Bach’s St. John Passion, BWV 245June 6, 7:30pm (Bethany Lutheran Church)

June 7, 7:30pm (Griffin Concert Hall, University Center for the Arts)

Bach’s The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080String Quartet version performed by the Colorado Chamber Players.June 8, 3:00pm (Organ Recital Hall, University Center for the Arts)

June 9, 7:30pm (Bethany Lutheran Church)

Handel program:Laudate pueri, HWV 237; Nisi Dominus, HWV 238; Dixit Dominus, HWV 232; Gloria, HWV deestJune 13, 7:30pm (Bethany Lutheran Church)

June 14, 7:30pm (Griffin Concert Hall, University Center for the Arts)

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Emily MarvoshAlto

Clara RottsolkSoprano

Steven Soph Tenor

Mary WilsonSoprano

David KimBaritone

Andrew GarlandBaritone

Derek ChesterTenor

ColoradoChamber Players

Colorado Bach Festival 2014 Concert I | 03

Concert I

St. John Passion , BWV 245Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Part One1. Chorus: Herr, unser Herrscher, dessen Ruhm in allen Landen herrlich ist!2a. Evangelist, Jesus: Jesus ging mit seinen Jüngern über den Bach Kidron2b. Chorus: Jesum von Nazareth2c. Evangelist, Jesus: Jesus spricht zu ihnen2d. Chorus: Jesum von Nazareth2e. Evangelist, Jesus: Jesus antwortete: Ich hab’s euch gesagt, daß ich’s sei3. Chorale: O große Lieb, o Lieb ohn alle Maße4. Evangelist, Jesus: Auf daß das Wort erfüllet würde5. Chorale: Dein Will gescheh, Herr Gott, zugleich6. Evangelist: Die Schar aber und der Oberhauptmann7. Aria (alto): Von den Stricken meiner Sünden8. Evangelist: Simon Petrus aber folgete Jesu nach9. Aria (soprano): Ich folge dir gleichfalls mit freudigen Schritten10. Evangelist, Maid, Peter, Jesus, Servant: Derselbige

Jünger war dem Hohenpriester bekannt11. Chorale: Wer hat dich so geschlagen12a. Evangelist: Und Hannas sandte ihn gebunden zu dem Hohenpriester Kaiphas12b. Chorus: Bist du nicht seiner Jünger einer?12c. Evangelist, Peter, Servant: Er leugnete aber13. Aria (tenor): Ach, mein Sinn14. Chorale: Petrus, der nicht denkt zurück

Intermission

Part Two15. Chorale: Christus, der uns selig macht16a. Evangelist, Pilate: Da führeten sie Jesum von Kaiphas vor das Richthaus16b. Chorus: Wäre dieser nicht ein Übeltäter, wir hätten dir ihn nicht überantwortet.16c. Evangelist, Pilate: Da sprach Pilatus zu ihnen16d. Chorus: Wir dürfen niemand töten.16e. Evangelist, Pilate, Jesus: Auf daß erfüllet würde das Wort Jesu17. Chorale: Ach großer König, groß zu allen Zeiten18a. Evangelist, Pilate, Jesus: Da sprach Pilatus zu ihm18b. Chorus: Nicht diesen, sondern Barrabam!18c. Evangelist, Pilate, Jesus: Barrabas aber war ein Mörder.19. Arioso (bass): Betrachte, meine Seel, mit ängstlichem Vergnügen20. Aria (tenor): Erwäge, wie sein blutgefärbter Rücken

ContentsConcert I 03St. John Passion , BWV 245 03

Concert II 08The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080 08

Concert III 10Laudate pueri Dominum, HWV 237 10

Nisi Dominus, HWV 238 10

Gloria in excelsis deo, HWV deest 10

Dixit Dominus, HWV 232 10

Director 14Soloists 15Board of Directors 19Our Patrons 19Upcoming Concerts 20Special Thanks 20Social 20

04 | Concert I Colorado Bach Festival 2014 Colorado Bach Festival 2014 Concert I | 05

