2023/2024 Season
Bach’s St. John Passion: Sacrifice and Redemption
with Washington Bach Consort Ensemble - Soprano Sunday, October 1, 2023 | 4:00 P.M. National Presbyterian Church Washington, DC Johann Sebastian Bach - Johannes-Passion (1749 version), BWV 245 TICKETS Few works evoke the dramatic intensity and impact of Bach’s Johannes-Passion, highlighting the extremes of human emotion and experience. Bach reveals his profound spirituality through powerful musical depictions of the passion drama, offering the listener some of the greatest moments to be found in his entire output. Bach brings the themes of betrayal, sacrifice, and redemption straight to the heart, placing the listener at the center of the drama. The Washington Bach Consort welcomes British and European tenor sensation Guy Cutting, who narrates the story in the role of the “Evangelist.” |
Forth From Her Pen: Music By 17th Century Italian Women
with Musica Spira "In the Stacks" at the Peabody Library Wednesday, October 11 | 6:30 pm George Peabody Library 17 E Mt Vernon Pl. Baltimore, MD 21202 Grace Srinivasan, soprano Crossley Hawn, soprano Amy Domingues, viola da gamba Paula Maust, harpsichord SOLD OUT |
Bach’s Motets: The Singers’ Favorite!
with Washington Bach Consort Ensemble - Alto Sunday, November 12, 2023 | 4:00 P.M. National Presbyterian Church Washington, DC The Bach Motets, featuring BWV 225–230 TICKETS Audiences love to hear any one of Bach’s iconic motets in a live performance, but to hear all of them in one evening is a revelation. Bach’s vocal-ensemble writing is legendary among singers, artfully bringing to life the rhetorical substance of his musical and theological convictions. A valuable part of Bach’s oeuvre, the motets together capture the full range of connection between text, music, and faith. |
Weihnachts-Historie, SWV 435, Heinrich Schütz
with Washington Bach Consort Ensemble - Alto Capitol Cantata Series Monday, December 4, 2023, 2023 | 12:10 p.m. St. Mark’s Capitol Hill Downtown Cantata Series Tuesday, December 5, 2023, 2023 | 12:10 p.m. Church of the Epiphany Organ Prelude Fuga sopra il Magnificat à 5, BWV 733 |
The Christmas Story: Bach’s Christmas Oratorio: Parts 1, 2, 5 and 6
with Washington Bach Consort Ensemble - Alto Saturday, December 9, 2023 | 7:00 pm Music Center at Strathmore North Bethesda, MD Johann Sebastian Bach - Weihnachtsoratorium, BWV 248 TICKETS The Bach Consort returns to the Music Center at Strathmore for what The Washington Post has called a “splendid” and “joyful” holiday performance of Christmas Oratorio. Of all such seasonal examples, this work is uniquely focused on the complete drama of the Nativity. The Consort offers this beloved European tradition every year with an all-star cast of soloists. |
Music and Satire
with Folger Consort Soprano soloist Friday, January 19, 2024 | 8:00 pm Saturday, January 20, 2024 | 4:00 pm Saturday, January 20, 2024 | 7:00 pm Sunday, January 21, 2024 | 2:00 pm Vocal quartet, viols, lute, guitar, winds, trombone, and guest comic. No subject is off-limits in the exuberant satire of François Rabelais (1494-1553). In his rollicking novels about the father-son duo of giants – Gargantua and Pantagruel – Rabelais sets his comedic sights on the political and social issues of his time in a style that blurs the boundary between low and high culture. Joined onstage by a contemporary comedian, Folger Consort performs the brilliantly layered music of the composers Rabelais mentions in his writings – such as Josquin des Pres, Loyset Compère, and Pierre Sandrin – along with the irresistibly tuneful French dance music of the times. |
Brigid
with Eya Medieval Music Saturday, February 3, 2024 | 5:00 pm Christ and Holy Trinity Episcopal Church 75 Church Ln Westport, CT 06880. Allison Mondel, soprano & director Crossley Hawn, soprano Gabriela Estephanie Solis, mezzo-soprano Cynthia Cathcart, clarsach |
Path of Miracles
with The Thirteen Ensemble - Soprano Friday, February 9, 2024 | 7:30 pm St. Luke’s Episcopal Church // Alexandria, VA Saturday, February 10, 2024 | 7:30 pm St. Mark’s Capitol Hill // Washington, D.C. Sunday, February 11, 2024 | 5:00 pm Bradley Hills Church // Bethesda, MD In Path of Miracles, British composer Joby Talbot takes the listener on a musical journey of the mystical Camino de Santiago de Compostela. The pace of a spiritual Camino is built into the structure of the work, with the four movements of the work titled after the four main posts along the Camino. Talbot incorporates various medieval texts in many languages, and musical styles as diverse as those of Taiwanese Bunun people and medieval chant. Paired with projected images of the cosmos, The Thirteen’s performances of Path of Miracles promise to be replete with beauty and wonder. |
B Minor Mass
