The Reformation: Influence and Inspiration

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
August 28, 2017
MEDIA CONTACT: Inna Heasley, 215-280-4824, [email protected]

THE REFORMATION: INFLUENCE AND INSPIRATION
Choral Arts Philadelphia Dedicates 35th Anniversary
and Bach At Seven Series’ Fifth Year to
500 Years of Lutheran Reformation Movement in Music

PHILADELPHIA, 9/20/2017-5/16/18: Choral Arts Philadelphia, in partnership with The Bach Festival of Philadelphia and its resident ensemble The Philadelphia Bach Collegium, has announced the 2017-2018 season. Artistic Director Matthew Glandorf will lead choral, solo, and chamber works by a variety of composers -- from Michael Praetorius and Heinrich Schütz to Felix Mendelssohn and Hugo Distler. Reflecting 500 years of the Lutheran Reformation movement, the season features a world premiere by David Carpenter, a New Year’s Eve celebration with Claudio Monteverdi Vespers, and a tribute to the founder of Bach Festival, Michael Korn, among other inspiring programs.

This year marks the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation, the event that led to the formation of the Lutheran church in Germany -- causing a true religious, cultural, and social revolution.

According to Glandorf, "The most famous of Lutheran composers, J.S. Bach was deeply influenced by the Reformation composers Johann Walter, Heinrich Schütz, Dietrich Buxtehude, Johann Pachelbel. In turn, Bach’s own music, his Cantatas in particular, had a profound influence on those who came after him, especially Felix Mendelssohn, Johannes Brahms, Hugo Distler, and, in our own time and city, Kile Smith. Our season’s lineup will reflect those influences and inspirations.”
 
Choral Arts Philadelphia continues to present the popular Bach at Seven series, monthly mid-week hour-long programs of choral and chamber music. In the series’ fifth year, the repertoire spans five centuries to highlight the composers influenced by the Reformation, including a world premiere by David Carpenter.  A Love So Still (as translated by Carpenter) is set to Dietrich Bonhöffer's poem Von guten Mächten from his “Letters and Papers from Prison.” 
 
On December 31, 2017, the recently established tradition of a New Year’s Eve celebration returns with performance of Claudio Monteverdi’s Vespro della Beata Vergine (1610), which marks the composer's 450th birthday. In 2014 and 2016, the New Year’s Eve performances of J.S. Bach Christmas Oratorio were sold out, with the live broadcast of the latest concert on WWFM Classical Music Network.  
 
On March 23, 2018, the organization will hold a special program in memory Michael Korn, the founder of Bach Festival, the Philadelphia Singers, and Chorus America. “Michael was such an innovative figure in Philadelphia's musical life,” – Glandorf said. “In fact, it was his original vision of a performing organization with chorus and orchestra with our region's great musicians to which I wanted to return when I took over as artistic director of the Bach Festival in 2007.”

Korn, the American choral conductor and organ virtuoso, died at the age of 44 in Philadelphia. His tribute will feature the music of J.S. Bach and Felix Mendelssohn, including motet Jesu, mine Freude, which the disbanded Philadelphia Singers choir sang on numerous occasions. The concert takes place at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Chestnut Hill, where Korn has launched the Bach Festival 40 years ago.
 
Bach at Seven Series: Fall 2017   
When: Third Wednesday of the month, 7-8 p.m.
Where: St. Clement’s Church, 2013 Appletree Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103
Admission: Pay what you wish, with $25/person suggested contribution paid at the door.
No tickets. Open seating. All ages welcome. Post-concert reception with performers.
 
September 20 – Philadelphia Bach Collegium
J.S. Bach: Mentors, Colleagues and Students
Chamber music by Georg Böhm, Dietrich Buxtehude, Georg Philipp Telemann, Johann Ludwig Krebs, J.S. Bach
With the Philadelphia Bach Collegium 
 
October 18 – Choral Arts Philadelphia/ Philadelphia Bach Collegium
Heinrich Schütz: Musikalische Exequien
J.S. Bach: Motet BWV 228 Fürchte dich nicht
Knut Nystedt (1915-2014): Immortal Bach
 
November 15 - Choral Arts Philadelphia/ Philadelphia Bach Collegium
J.S. Bach: Cantata BWV 79 Gott der Herr ist Sonn und Schild
David Carpenter (b. 1972): A Love So Still (Von guten Mächten), World Premiere
Other sacred choral works from XVI-XX centuries, inspired by the Lutheran Reformation
 
Claudio Monteverdi: Vespro della Beata Vergine (1610)
When: New Year's Eve, Sunday, December 31, 2017, at 4 p.m.
Where: S. Clement’s Church, 2013 Appletree Street, Philadelphia
Admission: Early bird: $10-30 ($15-45 after November 30). Buy online at www.choralarts.com or at the door.
 
Tribute to Michael Korn
When: Friday, March 23, 2018 at 7 p.m.
Where: St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 22 E. Chestnut Hill Ave., Philadelphia
Admission: Ticket sales TBA. Buy online at www.choralarts.com or at the door.
 
More Information: www.choralarts.com, email [email protected] or call 267-240-ALTO (2586).
Full Season at a Glance: http://www.choralarts.com/season-at-a-glance.html

 
Choral Arts Philadelphia is a premier chamber ensemble of professional and avocational musicians. Inspired by the works of J.S. Bach, the choir presents historically informed performances, explores new music, and engages the community in innovative ways. The Bach Festival of Philadelphia is a project of Choral Arts Philadelphia.
 
The Philadelphia Bach Collegium was founded in 2008 by artistic director Matthew Glandorf, and is a chamber ensemble of period instruments, resident of the Bach Festival of Philadelphia. Comprising the region’s finest musicians and scholars, the Collegium specializes in the music of XVII-XVIII centuries.

Learn more at ChoralArts.com, contact [email protected] or (267) 240-2586.

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