Madison Bach Musicians Season Concerts. English Renaissance & Baroque. Baroque Holiday Concert. Bach St. John Passion OCTOBER DECEMBER APRIL

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1 Madison Bach Musicians Season Concerts English Renaissance & Baroque OCTOBER Baroque Holiday Concert DECEMBER Bach St. John Passion APRIL 1

2 But play, you must, a tune beyond us, yet ourselves Wallace Stevens The Man with the Blue Guitar The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff. Carl Sagan The spectacular photo on the cover of this brochure the Carina Nebula as seen from the Hubble telescope is intended to emphasize the way in which great music connects us, almost instantly, with the vastness and wonder of existence. And this consideration of, or meditation upon, the furthest reaches of things in turn reveals and clarifies that which is closest to us in our everyday world. Welcome to our 13th Season! From Artistic Director Trevor Stephenson This season we are thrilled to present three programs of baroque and renaissance masterworks starting with our October concerts devoted entirely to music from England including a musical recognition of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare s death moving to December s sixth annual Baroque Holiday Concert (from Josquin to Bach), and finally to Bach s timeless masterpiece the St. John Passion presented in April on Good Friday and Holy Saturday. Please join us in these acoustically rich concert settings as we explore this magnificent repertoire on period instruments with ensemble sizes typical of the Renaissance and Baroque eras. We invite you to become a Madison Bach Musicians season subscriber. As a subscriber, you will receive the largest savings on ticket prices, preferred seating, and easy online ordering. And your support through season subscriptions gives us the financial security necessary to produce more creative and artistically ambitious programs. Please know that ticket sales make up our most reliable and vital funding source. As you peruse our season brochure, I hope you will consider subscribing to this series of outstanding musical events. Thanks for supporting baroque music in Madison! See you at the concerts! 2

3 OCTOBER 7 & 9 English Music from the Renaissance & Baroque Including a recognition in song of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare s death Friday, October 7, :45 pm lecture, 7:30 pm concert First Unitarian Society of Madison Atrium Auditorium Sunday, October 9, :45 pm lecture, 3:30 pm concert Holy Wisdom Monastery in Middleton Madison Bach Musicians will start off the season with a fascinating and intimate chamber music offering, featuring music from England. A consort of instruments two violins, two viola da gambas, lute, and harpsichord will perform rarely heard masterworks by Locke (The Broken Consort), Byrd (The Carman s Whistle), Purcell (Golden Sonata), and other works. Tenor Dann Coakwell will collaborate with lutenist David Walker in songs sets by John Dowland and by Robert Johnson (c ), who, as a lutenist, worked with Shakespeare and provided music for some of The Bard s later plays, such as The Tempest. Dann Coakwell, tenor David Walker, lute Kangwon Kim, baroque violin Brandi Berry, baroque violin Anna Steinhoff, viola da gamba Martha Vallon, viola da gamba Trevor Stephenson, harpsichord 3

4 DECEMBER 10 Baroque Holiday Concert Saturday, December 10, :15 pm lecture/ 8 pm concert First Congregational Church Our sixth annual Baroque Holiday Concert will once again be held in the beautiful and sonorous sanctuary of the First Congregational Church. The program will feature: a cappella masterworks by Lassus and Josquin performed by a vocal quartet, Biber s intriguing Partita for two scordatura violins (scordatura means the open strings are re-tuned into a new interval configuration!), Telemann s Sonatina in A minor for baroque bassoon and continuo with soloist Marc Vallon, J. S. Bach s Christmas Cantata BWV 122 Das neugeborne Kindelein (The Newborn Baby), and a bonus feature a preview of MBM s upcoming April performance of Bach s St. John Passion, the tenor aria Ach, mein Sinn. Baroque Holiday Concert, December