21a. Evangelist: Und die Kriegsknechte flochten eine Krone von Dornen21b. Chorus: Sei gegrüßet, lieber Jüdenkönig!21c. Evangelist, Pilate: Und gaben ihm Backenstreiche.21d. Chorus: Kreuzige, kreuzige!21e. Evangelist, Pilate: Pilatus sprach zu ihnen21f. Chorus: Wir haben ein Gesetz, und nach dem Gesetz soll er sterben21g. Evangelist, Pilate, Jesus: Da Pilatus das Wort hörete, fürchtet’ er sich noch mehr22. Chorale: Durch dein Gefängnis, Gottes Sohn muß uns die Freiheit kommen23a. Evangelist: Die Jüden aber schrieen23b. Chorus: Lässest du diesen los, so bist du des Kaisers Freund nicht23c. Evangelist, Pilate: Da Pilatus da Wort hörete, führete er Jesum heraus23d. Chorus: Weg, weg mit dem, kreuzige ihn!23e. Evangelist, Pilate: Spricht Pilatus zu ihnen23f. Chorus: Wir haben keinen König denn den Kaiser.23g. Evangelist: Da überantwortete er ihn daß er gekreuziget würde.24. Aria (bass) e coro: Eilt, ihr angefochtnen Seelen25a. Evangelist: Allda kreuzigten sie ihn25b. Chorus: Schreibe nicht: der Jüden König25c. Evangelist, Pilate: Pilatus antwortet26. Chorale: In meines Herzens Grunde27a. Evangelist: Die Kriegsknechte aber, da sie Jesum

gekreuziget hatten, nahmen seine Kleider27b. Chorus: Lasset uns den nicht zerteilen, sondern darum losen, wes er sein soll.27c. Evangelist, Jesus: Auf daß erfüllet würde die Schrift28. Chorale: Er nahm alles wohl in acht29. Evangelist, Jesus: Und von Stund an nahm sie der Jünger zu sich.30. Aria (alto): Es ist vollbracht!31. Evangelist: Und neiget das Haupt und verschied.32. Aria (bass): Mein teurer Heiland, laß dich fragen33. Evangelist: Und siehe da, der Vorhang im Tempel zeriß in zwei Stück34. Arioso (tenor): Mein Herz, in dem die ganze

Welt bei Jesu Leiden gleichfalls leidet35. Aria (soprano, flute, oboe da caccia): Zerfließe, mein Herze, in Fluten der Zähren36. Evangelist: Die Jüden aber, dieweil es der Rüsttag war37. Chorale: O hilf, Christe, Gottes Sohn38. Evangelist: Darnach bat Pilatum Joseph von Arimathia39. Chorus: Ruht wohl, ihr heiligen Gebeine40. Chorale: Ach Herr, lass dein lieb Engelein

Soloists

Evangelist; Derek ChesterJesus; David KimPilate; Stuart DameronPeter; Matthew WeissenbuehlerMaid; Cynthia HenningServant; Zachary Vreeman

Aria soloists; Clara Rottsolk, sopranoEmily Marvosh, altoSteven Soph, tenorAndrew Garland, baritone

Chorus

SopranosLaura ChesterJoAnn Gudvangen-BrownCynthia HenningClara RottsolkHana Suzuki

AltosMarjorie BundayEmily MarvoshChaazi MunyanyaTara Mianulli U’RenLaura Williams

TenorsMatthew BentleySteven SophWestin SorrelZachary Vreeman

BassesStuart DameronAndrew GarlandDavid KimNathan PayantMatthew Weissenbuehler

Orchestra

Violin IMargaret Soper-Gutierrez, concertmasterDesiree Cedeño-SuarezChris JusellJubal Fulks

Violin IIHee-Jung Kim, principalChristine ShortPaul Primus

ViolaBarbara Hamilton, principalMary Cowell

CelloHannah Robbins, principalBecky Kutz Osterberg

Double BassForest Greenough, principal

Viola da gambaHannah Robbins

FlutesMichelle Stanley, principalYsmael Reyes

Oboes/English hornsJason Lichtenwalter, principalSarah Bierhaus

BassoonDavid Schwarz, principal

OrganKenrick Mervine

06 | Concert I Colorado Bach Festival 2014 Colorado Bach Festival 2014 Concert I | 07

St. John Passion , BWV 245Program Notes

Representations of the passion story have a long history in the German speaking lands. The word “passion” traditionally refers to suffering and these dramatic retell-ings of Holy Week, the last week of Jesus’s life, were staged, sung, or recounted reg-ularly in church services on Good Friday. The story often started with the triumphal entry into Jerusalem and traditionally ended with Christ’s crucifixion and burial. The resurrection celebration was reserved for Easter Sunday. Johann Sebastian Bach, a devout Lutheran who spent his entire life and career in Protestant Germany, was well acquainted with the importance of the passion story in the church calendar.

Bach’s obituary indicated that he composed five passions, though there is some doubt as to the accuracy of this number. Only two (St. Matthew Passion and St. John Passion) survive complete to us today. These two works are quite different from each other and, in many ways, reflect the differences between the two gospels on which they are based. The Passion of St. Matthew is grander and more well-rounded, with a more complete narrative, while the one based on the gospel of St. John is more mystical, introspective, and loosely collated, like the book from which its scripture is taken. While the St. Matthew Passion opens with an invitation for audience partic-ipation (“Come! See!”), St. John’s opening chorus states the good news in a kind of prayer that asks for clear vision through the witness of Christ’s ultimate transfigu-ration: “Lord, our Lord, whose glory is wondrous in all the earth! Show us, by your passion, that You, the true Son of God at all times, even at the height of humiliation, have been glorified!” Both works serve as a heartfelt confession of Bach’s faith.

