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American Bach Soloists Take off on an Italian Journey ... Right Here

Janos Gereben on July 28, 2016
Former American Bach Society Academy alumni. There will be a new group of young artists participating this year.

J.S. Bach and Italy are not as readily associated in the mind and ears as, say, Handel and England. But there is much to ponder (and enjoy) in that relationship, well beyond his concerto, BWV 971, affectionately known as “The Italian Concerto.”

The works of Albinoni, Caldara, Frescobaldi, Marini, and Vivaldi are more obviously Italian baroque music, and all will be featured prominently in the American Bach Soloists’ 2016 Festival & Academy, Aug. 5–14, in St. Mark’s Lutheran Church and the San Franciso Conservatory of Music. But how does Bach fit into the “Italian” angle? ABS co-founder/artistic and music director Jeffrey Thomas explains:

As a young man, Bach — certainly the greatest genius of the Baroque era — sought as many scores of Italian composers (in particular, Vivaldi) as he could find and transcribed them from one instrumentation to another as a means to unlock the elements of Italian style so that he could integrate those exciting principles into his own compositions.

Eventually, just as Handel learned how to compose Italian opera better than the Italians, Bach learned how to utilize those Italian stylistic elements better than their inventors.

As performers, we love the Italian legacy. We recognize its powerful impact on the music that brings us together. Just as those 18th-century travelers who embarked on their luxurious excursions knew that Italy was the bounteous fount, the alma mater of Western civilization’s culture, modern-day performers relish the chance to immerse themselves in the vastly rich heritage of Baroque Italy.

Concert programs of “An Italian Journey” begin Aug. 5, with works from Handel’s early years in Rome, when he composed music for the Carmelite Vespers services, including Dixit Dominus for chorus and orchestra, and Vivaldi’s Salve Regina and Gloria.

One of most glorious works in all music, Bach’s Mass in B Minor, doesn’t need any link to the theme — ABS will perform it regardless, and undoubtedly to great acclaim, as they have in the past. The Mass, featuring soloists, the American Bach Choir, and the Academy Orchestra, will be heard twice during the festival: on Aug. 7 and Aug. 14.

One of Handel’s rarely performed operatic works, Parnasso in festa, will have its North American premiere on Aug. 11, repeated on the next evening.

On Aug. 13, the Academy Festival Orchestra will present, along with five Vivaldi works, one of Corelli’s 1714 Concerti Grossi, which uses large forces unusual in that period.

The Academy is the educational component of the ABS Summer Bach Festival, offering advanced conservatory-level students and emerging professionals the opportunity to study and perform baroque music in a multidisciplinary learning environment.

Academy participants are featured in two free “Baroque Marathon” concerts, at 3 and 8 p.m. Aug. 8 and on Aug. 9 at 8 p.m., “the next generation of early music virtuosi in works by baroque masters.”

Once again, Jeffrey Thomas is opening up the Conservatory for an abundant daily offering of free events before the still moderately-priced evening concerts. For information about free lectures, workshops, master classes, and numerous daytime activities, see the complete schedule for the festival