with The Thirteen Ensemble - Soprano Saturday, March 16, 2024 | 7:30 pm Sunday, March 17, 2024 | 7:30 pm National City Christian Church // Washington, D.C. It was 300 years ago, in 1724, when Bach began writing the music that would become his B Minor Mass. Composed over the course of 25 years and likely never performed within his lifetime, the Mass is the culmination of Bach’s life’s work, the summation of his creative output. Replete with driving choruses and time-suspending solos, the B Minor Mass is one of the crowning achievements of the Baroque, and indeed all classical music. Performed by The Thirteen with over twenty singers and thirty of the world’s finest period instrumentalists including trumpets, timpani, oboes, and organ, Bach’s iconic masterpiece should not be missed. |
J. S. Bach's St. Matthew Passion
with The Washington National Cathedral Soprano Soloist & Ensemble Sunday, March 24 | 4:00 pm Washington National Cathedral In-person and online. Join the Cathedral Choir and Baroque Orchestra for St. Matthew Passion, among the greatest masterpieces of the sacred concert canon. |
Haydn’s Die Schöpfung
The Creation: from Genesis to Milton’s Paradise Lost with Washington Bach Consort Ensemble - Alto Sunday, April 21, 2024 | 4:00 pm National Presbyterian Church Washington, DC Joseph Haydn - Die Schöpfung, Hob. XXI:2 TICKETS Completed five decades after Bach’s death, Die Schöpfung (The Creation) offers a significant milestone in the development of the oratorio genre. Strongly influenced by Handel’s definitive examples of the high Baroque, Haydn’s Creation conveys Gottfried van Swieten’s German libretto in sharp musical focus, with vivid characterizations of the creation story described in the book of Genesis. Beginning with the captivating orchestral representation of Chaos, we experience a world brought into beautiful order in seven days, culminating with the union of Adam and Eve. This epic work is best experienced live, sung in the language of its premiere performance (German) and played on period instruments of the Classical era, allowing for the deepest possible level of connection with the musical drama. |
Palestrina, Peter & Paul, Papae Marcelli
with Chantry Ensemble - Alto Sunday, June 30, 2024 | 3:00 pm St. Bernadette Church Silver Spring, MD Palestrina Missa Papae Marcelli Byrd Gradualia Propers for Sts. Peter and Paul Palestrina Tu es Petrus, Sancte Paule Apostole |
2022/2023 Season
Christum, wir sollen loben Schon, BWV 121
with Washington Bach Consort Soprano soloist Capitol Cantata Series Monday, December 5, 2022 | 12:10 pm. at St. Mark’s Capitol Hill Downtown Cantata Series Tuesday, December 6, 2022 | 12:10 pm at Church of the Epiphany Organ Prelude Prelude & Fugue in C Major, BWV 547 Douglas Buchanan, organist Christum, wir sollen loben Schon, BWV 121 |
Gloria! - Vivaldi Gloria and Bach Magnificat
with The Thirteen Soprano II soloist FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2022 | 7:30 PM Church of the Ascension and St. Agnes 1217 Massachusetts Ave NW Washington, DC 20005 SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2022 | 7:30 PM St. Paul’s Lutheran Church 4900 Connecticut Avenue Northwest Washington, DC, 20008 (map) SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2022 | 5:00 PM Bradley Hills Church 6601 Bradley Blvd Bethesda, MD 20817 (map) The Thirteen's period instrument orchestra shines in Bach's buoyant Orchestral Suite No. 1. Our choir of soloists joins our orchestra for Bach's Magnificat and Vivaldi's Gloria. No two pieces could be more emblematic of the holiday season's impulse to rejoice and celebrate than these towering masterpieces of the classical music canon. Featuring a choir of 18 and an orchestra of 27 of our country's finest period instrumentalists including trumpets, drums, and organ, don't miss Gloria! with The Thirteen. |
Secret Byrd
with Cathedra Saturday, March 4, 2023 | 1:00 pm & 4:00 pm Sunday, March 5, 2023 | 4:00 pm & 7:00 pm Washington National Cathedral Bethlehem Chapel More touring performances Summer 2023 - info to follow Experience William Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices as it was meant to be performed: by secret worshippers in threat of religious persecution. In hushed tones behind recusant chapel doors, Bill Barclay and Cathedra collaborate for the first time to create a theatrical seance by candlelight—one replete with the intimacy of faith. A fierce knocking—and, with it, the threat of capture—interrupts the evening, yet soon gives way to a Communion that celebrates life and the power of music. Get tickets here. Crossley Hawn, soprano Aryssa Burrs, alto Jacob Perry, tenor Benjamin Hawker, tenor Gilbert Spencer, bass Michael McCarthy, bass |
Messiah: The Greatest of Oratorios