The St. John and St. Matthew Passions were composed for inclusion in services at the churches Bach served in Leipzig. St. John was the earlier of the two, receiving its first full presentation at the Vespers service on Good Friday 1724, during the first season the composer was employed by the city. Bach revised it several times. The following year, he substituted new opening and closing choruses, which were later used in the St. Matthew Passion, and added several new arias. In the 1730s he went back to the original choruses and removed scriptural passages borrowed from a different gospel. Finally, in 1749 he reverted back to his original version, with only minor changes. Tonight you will hear the one that was presented in 1724.

Passion services varied widely in terms of presentation, from very simple to highly ornate. Bach wrote in a newer, fashionable style of the oratorio passion, which com-bined scripture, traditional chorales, poetic commentary, and instrumental accom-paniment and interludes. The scriptural portions of the St. John libretto are taken from chapters 18 and 19 of the gospel, as written in the German Luther Bible. Though this was a logical choice for source material, there is a certain appropriateness relat-ed to the textual selection, for in 1521 Martin Luther first began his German transla-tion of the New Testament a mere 125 miles from Leipzig in Wartburg Castle, which overlooks the town of Bach’s eventual birth, Eisenach. There are also two scriptures included in the 1724 Passion from the gospel of Matthew that are not found in the Book of John. The first tells of Peter’s betrayal and his subsequent tears and the sec-ond portrays the tearing of the temple veil and earthquake at Jesus’s death.

Most of the scriptural passages are sung by the evangelist, acting as narrator, and the soloist portraying Jesus. Bach complements scripture with choral passages based on at least seven pre-existing chorales, including one by Luther. These songs, originally intended for congregational singing, would have been well-known to the worshipers at that first Good Friday presentation, providing a more personal con-nection to the music. The chorales also act as pillars of structure on which the larger work is built. The final element of the St. John Passion was original poetic material, collected by an unidentified librettist and set to Bach’s glorious music. These reflective texts, found in both arias and choruses, are primarily intended to evoke an emotional response. The larger narrative has many mini-messages (or morals of the story) and it is the important role of the chorus to interject messages of patience, supplication, understanding, and ultimately, hope.

The Passion of St. John (or Johannes-Passion, as it is known in Germany), like the gospel, begins partway into the Holy Week story, with Jesus and his disciples already in the garden. The opening instrumental prologue sets a wonderfully dramatic and foreboding canvas on which the plot will unfold and the chorus bears witness to Christ’s sacrifice from the outset. In many ways, Part One revolves around Peter and Jesus, while Part Two posits Jesus against the officials, Caiphus and Pilate. The crucifixion itself is presented in a fragmented manner, ending with Jesus’s words, “It is finished!” After a moving string interlude, the alto soloist imme-diately restates these words, revealing that though it is finished, it is not really fin-ished. The ultimate sacrifice is revealed. Before the burial scene, the soprano soloist sings of her heart flooded by tears, a link to Peter’s tears in Part One. Jesus is buried and the choir offers a restful lullaby with promises of no more suffering. The work ends with a chorale asking God to “let thy loving little angel take my soul” and wondering at the joy of resurrection, even though the story itself does not go that far.

Like so much of Bach’s music, St. John Passion was not performed for many years after his death. In a continuation of Felix Mendelssohn’s early nineteenth century Bach revival (begun in 1829 with the St. Matthew Passion), Johannes-Passion finally was shared once again at the Berlin Singakademie in 1833. Even more than one hun-dred years after it was first heard, as today, it was surely as resplendent.

Dr. K. Dawn Grapes, Colorado State University

08 | Concert II Colorado Bach Festival 2014 Colorado Bach Festival 2014 Concert II | 09

Concert II

The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

String quartet version performed by the Colorado Chamber Players. Please see the insert in your program for concert details.

Part I

Intermission

Part IIPaul Primus and Margaret Soper Gutierrez, ViolinsBarbara Hamilton, ViolaJeffrey Watson, Guest Cellist

The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080Program Notes

If the St. John and St. Matthew Passions epitomize the deeply spiritual and emo-tive nature of Bach’s soul, Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of Fugue) surely represents Bach’s cerebral acumen. Though long known for his contrapuntal writing, the com-poser took the old-fashioned fugue to artistic heights in the last decade of his life. In these years he composed The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II, Goldberg Varia-tions, The Musical Offering, and fi nally, The Art of Fugue, which provides the ulti-mate tutorial on fugal possibility. Nowhere in The Art of Fugue does the composer indicate a specifi c instrumentation. Some argue the work was written for keyboard, while others believe Bach purposely left the instrumentation open to whatever forc-es were available for any given performance. Others suggest that it was not intended for performance at all, but was simply an intellectual exercise.

