzo-soprano; Andrew Fuchs, Timothy Hodges, tenor; Jonathan Woody, bass
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Assumpta est Maria
Josquin Desprez, Ave verum corpus
Josquin Desprez, Virgo Prudentissima
Orlando di Lasso, Tristis est anima mea
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Super flumina Babylonis
Tomás Luis de Victoria, Nigra sum sed Formosa
Claudio Merulo, Vos qui reliquisti omnia
Heinrich Schütz, Selig sind die Toten
Johann Joseph Fux, Ad te, Domine, levavi
Johann Kuhnau, Tristis est anima mea
J.S. Bach, Jesu, meine Freude
Andrew Arthur, harpsichord and director; Robert Farley, trumpet, Emlyn Ngai, Gabrielle Wunsch, violin;
Sarah Darling, viola; Eva Lymenstull, cello; —, bass; Michael Beattie, harpsichord
Antonio Vivaldi, Concerto in D major for 4 Violins, Op. 3, No. 1 (from L’estro armonico)
John Eccles, A Sett of Aires made for the Queen’s Coronation (1702)
George Frideric Handel, Concerto in F major for Organ & Strings, Op. 4, No. 5
Gottfried Finger, Sonata in C for Trumpet, Violin and Continuo
Antonio Vivaldi, Concerto No. 11 in D minor for 2 Violins, Op. 3 (L’estro armonico)
Monterey’s iconic and beautiful San Carlos Cathedral has hosted Bach Festival twilight concerts for many years. The 2019 program features classic Baroque violin, organ and trumpet works. Enjoy some of the Festival’s finest Baroque musicians performing in the magnificent setting of the San Carlos Cathedral, just steps from downtown Monterey.
Edwin Huizinga, violin and William Coulter, guitar, known as Fire & Grace, return after sold-out concerts in 2017 and 2018. The duo is joined by reknown Swedish nyckelharpa virtuoso Olov Johansson, foremost performer on the traditional Swedish instrument called the NyckelHarpa.
Johan Helmich Roman, Violin Concerto in D minor (Edwin Huizinga, violin)
Danish String Quartet, String Quartet Medley
Eric Sahlström, Stormyren (Olov Johansson, nyckelharpa)
Olov Johansson, IPA
Roger Talroth, Tanya’s Tune (Fire & Grace)
J.S. Bach, Double Violin Concerto – movement 2 – “Jag unnar dig ändå allt gott”
Additional selections
This nyckelharpa is a keyed fiddle, and produces a hauntingly beautiful sound, evocative of the Scandinavian countries.
This unique program will include traditional and contemporary Scandinavian folk music and songs, including arrangements of traditional Swedish dance tunes called the “polska,” and contemporary compositions from the Swedish supergroup Väsen. The Baroque side of Scandinavian music will be represented by a performance of Johan Helmich Roman’s Violin Concerto in D minor. Roman is known as the “Handel of Swedish Music.” The concert will also feature “Bach dances the Polska,” a blending of Baroque and Swedish dance tunes.
Edwin Huizinga, Johanna Novom, and Adriane Post, violin; Sarah Darling, viola; Paul Dwyer, cello; Jordan Frazier, bass; William Coulter, guitar; Dongsok Shin, harpsichord
Robin Carlson Peery, flute; Karina Schmitz, viola; Simon Martyn-Ellis, guitar
J.S. Bach / Charles Gounod, Ave Maria
Ludwig van Beethoven, Serenade in D Major, op. 25
Mauro Giuliani, Trio
Cynthia Roberts, Patricia Ahern, violin; Karina Schmitz, viola; Allen Whear, Timothy Roberts, cello
Franz Joseph Haydn, Quartet Quartet in G Major, op. 64, no. 4
Gioachino Rossini, Sonata no. 6, “Il Tempesta”
Luigi Boccherini, Fandango Quintet
Orchestra conducted by Paul Goodwin, Jason Vieaux, guitar
- Gioachino Rossini William Tell Overture
- Joaquin Rodrigo, Concierto de Aranjuez
- Mark Mancina, Guitar Concerto (based on themes from Twister and other Mancina film scores
- Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 4 in Bb Major, Op. 60
Rossini’s William Tell was the last of the 39 operas the prolific composer created. The overture is a miniature symphony in four parts depicting the opera’s Swiss Alps location. The overture is justifiably one of the best-known works in classical music. The four sections include dawn, an approaching storm, pastoral third section featuring a plaintive English horn and flute duet and the famous wild galloping finish. This final section portrays Swiss soldiers’ heroic battle to liberate their homeland and was used as the theme to the famous radio and television show, The Lone Ranger.