5 APRIL 14 & 15 Bach St. John Passion, BWV 245 Friday, April 14, :45 pm lecture/ 7:30 concert First Unitarian Society of Madison Atrium Auditorium Saturday, April 15, :45 pm lecture/ 7:30 concert First Unitarian Society of Madison Atrium Auditorium MBM will conclude the season on April 14 & 15 with period performances of one of J. S. Bach s towering masterpieces, the St. John Passion. In the St. John (first composed in ), Bach focuses largely on the inevitability of Jesus passion story this is in contrast to Bach s next setting of the Passion in his St. Matthew Passion (c ), which emphasizes the humanity of Jesus story. From its outset, the St. John with its whirling gear-like figures in the strings beneath the moiling of the oboes has the other-worldly aura of a story which has been foretold. Bach s genius lies in the way he maintains a sense of forward dramatic direction: the passion story must happen, has already happened, but it also must be played out in real time by living people, step by painful step. Internationally-acclaimed tenor Dann Coakwell will sing the part of the Evangelist John. Baroque performance specialist Marc Vallon will direct the vocal soloists, ensemble, and a full baroque orchestra. Come hear gut-strung violins, violas and cellos, viola da gamba, viola d amores, baroque oboes, baroque flutes, baroque bassoon, positif organ, and glorious voices join together in the rich acoustics of the First Unitarian Society s Atrium Auditorium. Carina Nebula from Herschel Space Observatory 5

6 Don t miss a single concert! Become a season subscriber and enjoy Greatest discount on ticket prices Priority Seating in the first several rows! Convenient online ordering with no service fees Easy Ticket Exchanges Once you have your tickets, if you need to exchange them for the other performance date, just mail your tickets to us with your change request and we will have your new tickets waiting at Will Call the night of the performance. Note: if another date is not possible, mail your tickets to us for a tax-deductible donation to MBM. How to subscribe? Order online at madisonbachmusicians.org OR Return the order form with your check to: Madison Bach Musicians 5729 Forsythia Place Madison, WI The deadline for subscription orders is September 1, Tickets to all three concerts will be mailed to you in the month of September. Tickets do not have assigned seating, but by being a subscriber, you will receive a special seating pass that allows you preferred seating in the first several rows. Tickets to individual concerts can be purchased after September 1 either online at madisonbachmusicians.org with a $2 service fee per ticket or at our Madison ticket outlets: Orange Tree Imports, Farley s House of Pianos, Room of One s Own, and Willy St. Co-op (east & west). All sales are final. Tickets are non-refundable. All concert dates and times are subject to change. 6

7 Season Ticket Order Form English Renaissance & Baroque (check the date you wish to attend) h Friday, October 7, :45 pm lecture/ 7:30 pm concert First Unitarian Society of Madison Atrium Auditorium 900 University Bay Drive, Madison WI Or h Sunday, October 9, :45 pm lecture/ 3:30 pm concert Holy Wisdom Monastery, 4200 County Road M, Middleton WI Baroque Holiday Concert h Saturday, December 10, :15 pm lecture/ 8 pm concert First Congregational Church, 1609 University Avenue, Madison WI Bach St. John Passion (check the date you wish to attend) h Friday, April 14, :45 pm lecture/ 7:30 pm concert Or h Saturday, April 15, :45 pm lecture/ 7:30 pm concert First Unitarian Society of Madison Atrium Auditorium 900 University Bay Drive, Madison WI Name Address City State Zip * Phone* *phone or is required QUANTITY TOTAL Adult Subscription $85.00 # $ Senior 65+ and Student Subscription $70.00 # $ Tax Deductible Contribution Total $ $ h I have included a check along with this form to Madison Bach Musicians 5729 Forsythia Place, Madison, WI

8 Madison Bach Musicians 5729 Forsythia Place Madison, WI Become a season subscriber and enjoy significant savings and priority seating. Thanks for supporting outstanding baroque music in Madison! PHOTO CREDITS: FRONT COVER, PG. 5: NASA; PGS. 2, 4, BACK COVER: KENT SWEITZER