The composition consists of a series of increasingly complicated fugues and canons, forms defi ned by imitation. A fugue opens with a main musical theme called a subject, introduced by a single voice. Each of the other voices then “answers” or repeats the subject in turn, while the voices that have already entered accompany each new entrant. The subject is then developed in any number of ways. Bach uses the same subject melody, albeit manipulated, in all eighteen of the The Art of Fugue movements.

There is so much to explore musically within this large work that entire books have been written about it, but the overall structure is not that diffi cult to under-stand. The fi rst four fugues (Bach called each a Contrapunctus) are simple fugues, meaning they each feature only the main subject. The fi rst two present the theme as is (rectus), and the next two do so in inversion, a kind of mirror image in which a new subject is created as each note moves in the opposite direction as the original melody.

The next pieces are stretto fugues. In these, the composer manipulates bits of the original subject or its inversion, by presenting it backwards, upside down, or in different time durations or proportions. In the sixth fugue, Bach does this in the style of a French Overture. Fugues 8 through 11 are double and triple fugues, adding new themes simultaneously with the original subject. In Fugues 9 and 10, Bach introduces invertible counterpoint, in which high voices and low voices can switch roles without breaking established rules of composition. In a feat of great skill, nos. 12 and 13 feature mirror fugues, with two fugues presenting melodic, harmonic, and structural material in a manner each exactly opposite the other.

The four canons follow. A canon uses strict melodic imitation, with one voice following another based on a given rule. In the fi rst, the most complicated, the secondary voice imitates the primary in inversion with notes that are each twice as long. Halfway through, the players trade musical lines. In the second canon, the sec-ondary voice imitates its leader at an octave, in the manner of a round. In the third, the new voice imitates at the interval of a tenth, and the last canon is described as a canon “at the twelfth with counterpoint at the fi fth.”

The fi nal Contrapunctus fugue was left incomplete at the time of Bach’s death. Even so, it is one of the longest. When the notes stop, three subjects have been intro-duced, the last a melody based on the letters of Bach’s name (B-A-C-H: In German, B stands for B fl at, while H represents B natural). As such, the piece is a triple fugue. Most scholars believe, however, that Bach planned on a grand fi nale in the form of a quadruple fugue, the fourth subject (a restatement of the organic subject) yet to be introduced. Several reputable completions have been published in this vein, but many performers prefer to stop right where Bach left off. Whether the original end-ing was lost or simply never written down, it seems somehow fi tting that the situa-tion prompts the question as to what more we might have gained from the man who seemingly exhausted the limits of Baroque composition, had he retained his health just a bit longer.

After Bach died, his sons completed the publishing process. The fi rst edition of Die Kunst der Fuge rolled off the press in 1751. Though unrelated to the other materi-al, the publisher chose to end the collection with an organ chorale, Vor deinen Thron tret ich hiermit. The preface to the 1752 second edition of the work states: “... Bach’s so-called Art of Fugue will one day throw all French and Italian fugue makers into astonishment ....” An understatement, indeed.

Dr. K. Dawn Grapes, Colorado State University

10 | Concert III Colorado Bach Festival 2014 Colorado Bach Festival 2014 Concert III | 11

Concert IIIGeorge Frederick Handel (1685-1759)

Laudate pueri Dominum, HWV 2371. Laudate pueri Dominum 2. Sit nomen Domini 3. A solis ortu usque ad occasum 4. Excelsus super omnes gentes Dominus 5. Quis sicut Dominus 6. Suscitans a terra 7. Qui habitare facit 8. Gloria patri

Nisi Dominus, HWV 2381. Nisi Dominus edificaverit, Chorus2. Vanum est vobis, Solo for tenor3. Cum dederit dilectis suis somnum, Solo for alto4. Sicut sagittae in manu potentis, Solo for bass5. Beatus vir, qui implevit desiderium, Solo for tenor6. Gloria Patri et Filio, Chorus

Intermission

Gloria in excelsis deo, HWV deest 1. Gloria in excelsis Deo 2. Et in terra pax 3. Laudamus te 4. Domine Deus 5. Qui tollis peccata mundi 6. Quoniam tu solus sanctus

Dixit Dominus, HWV 2321. Dixit Dominus Domino meo2. Virgam virtutis tuae3. Tecum principium4. Juravit Dominus5. Tu es sacerdos6. Dominus a dextris tuis7. De torrente8. Gloria Patri

