San Francisco Classical Voice

The California Bach Society under the direction of Warren Stewart performed a concert of Bach's motets Sunday in the church of St. Gregory Nyssen in San Francisco. These well-known works are staples alike of large amateur choral societies and smaller professional early music ensembles such as the California Bach Society.

The six motets show a wide range of Bach's choral techniques from the contrapuntal brilliance of "Lobet den Herrn," which opened the program, to the austere chorale style of "Jesu Meine Freude". Stewart and the chorus negotiated these stylistic changes effortlessly. The choral sound is always tight and intonation and ensemble are excellent. The choir has a light, pure English cathedral sound. A somewhat darker sound, especially from the sopranos and altos, would have lent more weight to these works which, both musically and textually, are packed with emotion.

The choir brought out wonderfully the antiphonal effects of the double motets "Fuerchte dich nicht" and "Komm Jesu, Komm," heard to particular advantage in the church. The unobtrusive yet vital organ accompaniment was provided by Davitt Moroney. My only regret was that there was no opportunity to hear him in a more prominent capacity. On the whole, this was a superb rendition of Bach's miniature masterpieces.

(John Prescott, a Ph.D. candidate in musicology at the University of California, Berkeley, is a writer and lecturer on early music.)

©2001 John Prescott, all rights reserved