The center of the concert is occupied by two guitar works—one, the greatest of the genre and the other a world premiere! In Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez, you can hear the creative juxtaposition of folksongs with the composer’s imaginative orchestration. The composition’s lyrical themes and its animated dance rhythms are evocative of the gardens of Aranjuez, Spain and the warmth of the Andalusian sun that inspired the work.
Hollywood film composer and Carmel resident Mark Mancina trained as a classical guitarist, and made his name with the scores to movies such as Twister and Speed. Mancina has taken two of his film scores and added a brand new first movement to create a Guitar Concerto.
The soloist for both concerti is Jason Vieaux, a Grammy-winning artist known for his soulful artistry. Vieaux has performed as concerto soloist with over 100 orchestras, including Cleveland, Toronto, Houston, San Diego, Buffalo, Auckland Philharmonia, and Orchestra of St. Luke’s. Recent highlights include performances at Caramoor Festival as Artist-in-Residence, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Curtis Presents, Phillips Collection, National Gallery of Art, Buenos Aires’ Teatro Colon, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, New York’s 92Y, and Ravinia Festival.
The concert concludes with Beethoven’s sunny Fourth Symphony. The work harkens back to Beethoven’s teacher, Haydn, and has an extraordinarily explosive final movement. The piece is a continuation of a the very popular Beethoven symphony cycle that began in 2015.
“I view introducing new compositions as an essential part of an artistic director’s job,” said Paul Goodwin. “To encourage new talent, to enrich the listening experience of our audience, to appeal to our youth and to help create pieces that will help establish the Carmel Bach Festival as an innovator throughout the world. I am thrilled that Mark Mancina has accepted our commission and has written such a beautiful piece. My other main goal for this concert was to surround it with sympathetic sounds and compositions and to leave our Festival audience breathless with Beethoven’s most thrilling finale!”
Now in its sixth year, the intrepid duo of Leonard and Rasmus, narrated by Bach Festival Artistic Director Paul Goodwin, take listeners of all ages on an action-packed whirlwind of musical experiences set in an engaging story line.
Leonard and Rasmus explore the vast world of insects and bee-eautiful bugs through music, science, and amusing puns and tales, while Leonard learns to control his temper. Music by Bartok, Handel, Chopin, Roussel, Rimsky-Korsakov, Vaughan Williams, the Beatles, and more.
The Carmel Bach Festival Young Artists Competition recognizes talented young musicians from the Central Coast. This showcase presents accomplished young soloists, pianists, instrumentalists, vocalists, and chamber ensembles performing on the Sunset Center main stage.
Franz Joseph Haydn, The Creation, HOB XXI:2
Mhairi Lawson, soprano; Thomas Cooley, tenor; Dashon Burton, bass-baritone
Haydn’s masterpiece, The Creation, majestically opens the 82nd Carmel Bach Festival. The performances feature the Festival’s entire company of musicians and will be sung in a Haydn-approved English translation.
Haydn considered The Creation his masterwork. It is the culmination of his creative life that produced more than 100 symphonies, and a plethora of string quartets, operas, masses and other works.
Haydn’s musical setting of the creation story is one of the best-loved works in the choral repertoire because of its dramatic gestures, bold orchestral colors and imaginative word painting. From the creation of light to Adam and Eve’s love duet, Haydn brings to life the birds, beasts and angels as they rejoice in soaring, life-affirming music.
The radiance of The Creation is experienced through the overpowering majesty of the choruses. Also, the composer’s tremendous word-painting skill with which he creates his descriptive canvasses, and the brilliant orchestration Haydn brought to his famous “London” symphonies and late Masses. Here the orchestration is employed to even more powerful effect, especially in some of the colorful writing for the winds. The orchestra in The Creation is every bit as much a protagonist as the soloists and chorus.
The work is part of the grand orchestral/choral tradition that is in the Festival’s DNA, as represented by such audience favorites such as Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, the Bach Passions, and Carmina Burana.
The Creation’s enduring place in the repertory is because of its appeal on so many levels: It is complex and intricate, yet highly accessible. It is spiritual, but profoundly human. It’s is Haydn’s great expression of gratitude to God, but also a lasting gift to humankind.
