The Red Deer Symphony Orchestra presents its first concert of the year this Saturday evening at Gaetz Memorial United Church.
‘Voices of Heaven’, featuring guest artists VoiceScapes, begins at 8 p.m.
The RDSO will be performing Johann Sebastian Bach’s Mass in B Minor.
Musical director Claude Lapalme notes that, “Despite being a well-known and a beloved work, we still do not know many details about the genesis of Bach’s Mass in B Minor. It was written over several years with composition beginning in 1724.
“The profound humanity of the work, and its excellence in illustrating the emotional backbone of every line of the Mass, is a true wonder,” explains Lapalme. “From the austere opening Kyrie to the softer, more operatic Domine Deus and the inspiring, praising Gloria, Bach uses a great range of styles – which is expected for a work written over such a long period of time – without losing a sense of cohesion in the work.
“Whatever the reasons Bach had to write the Mass, we can only be thankful that he did, as it is one of the great musical gifts to the world.”
As mentioned, VoiceScapes will be featured during the performance.
The group is a professional music collective created in 2000 by two couples – Christina Jahn and Paul Grindlay, and Julie Harris and Jerald Fast.
Each singer brings a broad range of performing experience, from medieval ensembles to opera companies, from solo to choral work, spanning four continents. The ensemble’s mandate is to create distinctive and varied concerts which include VoiceScapes members in collaboration with other Canadian musicians.
In addition to regular performances on the Early Music Voices Concert Series, VoiceScapes has been often featured on the University of Calgary Celebrity Series, the University of Alberta’s Music at Convocation Hall Series, as well as with Alberta Baroque Ensemble and the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra.
Previous engagements include VoiceScapes as soloists in Purcell’s King Arthur with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra under Ivars Taurins, a Christmas program of Bach and Charpentier with the Red Deer Symphony and Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 with the Spiritus Chamber Choir and San Francisco’s Whole Noyse.
Over the last three seasons VoiceScapes has mounted three acclaimed opera in concert productions: Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Handel’s Acis and Galatea and Pergolesi’s La Serva Padrona.
Meanwhile, next up for the RDSO us ‘Angles of Amadeus’ on April 26 at the College Arts Centre. The season wraps up with ‘A Stroll Through Red Square’ on May 16, again at the Arts Centre.
For tickets, call the Black Knight Inn Ticket Centre at 403-755-6626 or 1-800-661-8793 or go online at www.bkticketcentre.ca.
-Weber
