Italian Ceremony & Splendor October 16, 2009

CALIFORNIA BACH SOCIETY, UNDER THE DIRECTION OF PAUL FLIGHT,
OPENS ITS 39TH SEASON WITH "ITALIAN CEREMONY AND SPLENDOR"

Antonio Vivaldi: Domine ad adjuvandum me festina
Alessandro Scarlatti: Magnificat (U.S. West Coast premiere)
George Frideric Handel: Dixit Dominus

with soprano Rita Lilly and a baroque ensemble of strings and organ

"CBS handled these [quick contrasts in the music] with unerring confidence, never faltering in the rapid lines and nicely sustaining the elongated melodies."
San Francisco Classical Voice on CBS's performance of Handel's Chandos Anthems, October 23, 2007

Over the past three years, the golden combination of Paul Flight and California Bach Society has proven to be especially fruitful for the interpretation of 18th century sacred choral music. Audiences present at their performances of Handel's Chandos Anthems (October 2007) or the masterful settings of the Stabat Mater (by Domenico Scarlatti in March 2008, and by Augostino Steffani in March 2009) will rejoice that works of similar exuberance and beauty are on the program for October 16 to 18, 2009.

The program "Italian Ceremony and Splendor" opens with Vivaldi's Domine ad adjuvandum me festina, written for double choir, orchestra, and soprano soloist. Choir and soprano Rita Lilly will shine in this work, as in Handel's youthful masterpiece Dixit Dominus. But the jewel in the crown will likely be Alessandro Scarlatti's setting of the Magnificat. Paul Flight says: "It is a deeply expressive work that is not very well known, since a modern edition of the work has only very recently been produced. We will likely be giving the first performance of the work in this country, and certainly on the West Coast." Alessandro Scarlatti's style of composing sacred music has been compared to Johann Sebastian Bach's: both composers stayed away from incorporating the latest fashion into their work, and thus became masters in perfecting the polyphonic tradition.

$10 - $30.

Official Website: http://www.calbach.org