“I have lived with Haydn’s Creation all my life,” said Festival Artistic Director Paul Goodwin. “In performances as a boy chorister, as a solo oboist and as a conductor, reveling in its ever-changing colors and glorious architecture. This piece means a lot to me; I hope it will to you too!”
Orchestra, Chorale, Chorus and Soloists conducted by Paul Goodwin
J.S. Bach, The Christmas Oratorio, Part I and II, BWV 248
Mhairi Lawson, soprano; Meg Bragle, mezzo-soprano; Thomas Cooley, tenor; Dashon Burton, bass-baritone
Felix Mendelssohn, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Incidental Music, Op. 61
Francesca Faridany, actress
Two titans of Western culture—J.S. Bach and William Shakespeare—are paired in this program.
The first two cantatas of J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio open the relaxing and pastoral afternoon. Trumpets and timpani herald the birth of Jesus to begin the first cantata, a celebration and reflection on the birth of Jesus. Similar to the Matthew and John passions, the Oratorio includes a tenor Evangelist who narrates the story of the birth of Christ. These recitatives introduce and connect lyrical solo arias. The cantatas feature the entire Festival choral ensemble—the professional Chorale and volunteer Chorus—sometimes intoning the well-known Passion choral, which links the birth of Christ with the Passion saga, and more often singing in praise accompanied by a full Baroque orchestra featuring some of Bach’s most brilliant writing.
This realization mirrors Bach’s intent with the Christmas Oratorio, which was created to be performed over several days in Leipzig.
The Sunday programs kick off the complete presentation of The Christmas Oratorio. Two of the remaining cantatas are scheduled for Monday afternoon at All Saints, with the Festival’s four vocal soloists and a small Baroque ensemble directed by Andrew Arthur, and the remaining two cantatas will be presented Wednesday night at the Carmel Mission Basilica by the Chorale accompanied by Baroque strings, brass, and timpani with Andrew Megill, conductor.
The second half of the program is Mendelssohn’s Incidental Music to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, with actress Francesca Faridany providing Shakespeare’s narration. Faridany is an international film, TV and theater actress who appears in the movie blockbuster, Black Panther, and also on TV in NBC’s Manifest. She is a past winner of a Tony Award for Best Play (Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime), a Helen Hayes Outstanding Lead Actress Award and an Outer Critics Circle Outstanding Featured Actress nominee, among many other credits. She has many connections to the Festival. Her grandmother Nancy Morrow, was an early supporter; her mother, Nana, was a longtime Festival administrator, and her sister, pianist Lucy Faridany is the Festival’s Chorus accompanist. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is the perfect complement to a tranquil summer afternoon in Carmel.
“This concert begins the 2019 Christmas Oratorio journey,” said Paul Goodwin, “creating maximum variety with three concerts in three venues with three conductors and three formations. This concert places Bach’s most colorful and pastoral cantatas alongside Mendelssohn’s magical masterpiece, a Midsummer Night’s Dream. A concert that encapsulates the beauty of Carmel-by-the-Sea, looking both to the spirit and to nature.”
Men of the Carmel Bach Festival Chorale and Chorus; Meg Bragle, mezzo-soprano; Andrew Megill, conductor
Franz Schubert, Die Nacht, D983c
Anton Bruckner, Um Mitternacht, WAB 89
Meg Bragle, mezzo-soprano
Franz Schubert, La pastorella al prato, D513
Franz Schubert, Nachthelle, D982
Owen McIntosh, tenor
Franz Schubert, Ständchen, D920
Meg Bragle, mezzo-soprano
Pavel Chesnokov, Spasyeniye, op 25/5
Sergei Rachmaninov, Slava v vishich Bogu (Vespers, op 37/7: The Six Psalms)
Francis Poulenc, Quatre petites prieres
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Down among the dead men
Ralph Vaughan Williams, The Turtle Dove
Timothy Krol, baritone
arr. Jonathan Quick , Loch Lomond
Arthur Sullivan, The Long Day Closes
Lewis Spratlan, Travels
Franz Biebl, Ave Maria
The Sunday candlelight concerts at All Saints church are the perfect way to end your Festival weekend. The 2019 Festival offers two fascinating programs—woodwind octets from Gordon Jacob, Arvo Pärt and Beethoven the first Sunday, and “Songs of the Night,” presenting the men of the Festival Chorale and Chorus in a special program devoted to nocturnal music directed by associate conductor Andrew Megill.