Soloists

Mary Wilson, Mary Sandell, sopranosEmily Marvosh, alto

Derek Chester, John Grau, Steven Soph; tenorsAndrew Garland, baritone

Chorus

Soprano ILaura ChesterJoAnn Gudvangen-BrownAshley HoffmanMary SandellMary Wilson

Soprano IIRebecca L. Faust-FrodlCynthia HenningNicole LamartineSara Michael

AltoMarjorie BundayEmily MarvoshChaazi MunyanyaLaura Williams

TenorDerek ChesterJohn GrauSteven SophWestin SorrelZachary Vreeman

BassStuart DameronAndrew GarlandDavid KimChristopher MaunuNathan PayantDr. John J. Wollan

Orchestra

Violin IHee-Jung Kim, concertmasterTena WhiteJubal FuchsChris Jusell

Violin IIMargaret Soper-Gutierrez, principalChristine ShortDesiree Cedeño-Suarez

Viola IMatt Dane, principalPhillip Stevens

Viola IIMary Cowell, principalKathy Hershberger

CelloJudith McIntyre, principalBecky Kutz Osterberg

Double BassForest Greenough

OboeMax Soto-SibajaEuridice Alvarez

BassoonDavid Schwarz

KeyboardKenrick Mervine

12 | Concert III Colorado Bach Festival 2014 Colorado Bach Festival 2014 Concert III | 13

Laudate pueri, HWV 237; Nisi Dominus, HWV 238; Gloria, HWV deest; Dixit Dominus, HWV 232

Program Notes

Music histories present a consistent image of George Frideric Handel: middle aged or older, established, successful, widely known as an entrepreneur-impresario, composer of Italian opera and English oratorio for the London stage. Much less is written of Handel’s pre-London days, when he travelled widely, refining his craft. His compositions of this earlier era show signs of impending greatness long before he reached English shores.

He was born Georg Friedrich Händel in what is now Germany in 1685, the same year as J. S. Bach. In fact, the two men’s birthplaces are only one hundred miles apart. After an early position in Hamburg’s opera orchestra that allowed him to try his hand at composing, Handel left for Italy in 1706 at the tender age of 21. At the time, Italy was the center of the operatic world, a seemingly perfect destina-tion for an enterprising young musician. However, after a short stint in Florence he ended up in Rome, where opera had been prohibited for over twenty years. Ever the opportunist, Handel soon was procuring commissions for Roman Catholic liturgical music, including the memorable choral psalms that make up tonight’s program.

Handel wrote two settings of Psalm 113, Laudate pueri dominum. The earlier, HWV 236, is a more intimate chamber work, using only soprano, two violins, and continuo. The second (HWV 237), performed on this program, calls for four solo-ists, chorus, oboes, strings, and continuo. Its manuscript is marked “Rome, 8 July 1707.” The Latin setting models the Italian cantata genre and foreshadows Handel’s later multi-movement oratorios, with the use of chorus and solo recitative and aria, all synthesized into a dramatic presentation as appropriate for a concert setting as a liturgical one. The original Psalm is revealed in one or two textual phrases per movement. The opening words, “Praise the Lord, ye servants,” are expressed perfectly in a joyful soprano melismatic line. Each movement that follows projects a different affect, accentuated by contrasting tempos, soloist-instrumental pairings, and contrapuntal call and response between soprano, instrumental ensemble, and chorus.

The Vespers psalm setting Nisi Dominus, HWV 238, was completed just five days after Laudate pueri, suggesting that the two works may have been intended for the same occasion. Many scholars believe this event was the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, celebrated at Rome’s Santa Maria di Monte Santo Church on July 16, 1707. Like Laudate, Nisi Dominus, which is based on Psalm 127, opens with a five-part cho-rus and standard string ensemble. It omits the oboes and replaces Laudate’s soprano with alto, tenor, and bass soloists in in subsequent movements. The chorus is silent throughout the inner movements, but the concluding Gloria Patri more than makes up for their absence with an expansion to double chorus and orchestra. Both Laudate pueri and Nisi Dominus demonstrate an especially relevant example of musical-tex-tual connection in their final Gloria doxologies. At the words Sicut erat in principio (“As it was in the beginning”), the same music that opens each larger work is restated, painting a musical picture that also serves as a kind of cyclical unification.