with Washington Bach Consort Sunday, March 19, 2023 | 4:00 pm Music Center at Strathmore North Bethesda, MD George Frideric Handel Messiah, HWV 56 Although today Handel’s Messiah brings to mind the Christmas season, audiences at the first London performances heard it during Lent, which is when the Washington Bach Consort will perform this most popular of oratorios. Messiah has never lost its charm, and the Consort breathes life into this work in a way that proves its enduring appeal. We return to Strathmore for this glorious work. |
Vocal Polyphony
Thomaskantors and the German Motet with Washington Bach Consort Friday, March 31, 2023 | 7:00 pm Live! at 10th & G Washington, DC Saturday, April 1, 2023 | 7:00 pm St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Alexandria, VA Johann Hermann Schein - Fontana d’Israel Dana Marsh, conductor Beginning with Johann Hermann Schein (1586–1630), who served as Kantor at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig for fifteen years, we include on our vocal polyphony series German motets by the foremost composers to hold the position before J.S. Bach. Schein’s motet series Fontana d’Israel is among the most important of the 17th century, with music exquisitely crafted to its biblical text. In the hands of the Washington Bach Consort’s superb vocalists, this will be a concert to remember! |
Jesu, meine Freude, BWV 227
with Washington Bach Consort Monday, April 3, 2023 | 12:10 pm. St. Mark’s Capitol Hill Washington, DC Tuesday, April 4, 2023 | 12:10 pm Church of the Epiphany Washington, DC Prelude & Fugue in A Minor, BWV 543, and Toccata in F Major, BuxWV 157 Paul Byssainthe, organist Jesu, meine Freude, BWV 227 |
Secret Byrd
with Cathedra Wednesday, April 19, 2023 Bridgewater College Bridgewater, VA Experience William Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices as it was meant to be performed: by secret worshippers in threat of religious persecution. In hushed tones behind recusant chapel doors, Bill Barclay and Cathedra collaborate for the first time to create a theatrical seance by candlelight—one replete with the intimacy of faith. A fierce knocking—and, with it, the threat of capture—interrupts the evening, yet soon gives way to a Communion that celebrates life and the power of music. |
Mass in B Minor: The Foundation
with Washington Bach Consort Soprano II soloist Sunday, April 30, 2023 | 4:00 pm National Presbyterian Church Washington, DC Johann Sebastian Bach - Mass in B Minor, BWV 232 Among the greatest musical compositions in any tradition, Bach’s masterwork has been for countless audiences a limitless reservoir of comfort and a balm for the soul. Paulina Francisco, soprano Crossley Danielle Hawn, soprano Roger O. Isaacs, countertenor Kyle Stegall, tenor Mischa Bouvier, bass |
Secret Byrd
with Cathedra Thursday, May 11, 2023 St. Paul's School Concord, NH Experience William Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices as it was meant to be performed: by secret worshippers in threat of religious persecution. In hushed tones behind recusant chapel doors, Bill Barclay and Cathedra collaborate for the first time to create a theatrical seance by candlelight—one replete with the intimacy of faith. A fierce knocking—and, with it, the threat of capture—interrupts the evening, yet soon gives way to a Communion that celebrates life and the power of music. |
Forth From Her Pen: Music By 17th Century Italian Women
with Musica Spira on Folger Consort's Chamber Music Series Saturday, May 20, 2023 Lutheran Church of the Reformation in Capitol Hill Grace Srinivasan, soprano Crossley Hawn, soprano Amy Domingues, viola da gamba Paula Maust, harpsichord |
Masterworks for Corpus Christi
Renaissance Devotion with Chantry Saturday, June 10, 2023 | 7:00 pm St. Bernadette Church 70 University Blvd. East Silver Spring, MD Featuring the music of Josquin, Byrd, Victoria, Brumel, and Marenzio |
An Extraordinary Innovation: Virtuosic Women in the Italian Courts
Musica Spira performs at Indianapolis Early Music Festival Sunday, June 25, 2023 | 2:30 pm Indiana History Center 450 West Ohio Street Indianapolis, IN, 46204 Grace Srinivasan, soprano Julie Bosworth, soprano Crossley Hawn, soprano Paula Maust, harpsichord |
Secret Byrd
with Cathedra Sunday, July 16, 2023 First Congregational Church Nantucket, MA Experience William Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices as it was meant to be performed: by secret worshippers in threat of religious persecution. In hushed tones behind recusant chapel doors, Bill Barclay and Cathedra collaborate for the first time to create a theatrical seance by candlelight—one replete with the intimacy of faith. A fierce knocking—and, with it, the threat of capture—interrupts the evening, yet soon gives way to a Communion that celebrates life and the power of music. |