Andrew Arthur organ
J.S. Bach, Fantasia & Fugue in C minor, BWV 537
Chorale Preludes for the season of Advent:
Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 659
Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 660
Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 661
Meine Seele, erhebt den Herren, BWV 648
Meine Seele, erhebt den Herren, BWV 733
J.S. Bach, Pastorella in F, BWV 590
J.S. Bach, Toccata & Fugue in D minor, “Dorian,” BWV 538
Andrew Arthur is the principal keyboardist and director of the Twilight in the Cathedral concerts. He is the director of music at Trinity Hall in Cambridge, England, the associate director of the Hanover Band, principal conductor of the Euterpe Baroque Consort and musical director of Orpheus Britannicus. His annual recitals at the iconic Carmel Mission Basilica are highlights of the chamber concert schedule.
Emlyn Ngai, violin
Thomas Baltzar, Prelude in D (from The Division Violinist, 1684)
Variation Thomas Baltzar, Divisions upon John come kiss me now
Stylus Fantasticus H.I.F. von Biber, Sonata No.1 The Annunciation (Mystery Sonatas)
Counterpoint – J.S. Bach, Sonata No.3 in C Major, BWV 1005: 2. Fuga
Galant style J. H. Roman, Assagio BeR10
Dance & style brisé Georg Philip Telemann, Fantasie Nr.9 in B minor: 1. Siciliana, 2. Vivace, 3. Allegro
J. S. Bach, Partita No1 B minor, BWV 1002: 1. Allemande; Double; 2. Corrente; Double
Fantasy & the spirit of improvisation – Nicolas Matteis, Jr., Fantasia in C minor
Giuseppe Tartini, Sonata d3 for violin senza basso: 1. Cantabile, 2. Presto
Andrew Arthur, organ and director; Mhairi Lawson, soprano; Meg Bragle, mezzo-soprano; Thomas Cooley, tenor; Dashon Burton bass-baritone, bass; Gonzalo Ruiz, Stephen Bard, oboe and oboes d’amore; Meredith Brown, Alicia Mastromonaco, horn; Cristina Zacharias, Marika Holmqvist, violins; Cynthia Black, viola; Eva Lymenstull, cello; Derek Weller, bass.
J.S. Bach, The Christmas Oratorio, Part IV and V, BWV 248
After the celebratory opening cantatas are performed on Sunday afternoons at Sunset Center, parts IV and V will be staged at All Saints Church on Monday afternoons. This is the best opportunity to hear the Festival’s four vocal soloists in an intimate setting, accompanied by a small Baroque ensemble under the direction of Andrew Arthur.
Featuring Concertmaster Peter Hanson with members of the Festival Orchestra
Edvard Grieg, Holberg Suite, Op. 40
John Adams, Shaker Loops
Bernard Herrmann, Suite from Psycho
Edward Elgar, Nimrod from Enigma Variations, (as heard in Dunkirk)
Henry Mancini, Moon River (TENTATIVE)
John Williams, Theme from Schindler’s List
Stanley Myers, Cavatina (Deer Hunter Theme)
J.S. Bach, Air (from Orchestral Suite No. 3)
Monday’s program stretches the imagination.
Concertmaster Peter Hanson continues to create imaginative programming with this concert, entitled Psycho!
The program’s first half presents the neo-Baroque classic Holberg Suite by Edvard Grieg, and Shaker Loops by America’s greatest living composer, John Adams. Shaker Loops was created in the composer’s unique minimalist style, and has a mesmerizing impact.
The suite from Psycho, composed by Bernard Herrmann begins a second half dedicated to great film music. Herrmann’s score is seen as the perfect match for the Alfred Hitchcock classic, and like other great film music, paints indelible images in the listener’s mind. Imagine the famous shower scene from Psycho without the chilling music?
Other movie classics in the second half include Henry Mancini’s beautiful “Moon River,” John Williams’s haunting violin solo from Schindler’s List and Elgar’s stunningly “Nimrod” movement from his Enigma Variations, which was used in the movie “Dunkirk.”
“This concert is a fusion of sound and vision,” said concertmaster Peter Hanson. “The first half of the concert is a collection that inspires visions and the second half is music that is inspired by vision. The Holberg Suite by Grieg is a visual portrait of a Scandinavian story, complete with landscapes and people; the Adams’ inspires one to see the music as slowly changing patterns of feelings in the air. The fantastic collection of music in the second half illustrates the emotions of film. Here the vision has inspired the music. It’s often the essence of the film concentrated into musical expression.”