The history of Gloria in excelsis Deo, HWV deest, is perhaps the most intriguing of all of tonight’s works, precisely because of what we do not know about it. “Deest” labels it as one of several dozen pieces not included in the accepted list of all of Handel’s known compositions (Händel-Werke-Verzeichnis). In essence, the composi-tion was not yet “discovered” when Handel’s catalog was completed in 1986. Yet, the existence of the work has been known for quite some time. Its only known surviving version is a copied manuscript inserted in a privately bound collection of Handel opera arias and housed at the Royal Academy of Music in London since the early nineteenth century. Scholars acquainted with the collection originally dismissed the work as unlikely Handelian, but few closely studied the piece. In 2000, Profes-sor Hans Joachim Marx of the University of Hamburg examined the score and its separately housed instrumental parts. After noting close similarities between the Gloria and Handel’s other Latin compositions composed in Italy (including Laudate pueri, Nisi dominum, and Dixit Dominus), Marx concluded that Handel was indeed the composer, calling the composition an “emotionally charged work that already promises to become a staple item in the repertoire of ‘early repertoire’.” Journalists trumpeted news of a newly discovered work by Handel and artistic directors seized upon the opportunity to present new material. Many musicologists support Marx’s findings, while others still have doubts. Regardless, how fortunate we are to hear this novel, long-silenced work for soprano, two violins, and continuo, some three hundred years later.

Dixit Dominus Domino meo, HWV 232, for soloists, chorus, strings, and continuo is Handel’s setting of Psalm 110, “The Lord said unto my Lord.” It is the composer’s earliest surviving signed and dated manuscript, from April 1707. The occasion for its first performance is unknown, though various suggestions have been made, including inclusion in the same feast day as HWV 237 and 238. Handel later borrowed themes from Dixit Dominus for use in his English oratorio Deborah and the anthem I will magnify thee. The concluding line of the Psalm, “de torrente in via bibet ...,” is set against a chain of especially moving suspensions to set up a final glorious choral doxology that exalts in its own “Amen.” Expert Donald Burrows states, “The work itself shows a complete command of orchestrally accompanied choral writing...,” indicating that it was not just the English anthem tradition Handel heard in London that shaped his later use of sacred chorus.

Certainly the seeds for ease within the choral medium were planted in Handel’s early German Lutheran years, but the environment of Rome, with its splendid cathedrals and papal choirs, must have inspired the young man to fashion the emo-tionally outward demonstration of joy and power put forth in his works produced for Italian ears. Many aspects of Handel’s Latin psalm settings reappear in his later mature English works. Given the innovation of these early compositions and Han-del’s acclimation to and assimilation of the Italian style, one wonders how his com-positional path may have changed had he remained in Italy. Could Giorgio Handele have reached or even surpassed the lasting reputation of George Frideric Handel?

Dr. K. Dawn Grapes, Colorado State University

14 | Director Colorado Bach Festival 2014 Colorado Bach Festival 2014 Director | 15

DirectorAs the artistic director of the Colorado Bach Ensemble,James Kim has dedicated himself to performing the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and his contemporaries at the highest artistic level for American audiences. He has studied and worked with some of the greatest Bach interpreters of our time, such as Phillipe Herreweghe and Helmuth Rilling, with whom he spent two years in Stuttgart, Germany. Building on the rich history of Bach scholarship and performance, James Kim brings his own approach and commitment to the music he performs in Colorado. A recent review captures Kim’s desire to perform and teach the

music of Bach: “James Kim is one of the few conductors that I have ever known who has the stamina and courage to present a lecture concert…I am sure that this is extremely useful for the members of the audience at large who might not have been trained musicians. I know they appreciated it for they gave The Colorado Bach Ensemble a standing ovation. Both the lecture and the performance were superb.”

James Kim is also the Director of Choral Activities at Colorado State University.

SoloistsDerek Chester, TenorPraised by the New York Times for his beautifully shaped and careful-ly nuanced singing, tenor Derek Chester has established himself as a talented and versatile performer who maintains an active career as a concert, opera, and recital singer and master class teacher throughout North America and Europe. He has received critical acclaim through-out his career and has been engaged to perform with such distin-guished organizations as the Bach Collegium Stuttgart, the Oregon Bach Festival, the Carmel Bach Festival, Yale Schola Cantorum, the

Boston Baroque, American Bach Soloists as well as many symphony orchestras. He has also enjoyed a successful career as a singer in opera and musical theater. He received his Master’s Degree from the Yale School of Music and Institute of Sacred Music, and his doctorate in vocal performance from the University of North Texas in Opera Studies. Dr. Chester is on the voice faculty at the University of Northern Colorado.

