Chicago Bach Project 2013 performance of Johann Sebastian Bach's Mass in B Minor, BWV 232

The March 27, 2013, Chicago Bach Project presentation of Bach's Mass in B Minor was a night to remember! The Chicago Tribune hailed Maestro John Nelson for his "fervent account" of the Mass in this third installment of Soli Deo Gloria's rotating cycle of Bach sacred choral masterworks, coinciding with the Easter celebration.

John Nelson

"Molding long lines sans baton, the conductor infused his singers and instrumentalists with his own keen sense of musical and spiritual identification. His brisk to moderate tempos allowed each section its own musical integrity and expressive weight within the elaborate symmetries of Bach's grand design."
—John von Rhein, Classical Music Critic, Chicago Tribune

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John Nelson to conduct renowned soloists, choir and orchestra

Jane Henschel, international mezzo-soprano, to make Chicago debut

Soprano Nicole Cabell, Chicago-based opera star, to make return appearance

98.7WFMT Chicago to broadcast concert live from St. Vincent De Paul Church

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Click to read the complete newsletter.

CONTENTS:

Chicago Bach Project 2013:
     Bach Mass in B Minor
New DVD:
     Bach St. Matthew Passion
Upcoming Premieres & Performances
News about SDG's
     Commissions and Premieres
Save the Date:
     March 23, 2013 Benefit Dinner

Bach
St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244

John Nelson, conductor
Werner Güra, Evangelist
Stephen Morscheck, Jesus
Lucy Crowe, soprano
Christine Rice, mezzo-soprano
Nicholas Phan, tenor
Matthew Brook, bass
Schola Cantorum of Oxford
Maîtrise de Paris
Orchestre de chambre de Paris

“Nelson is a practiced hand at the ‘St. Matthew,’
[with] a deep and sensitive understanding
of what gives this music its unique
spiritual resonance and urgent dramatic power.”
—Chicago Tribune

The newest release in The Soli Deo Gloria Collection, SDG’s video series of sacred music masterworks, is a high-definition DVD of J. S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244.  For this project, SDG once again joined with leading production companies Idéale Audience and Medici.tv to film the performance in the majestic environs of the Basilica of Saint-Denis, the renowned abbey church on the outskirts of Paris dating back to the seventh century.

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St. Matthew Passion
at Basilica of Saint-Denis, France

The newest release in The Soli Deo Gloria Collection, SDG’s video series of sacred music masterworks, is a high-definition DVD of J. S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244.  For this project, SDG once again joined with leading production companies Idéale Audience and Medici.tv to film the performance in the majestic environs of the Basilica of Saint-Denis, the renowned abbey church on the outskirts of Paris dating back to the seventh century.

Extraordinary musicians bring the profound drama to life, capturing Bach’s brilliant intensity in the narrative sung by the Evangelist, the words of Jesus and his disciples, and the expressive reflections of the chorus. Schola Cantorum of Oxford, directed by James Burton, is the premiere choir of Oxford University, and the Maîtrise de Paris is an integral part of the music life of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. The Orchestre de chambre de Paris, which Maestro Nelson led for over ten years and is now Honorary Music Director, is noteworthy in the Parisian musical landscape.

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Peter Bannister
Quatre Psaumes

Voice (bass) and piano
DURATION: 18 minutes
TEXT: Based on selections from Psalms 27, 42, 139, 121
A cycle of Psalms in French (or English).

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Ēriks Ešenvalds
Psalm 67

Mixed chorus (SATB) and tenor soloist, a capella
DURATION: 6 minutes
TEXT: Psalm 67

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Click to read the complete newsletter.

CONTENTS:

Psalm Premiere in Amsterdam
SDG Welcomes New President and CEO
Greetings from Joseph LoSchiavo
News about SDG's Commissions and Premieres
Year One of the Psalms Project is Completed!
Sacred Music from Soli Deo Gloria
Chicago Bach Project 2013

For more information about the Chicago Bach Project, click to read a short article on the history and goals of the Project.

St. Matthew Passion 
St. Vincent de Paul Church, Chicago
(Photo: Charles Osgood)

CHICAGO BACH PROJECT 2011

Johann Sebastian Bach

St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244

April 20, 2011

In 2011, Soli Deo Gloria launched the Chicago Bach Project with Johann Sebastian Bach’s profoundly moving St. Matthew Passion. An audience of more than 800 packed the magnificent St. Vincent de Paul Church in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. SDG’s Artistic Director, John Nelson, conducted a distinguished roster of soloists, the Chicago Bach Choir & Orchestra, and Anima-Young Singers of Greater Chicago in this “Great Passion,” as the St. Matthew is known.

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