Hanson is a period instrument specialist and recording artist. He is in his ninth season as concertmaster of the Carmel Bach Festival Orchestra. He has performed with modern and period instrument including the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and the London Symphony and served as concertmaster for Mstislav Rostropovich and the Philharmonia Orchestra as well as Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s Orchestre Revolutionaire et Romantique for more than 25 years appearing on nearly all its recordings and concerts.
Sarah Darling, viola
Christopher Hossfeld, Fantasie in C
(a reaction to the Bach 3rd Suite; world premiere of the version for viola)
Paul Hindemith, Sonata op. 25/1
J.S. Bach, Suite No. 3, BWV 1009
Jennifer Paulino, soprano; Stephen Bard, oboe; Edwin Huizinga and Adriane Post, violin; Sarah Darling, viola; Paul Dwyer, cello; Dan Swenberg, lute; Dongsok Shin, harpsichord
Henry Purcell, Fairy Queen and King Arthur, selections
Daniel Purcell and John Eccles, The Judgement of Paris, selections
Henry Purcell, Abdelazer or The Modern Beau, Suite of instrumental airs and dances
Orchestra, Chorale, Chorus, Soloists conducted by Paul Goodwin
Mhairi Lawson, soprano; Meg Bragle, mezzo-soprano; Thomas Cooley, tenor; Dashon Burton, bass-baritone; Francesca Faridany, actress-narrator
George Frideric Handel Acis and Galatea
Overture
Chorus : Oh the pleasure of the plains
Tenor Aria (Acis): Love in her eyes
Soprano Aria (Galatea): As when the dove
Bass-Baritone Aria (Polephemus) : I Rage – / O Ruddier than the cherry
Trio : The flocks shall leave the mountains
Tenor Aria: Help, Galatea, Help!
Chorus : Galatea Dry thy tears
Igor Stravinsky The Rake’s Progress
Instrumental Introduction
Tenor Aria: Here I stand
Chorus and Bass Solo: The Sun is Bright
Soprano – cabaletta: I go, I go to him
Mezzo-Soprano Aria : Come, sweet, come; Scorned, Abused
Chorus : Ruin, Disaster. Shame
Tenor aria : I Burn, I burn! I freeze; With roses crowned
Chorus: Mourn for Adonis
Epilogue
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart The Marriage of Figaro
Overture
Soprano and Bass-Baritone Duet: Cinque, Dieci, Venti
Bass-Baritone Aria: Se vuol ballare
Mezzo-Soprano Aria: Voi che sapete
Tenor Aria: In quagl’anni
Soprano, Tenor, Bass-Baritone Trio: Cosa sento
Chorus : Gio Vani liete
Georges Bizet Highlights from Carmen
Overture
Mezzo-Soprano Aria: Gypsy song
Tenor Aria: La fleur que tu m’avais
Mezzo-Soprano and Chorus: Habanera
Soprano Aria: Je dis que rien
Bass-Baritone and Chorus: Toreadors Song
“All opera is about saints, sinners, seducers, victims and death! In this evening of drama and excitement we present four contrasting operas that show elements of all these traits that make opera so compelling,” said Paul Goodwin
The Tuesday evening performances explore the saint and sinner characters as depicted by four major opera composers. The evening begins with the story of the beautiful Galatea’s (Mhairi Lawson) love for the shepherd Acis (Thomas Cooley), and of the monstrous giant Polyphemus (Dashon Burton) jealousy and desire for Galatea.
Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress is a neo-Baroque work, and is nothing like you might have heard before from the Russian master. The story tells of Tom Rakewell (Thomas Cooley), an impressionable young man who jilts his fiancée, Anne Trulove (Mhairi Lawson), for the get-rich-quick promises made by the sinister Nick Shadow (Dashon Burton), who really is the Devil. After several misadventures, all initiated by the devious Shadow, Tom ends up in Bedlam, an insane asylum. In true devotion to Tom, Anne Trulove rescues his soul at the opera’s conclusion.
Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro beings with one of the shortest but most memorable overtures in the repertory. The opera tells the story of the servants Figaro and Susanna, who get married. This spoils the efforts of their philandering employer, Count Almaviva to seduce Susanna, teaching the sinner Count a lesson in fidelity. Marriage of Figaro’s lighthearted and melodic sensibility has made it an audience favorite since its debut in 1786.