Andrew Garland, BaritoneThe resplendent baritone voice of Andrew Garland is well-known to audiences at our annual Messiah performances. Among his many accolades, Garland was saluted by Opera News for his “coloratura [which] bordered on the phenomenal as he dashed through the music’s intricacies... offering plenty of elegance and glamour in his smooth acting.” During the 2013 - 2014 season, his appearances include the Boston Lyric Opera, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Colorado Bach Ensemble, Boston Baroque, as well as recitals across the United States. Appear-

ances in recent seasons have included the title role in Don Giovanni with Opera New Jersey, and Figaro in Il barbieri di Siviglia with Knoxville Opera. Other appearances have included the Atlanta Opera (La Bohéme), Arizona Opera (Turandot), and Boston Lyric Opera (A Midsummer Nights Dream) and the Boston Lyric Opera (Carmen, Les contes d’Hoffmann, Rusalka). Mr. Garland is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

David Kim, BaritoneNoted conductor Simon Carrington described David Kim’s per-formance of Schubert’s “Winterreise” as “One of the most moving, powerful and accomplished recitals of the year”. On the concert stage, Kim has been a featured soloist in works ranging from Monteverdi, Schütz, Bach, and Handel to Mendelssohn, Brahms and Philip Glass. His performances of Philip Glass’s Symphony No. 5 “Requiem, Bardo, Nirmanakaya” led the composer himself to praise the “special charac-ter” of Mr. Kim’s “rich voice.” Recent performances include a role

in Stravinsky’s “Les Noces,” which was his first major foray into the Russian repertoire. He also contributed memorably to the Colorado Bach Ensemble’s 2013 performances of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. Mr. Kim received a Master of Music degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where he is currently completing a DMA. In addition, he finished an Artist Diploma at Yale University’s Institute of Sacred Music, specializing in Baroque Music, German Oratorio and Chamber Ensemble.

Emily Marvosh, ContraltoEmily Marvosh, contralto, has earned high praise for her “flexible technique and ripe color,” and “smooth, apparently effortless vocal display.” Most recently heard here at our 2013 Messiah performances, she is a frequent soloist with the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston. Other recent appearances include the Charlotte Symphony (Messiah), L’academie (Vivaldi’s Nisi Dominus), Back Bay Chorale (Magnificat), the Brookline Symphony (Elgar’s Sea Pictures), the Chorus of West-erly (Mozart’s Requiem), the White Mountain Bach Festival (Vivaldi’s

Salve Regina), Opera Boston (La Grande Duchesse de Gérolstein), and Boston Lyric Opera (Rusalka). She has given world premiere performances with Juventas New Music and Inter-mezzo Chamber Opera. Ms. Marvosh also appeared in the world premiere of Hugo Kauder’s Merlin with the Hugo Kauder Society. Upcoming solo engagements include the Tucson Symphony (Mahler’s 3rd Symphony), Arcadia Players (Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony) and a European tour with the Chorus of Westerly (Dvořak’s Stabat Mater). She holds degrees from Central Michigan University and Boston University.

16 | Director Colorado Bach Festival 2014 Colorado Bach Festival 2014 Board of Directors | 17

Clara Rottsolk, Soprano “Pure and shining” (Cleveland Plain Dealer) soprano Clara Rottsolk has been lauded by The New York Times for her “clear, appealing voice and expressive conviction” and by The Philadelphia Inquirer for the “opulent tone [with which] every phrase has such a commu-nicative emotional presence.” Possessing a wide repertoire, her solo appearances with orchestras and chamber ensembles have taken her across the United States, Japan and South America. She specializes in historically informed performance practice, singing with ensembles

such as American Bach Soloists, Tempesta di Mare, Les Délices, St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, Magnificat Baroque, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Bach Sinfonia, Piffaro — The Renaissance Wind Band, Trinity Wall Street Choir, Handel Choir of Baltimore, Buxtehude Consort, and the Masterwork Chorus under the direction of conductors including Joshua Rifkin, Bruno Weil, Paul Goodwin, Jeffrey Thomas, John Scott, David Effron, and Andrew Megill. Ms. Rottsolk is also an experienced and versatile performer on the opera stage.

Steven Soph, TenorPraised by the New York Times and Dallas Morning News for his ‘impressive clarity and color’ and “sweetly soaring tenor”, Steven Soph has performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States. Engagements of special note have included Handel’s Dettingen Te Deum with the Cleveland Orchestra under Ton Koop-man, as Evangelist in Bach’s St. John Passion with the Chicago Chorale, Bach cantata arias for Trinity Wall Street’s Bach at One series with Julian Wachner, numerous solo appearances with the Yale Schola

Cantorum and Juilliard 415 under Masaaki Suzuki, and Zadok in Handel’s Solomon with Simon Carrington. Steven is on the rosters of several distinguished organizations and he appears on numerous recordings including Blue Heron’s “Hugh Aston: Three Marian Antiphons.” Steven earned a BA in Music from the University of North Texas and is a 2012 graduate of Yale’s School of Music and Institute of Sacred Music where he studied with renowned tenor, James Taylor.

