One reason I remembered Singing the Golden State (see item above) is that the San Francisco Bach Choir is plugging the exhibit by way of calling attention to its next concerts, "Songs of San Francisco: From Gold Rush to Golden Gate (1830s to 1940s)." It's a long way from Bach to Frisco, but on May 18 and 19, that Bach singers will channel the spirit of Luisa Tetrazzini in historic Calvary Presbyterian Church.
The San Francisco Bach Choir will recreate Tetrazzini's famous performance at Lotta's Fountain in 1910, in which she sang "Last Rose of Summer," and then, together with the people of San Francisco, sang "Auld Lang Syne." The concert audience will be invited to sing with the performers, reprising that historic event at a venue that has special significance, because the church was an important center for community meetings immediately following the Great Quake.
With Corey Jamason at the piano, and featuring soprano Gina Morgano, tenor Brian Thorsett, and a choir of Bay Area youth, in addition to the S.F. Bach singers, the plan is to present "a musical valentine to the city we love, from old Mexican-American folksongs, to songs depicting the Gold Rush era, the devastation of the 1906 earthquake and fire, celebrating the city's resurgence during the 1915 Panama Pacific Exhibition and the exuberance of the 1920s, to Cole Porter tunes of the 1930s."
The Gold Rush era will be evoked by songs of optimism, songs describing the difficulties of getting here, including the peril of sea travel ("I Don't Want to Be Drowned," 1862), the opening of the Pacific Railroad ("Clear the Way," 1856), and the subsequent difficulties and disillusionment of mining life ("I'm Sad and Lonely Here").
The announcement doesn't say, but there is sure to be some rhythmic-melodic pickup after the mining dirge, not to mention the heart-rending "The Fall of San Francisco" and "The Stricken City."