The evening concludes with Carmen, which has everything that makes for a beloved opera: passionate drama, great characters, a love story, and some of the best known and loved music. Bizet’s work is packed with great and instantly familiar melodies including the Habanera and the Gypsy Song—sung by the title character as performed by Meg Bragle— and concluding with the Toreador’s Song, as performed by our Toreador, Dashon Burton. The character of Carmen is both saint and sinner and serves as the perfect capstone for the evening. She is a seducer, yet is also a fragile victim and strong feminist.
Daniel Swenberg, lute, Dongsok Shin, lautenwerk
Exploring Bach’s music for the Lute and Lute-Harpsichord (Lautenwerk)
Sylvius Leopold Weiss, Duet in C: Andante, Minuet
J.S. Bach, Prelude (Grave, Vîte)—Lute, BWV 995
J.S. Bach, Prelude, Fugue, Allegro — lautenwerk, BWV 998
Johanna Novom, Evan Few, violin; Kyle Miller, Joseph Tan, viola; Dan Swenberg, lute; Dongsok Shin, harpsichord.
Biagio Marini, Passacaglia from Sonata a tre Op 22
Giovanni Battista Fontana, Sonata Seconda a violino solo
Johann Rosenmüller, Sonata Decima a 5
as well as sonatas for 2, 3, 4, and 5 parts by the likes of Dario Castello, Giovanni Gabrielli, and of course Antonio Vivaldi!
Peter Hanson and Adriane Post, violin; Kyle Miller, viola; Ezra Seltzer, cello
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, String Quartet No. 21 in D Major, K 575
Ludwig van Beethoven, Quartet in Eb Major, op. 74, “The Harp”
Mozart’s String Quartet No. 21 is the first of three Prussian Quartets because of their dedication to the King of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm II. The beautiful quartet is notable for the equal prominence given to all four parts and for the and for the remarkable and melodic nature of the cello part, the instrument that Friedrich Wilhelm played.
Orchestra and Chorale conducted by Andrew Megill
J.S. Bach, The Christmas Oratorio, Part III and VI, BWV 248
Arvo Pärt, Seven Magnificat Antiphons
The Christmas Oratorio’s third and final cantatas comprise the major portion of the annual Carmel Mission Basilica concerts. Interlaced with the two cantatas are Estonian composer Arvo Pärt’s Seven Magnificat Antiphons, a stunning a capella work with texts that would normally be sung individually as antiphons to the Magnificat at Vespers on the seven evenings preceding Christmas Eve. Pärt’s composition is hauntingly beautiful and is a perfect suited for the Carmel Mission Basilica.
The fifth cantata depicts the journey of the Magi, and was meant for performance on the first Sunday after the New Year and tells a story about unifying heaven and earth. All the elements of Bach’s great Passions are here, including an tenor evangelist to tell the story, beautiful chorales, and solo arias, all performed by members of the remarkable Festival Chorale.
The final cantata of The Christmas Oratorio was composed for the Feast of the Epiphany, or the final day of the Feast of Christmas. The work is one of joyful optimism, with a brilliant and festive chorus accompanied by an orchestra that continues the vivid and celebratory tone of the first cantata presented on the Sunday afternoon concerts. Trumpets and timpani close the Oratorio in a blaze of glory.
“This concert is the final chapter of the Christmas Oratorio journey, coupled with a set of beautiful a cappella works by Arvo Pärt, the great Estonian ‘spiritual minimalist.’ His Seven Magnificat Antiphons, sprinkled throughout the program, are meditative, trance-like, and transcendent,” said associate conductor Andrew Megill.
Andrew Megill is the artistic director of Fuma Sacra and serves as chorusmaster for the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. He is also music director of Masterwork Chorus and professor and director of choral activities at the University of Illinois. He is in his 12th season as associate conductor of the Carmel Bach Festival and director of the chorale and chorus.