Mary Wilson, SopranoSoprano Mary Wilson has received critical acclaim for her many per-formances from coast to coast, “She is simply amazing, with a voice that induces goose bumps and a stage presence that is mesmerizing.” (Arizona Daily Star). She has appeared with the Los Angeles Philhar-monic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, St. Louis Sym-phony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, among many others. As a noted interpreter of Baroque repertoire, she has performed with Philharmonia Baroque

Orchestra, Boston Baroque, Musica Angelica, American Bach Soloists, Grand Rapids Bach Festival, Bach Society of St. Louis, Baltimore Handel Choir, Florida Bach Festival, and the Carmel Bach Festival. On the opera stage, she is especially noted for, among others, her portrayals of Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, Susannah in Le Nozze di Figaro, and Gilda in Rigoletto. Ms. Wilson holds performance degrees from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minne-sota, and Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

Board of DirectorsHoward Skinner, President • David Pyle, Secretary/Treasurer • Florian Hild John Parfrey • Michelle Stanley • Michael Thaut • Cynthia Vaughn James Kim, ex officio • Kaitlin Miles, ex officio.

Our PatronsSeason Sponsor: Dr. Donald Park II

Maestro’s Circle ($5,000 and up): Colorado State University, Griffin Foundation,Dr. and Mrs. Howard Skinner.

Guarantors ($2,500 - $4,999): The Fort Fund, Stewart and Sheron Golden

Benefactors ($1,000 - $2,499): Shane and Kaitlin Miles

Patrons ($500 - $999): Alan Clark, Fort Collins Convention and Visitors Bureau,Dr. James Kim, Magnolia Music Studio, Dr. Michael Thaut, Tom Witzel.

Associates ($250 - $499): Armstrong Hotel , Janney C. Darby, Grant and Grace Kim, John and Mary Ann Parfrey, David and Tina Pyle, Teresa Skinner-Berger, Dr. and Mrs. Edwin Smith

Fellows ($100 - $249): Frank and Elizabeth Amigo, Mr. and Mrs. Conrad Faust,Johannes Gessler, Norman and Pam Hagland, Michael Harr, Florian Hild, Dr. and Mrs. Pui Shing Ho, Inkworks, Karen Lampke, Fred and Jean Starr,Ward Swinson, Ken and Marty Tharp.

Friends (to $99): Agnes Benedict, Rogene A. Buchholz, Loretta Darrow, Paul Falk, Robin Hause, Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Koester, R. C. Michael CO., Allen D. Pierson, Mr. and Mrs. Steven Ray, Mary Ann Ranney, Rick Schiller and Sue Ellen Klein, Peter and Mary Shultz, Mary Beth Solano, John and Tracy Stackhouse, John Thompson.

Yours gifts are greatly appreciated. We sincerely apologize for any errors or omissions.

18 | Board of Directors Colorado Bach Festival 2014 Colorado Bach Festival 2014 Our Sponsors | 19

Boulder ChoraleBoulder Chorale Fall Concertwith Boulder Children’s Chorale Bel CantoSunday, October 26, 2014 at 3pmFirst United Methodist Church, Boulder Annual Holiday ConcertBoulder Chorale and Boulder Children’s ChoraleSaturday, December 13, 2014 at 7pmSunday, December 14, 2014 at 4pm First United Methodist Church, Boulder

Canti e DolciSaturday, February 21, 2015 from 5:30 to 7:30 pmVenue TBA

Boulder Chorale March Concertwith Boulder Children’s Chorale Bel CantoSunday, March 8, 2015 at 4pmFirst United Methodist Church, Boulder

Boulder Chorale Spring ConcertFriday, May 8, 2015 at 7:30pmVenue TBASunday, May 10, 2015 at 4pmFirst United Methodist Church, Boulder

Boulder Children’s Chorale Sunday, May 17, 2015 at 4pmBroomfield Auditorium, Broomfield

OULDERHORALE

2014 - 2015 Season

BOULDERCHORALE.ORG 303.554.7692

James Kim, Artistic Director

www.coloradochamberplayers.orgPlease go to our website for information

on the 21st season!

DESIGN

M U S I C S T U D I O

Our Sponsors

ColoradoBachEnsemble.org

Upcoming ConcertsMessiah 2014Denver Thursday, December 18, 7:00 p.m.

Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church, 1980 Dahlia St, Denver, CO 80220

Friday, December 19, 7:00 p.m.

Bethany Lutheran Church, 4500 East Hampden Avenue, Cherry Hills Village, CO 80113

Boulder Saturday, December 20, 7:00 p.m.

First United Methodist Church, 1421 Spruce Street, Boulder, CO 80302

Fort Collins Sunday, December 21, 4:00 p.m.

Griffin Concert Hall, University Center for the Arts, 1400 Remington Street, Fort Collins, CO 80524

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