Molly Quinn, Jennifer Paulino, soprano; Virginia Warnken Kelsey, mezzo-soprano; Andrew Fuchs, Timothy Hodges, tenor; Jonathan Woody, bass
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Assumpta est Maria
Josquin Desprez, Ave verum corpus
Josquin Desprez, Virgo Prudentissima
Orlando di Lasso, Tristis est anima mea
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Super flumina Babylonis
Tomás Luis de Victoria, Nigra sum sed Formosa
Claudio Merulo, Vos qui reliquisti omnia
Heinrich Schütz, Selig sind die Toten
Johann Joseph Fux, Ad te, Domine, levavi
Johann Kuhnau, Tristis est anima mea
J.S. Bach, Jesu, meine Freude
Andrew Arthur, harpsichord and director; Robert Farley, trumpet, Emlyn Ngai, Gabrielle Wunsch, violin;
Sarah Darling, viola; Eva Lymenstull, cello; —, bass; Michael Beattie, harpsichord
Antonio Vivaldi, Concerto in D major for 4 Violins, Op. 3, No. 1 (from L’estro armonico)
John Eccles, A Sett of Aires made for the Queen’s Coronation (1702)
George Frideric Handel, Concerto in F major for Organ & Strings, Op. 4, No. 5
Gottfried Finger, Sonata in C for Trumpet, Violin and Continuo
Antonio Vivaldi, Concerto No. 11 in D minor for 2 Violins, Op. 3 (L’estro armonico)
Monterey’s iconic and beautiful San Carlos Cathedral has hosted Bach Festival twilight concerts for many years. The 2019 program features classic Baroque violin, organ and trumpet works. Enjoy some of the Festival’s finest Baroque musicians performing in the magnificent setting of the San Carlos Cathedral, just steps from downtown Monterey.
The magnificent Carmel Bach Festival Chorale takes the Sunset Center stage for an evening of music inspired by the seasons.
“The program is related to Saturday night’s Creation concert,” said associate conductor Andrew Megill. “The music is about the creation story in Genesis, especially the markers of time (sun, moon, and stars, and the seasons of the year). It is a varied program from Medieval secular song (as an audience sing-along!) to Brahms to an avant-garde piece about the sun, with Copland’s choral masterpiece (“In the beginning”) as a centerpiece.”
Mezzo-soprano soloist Meg Bragle joins the Chorale for the Copland. The Chorale is considered one of the finest professional chorales in the nation — come hear why!
- Richard Rodney Bennett, The seasons of his mercies from “Sermons and Devotions”
- Aaron Copland, In the Beginning (featuring Meg Bragle, mezzo-soprano)
Sun, moon, and stars
- Samuel Barber, Sure, on this shining night
- Benjamin Britten, The evening primrose
- Johannes Brahms, O schoene Nacht
- R Murray Schafer, Sun
- Gyorgy Ligeti, Esjakka and Reggel
Spring
- Thomas Morley, April is in my mistress’ face
- Claudio Monteverdi, Io mi son giovinetta
- George Gershwin, Sing of Spring
Summer
- Frederick Delius, To be sung of a summer night on the water I
- Anonymous, Sumer is i-cumen in sing-along
- Benjamin Britten, The succession of the four sweet months from Five Flower Songs
Autumn
- Johannes Brahms, Spaetherbst
- Jeremiah Ingalls, Harvest Hymn
- Ralph Vaughan Williams, Linden Lea
- Veljo Tormis, Heather from Autumn Landscapes
Winter
- Orlande de Lassus, La nuict froide et sombre
- Morten Lauridsen, How hard the year dies from Mid-winter Songs
- Claude Debussy, Yver, vous n’estes qu’un villain
- Joni Mitchell, River
A New Creation
- arr. Shawn Kirchner, Unclouded Day
- Edgar Leslie Bainton, And I saw a new heaven
- Shawn Kirchner, I’ll be on my way
Robin Carlson Peery, flute; Karina Schmitz, viola; Simon Martyn-Ellis, guitar
J.S. Bach / Charles Gounod, Ave Maria
Ludwig van Beethoven, Serenade in D Major, op. 25
Mauro Giuliani, Trio
Cynthia Roberts, Patricia Ahern, violin; Karina Schmitz, viola; Allen Whear, Timothy Roberts, cello
Franz Joseph Haydn, Quartet Quartet in G Major, op. 64, no. 4
Gioachino Rossini, Sonata no. 6, “Il Tempesta”
Luigi Boccherini, Fandango Quintet
Orchestra conducted by Paul Goodwin, Jason Vieaux, guitar
- Gioachino Rossini William Tell Overture
- Joaquin Rodrigo, Concierto de Aranjuez
- Mark Mancina, Guitar Concerto (based on themes from Twister and other Mancina film scores
- Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 4 in Bb Major, Op. 60
Rossini’s William Tell was the last of the 39 operas the prolific composer created. The overture is a miniature symphony in four parts depicting the opera’s Swiss Alps location. The overture is justifiably one of the best-known works in classical music. The four sections include dawn, an approaching storm, pastoral third section featuring a plaintive English horn and flute duet and the famous wild galloping finish. This final section portrays Swiss soldiers’ heroic battle to liberate their homeland and was used as the theme to the famous radio and television show, The Lone Ranger.
The center of the concert is occupied by two guitar works—one, the greatest of the genre and the other a world premiere! In Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez, you can hear the creative juxtaposition of folksongs with the composer’s imaginative orchestration. The composition’s lyrical themes and its animated dance rhythms are evocative of the gardens of Aranjuez, Spain and the warmth of the Andalusian sun that inspired the work.
Hollywood film composer and Carmel resident Mark Mancina trained as a classical guitarist, and made his name with the scores to movies such as Twister and Speed. Mancina has taken two of his film scores and added a brand new first movement to create a Guitar Concerto.
The soloist for both concerti is Jason Vieaux, a Grammy-winning artist known for his soulful artistry. Vieaux has performed as concerto soloist with over 100 orchestras, including Cleveland, Toronto, Houston, San Diego, Buffalo, Auckland Philharmonia, and Orchestra of St. Luke’s. Recent highlights include performances at Caramoor Festival as Artist-in-Residence, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Curtis Presents, Phillips Collection, National Gallery of Art, Buenos Aires’ Teatro Colon, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, New York’s 92Y, and Ravinia Festival.
The concert concludes with Beethoven’s sunny Fourth Symphony. The work harkens back to Beethoven’s teacher, Haydn, and has an extraordinarily explosive final movement. The piece is a continuation of a the very popular Beethoven symphony cycle that began in 2015.
“I view introducing new compositions as an essential part of an artistic director’s job,” said Paul Goodwin. “To encourage new talent, to enrich the listening experience of our audience, to appeal to our youth and to help create pieces that will help establish the Carmel Bach Festival as an innovator throughout the world. I am thrilled that Mark Mancina has accepted our commission and has written such a beautiful piece. My other main goal for this concert was to surround it with sympathetic sounds and compositions and to leave our Festival audience breathless with Beethoven’s most thrilling finale!”
J.C. Bach, Overture to La calamita de’ cuori, W.G. 27
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Piano Concerto in A Major, K. 414
Dongsok Shin, fortepiano
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Andante in C Major for Flute and Orchestra , K. 315
Robin Carlson Peery, flute
Franz Joseph Haydn, Symphony No. 6, “Le Matin”
Emlyn Ngai, Tatiana Daubek, Naomi Guy, Elizabeth Stoppels Girko, Ann Duggan, violin; Meg Eldridge, viola; Paul Rhodes, Timothy Roberts, cello; Bruce Moyer, bass; Neil Tatman, Ellen Sherman, oboe; Laura Koepke, bassoon; Meredith Brown, Alicia Mastromonaco, horn; Dongsok Shin, fortepiano
The Festival’s final day begins at the Sunset Center with a charming program featuring Dongsok Shin on the fortepiano (the precursor to the modern piano), as well as principal flutist Robin Carlson Perry.
Now in its sixth year, the intrepid duo of Leonard and Rasmus, narrated by Bach Festival Artistic Director Paul Goodwin, take listeners of all ages on an action-packed whirlwind of musical experiences set in an engaging story line.
Leonard and Rasmus explore the vast world of insects and bee-eautiful bugs through music, science, and amusing puns and tales, while Leonard learns to control his temper. Music by Bartok, Handel, Chopin, Roussel, Rimsky-Korsakov, Vaughan Williams, the Beatles, and more.
Favorite selections from the Festival are performed in this closing night concert that celebrates music, Carmel, the musicians of the Bach Festival, and the Festival’s loyal patrons. The program is a sampler of musician and audience favorites from throughout the two-week Festival.
The concert is sponsored by the former presidents of the Carmel Bach Festival, and is followed by a celebratory reception on the Sunset Center Terrace toasting the conclusion of the 82nd Festival.
Best of the Fest is a special, not-to-be-missed party that commemorates and honors music, the enduring legacy of Johann Sebastian Bach, the tradition of the Carmel Bach Festival, and the special and mystical setting of Carmel-by-the Sea.