2019 Bach Festival Archive
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Festival Concerts | Symposium Description/Presenters/Schedule | Prelude Events | Support
2019 Festival Concerts – Archive
Friday, April 12, 2019
4:00 PM: FACULTY CONCERT: Gilles Vonsattel, piano
Bezanson Recital Hall, Fine Arts Center, North Pleasant St., FREE
J.S. Bach: Prelude in C major, BWV 846 from The Well-Tempered Clavier
J.S. Bach: 3 Counterpoints from Art of Fugue, BWV 1080
Mendelssohn: Variations Sérieuses, Op. 54
Shostakovich: Prelude and Fugue in A major, No. 7, Op. 87
Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111
Saturday, April 13, 2019
7:00pm: BACH ST. MATTHEW PASSION, BWV 244
UMass Bach Festival Orchestra and Chorus
Fine Arts Center Concert Hall, UMass Amherst
Andrew Megill, conductor
Tony Thornton, chorus master
with soloists William Hite, evangelist; Paul Max Tipton, Christus; Jamie-Rose Guarrine, soprano; Krista River, mezzo-soprano; Robert Stahley, tenor; John Salvi, baritone
Choirs: UMass Chamber Choir, Illuminati Vocal Arts Ensemble & Hampshire Young People’s Chorus (K.C. Conlan, director)
Michael Beattie, organ continuo; Guy Fishman, cello continuo
$25 general; Free for UMass students with ID; $5 other students/seniors
Tickets: 413-545-2511 or Online
Click for an excellent New York Times review of a recent performance of the St. Matthew Passion, with Tenet Vocal Artists and the Sebastians early music ensemble in NYC.
Sunday, April 14, 2019
11:00 am: BACH COFFEE CANTATA, BWV 211
Informal setting at Amherst Coffee, 28 Amity Street, Amherst, FREE
Vocal soloists Shelley Roberts, soprano; Brendan Buckley, tenor & John Salvi, bass; with Gregory Hayes, harpsichord
Chamber group:
Madeleine Jansen & Celaya Kirchner, violin
Molly Aronson, cello
Emily Kaplan, flute
3:00pm: ALUMNI CANTATA CONCERT
Bezanson Recital Hall, Free
Performance of Cantatas by J.S. Bach:
BWV 42 “Am Abend aber desselbigen Sabbats”
BWV 105 “Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht mit deinem Knecht”
Jeffrey Grossman, continuo/direction
With Maki Matsui, soprano; Liana Gineitis, alto; Eric Perry, tenor & Elijah Blaisdell, bass
Chamber Orchestra:
Madeleine Jansen & Amanda Stenroos, violin
Jonathan Livioco, viola
Wayne Smith, cello
David Casali, bass
Helen Cowles & Catalina Arrubla, oboe
Steve Felix, trumpet
Rémy Taghavi, bassoon
April 2019 Scholarly Symposium – Archive
Bach in the Imaginary Museum and Bach Re-Imagined: Contemporary Perspectives on Performing and Re-Creating Bach
J. S. Bach’s music—widely regarded as a foundation of the “standard repertoire”—is constantly being recycled within contemporary musical culture, ranging from historic recreations and historically informed performances (HIP), to adaptations, arrangements, covers, and new works that are influenced by or inspired by “Bach.” This symposium seeks to bring together scholars (and possibly composers) from diverse perspectives to elucidate the multiple ways that the music of J.S. Bach has been re-imagined from the time of the Mendelssohn Revival to the present.
Topics range from the philosophical to the practical: notions of the work concept and Werktreue; new perspectives on historically informed performance practice; arrangements and adaptations; changing ideas about the role of the performer; Bach in popular music, film music, and jazz; and the influence of Bach in the composition of new works and as a topic in contemporary culture.
2019 Presenters – Archive
Please click on name for Presenter/Panelist biography.
Lydia Goehr, Keynote Speaker
Columbia University
The Work of Music: Situating Bach in a Public Culture of Blasphemy, Devotion, and Resurrection
Abstract
Tekla Babyak
Independent Scholar
The St. Thomas Aquinas of Music: Liszt’s Catholic Image of Bach
Owen Belcher
University of Massachusetts Amherst
J.S. Bach on Exhibit in the Museum of Music Theory
Maureen Carr
Penn State University
(At Stravinsky Fountain, Paris)
Echoes of an Offering: Bach’s Influence on the Creative Process for the “Symphony of Psalms” Fugue
Ellen Exner
New England Conservatory
Friedrich Smend, Friedrich Blume, and the Myth of Mendelssohn’s “Matthew”
Ruth HaCohen
Hebrew University, Jerusalem
A Nietzschean Moment in a Bach’s Passion? – Revisiting “Zerfließe mein Herze”, BWV 245 (35)
Karolina Kolinek
University of California Davis
Bach Rewrite – Marcin Masecki, Wurlitzer Piano and Ontology of Bach’s Music
Peter Kupfer
Southern Methodist University
“Good Hands”: The Music of J.S. Bach in Television Commercials
John Lutterman
University of Anchorage Alaska
Interpreting Bach’s Cello Suites: “Werktreue” vs. “Praxistreue”
Ernest May
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Glenn Gould, “Bach Digital,” “Bach 333,” & YouTube: Bach in the Digital Museum of Musical Performance
Abstract
Emiliano Ricciardi
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Transcribing and Completing “The Art of Fugue”: The Case of Berio’s “Contrapunctus XIX”
Yo Tomita
Queen’s University Belfast
The Bach Printed-Music Database and its Roles in the Reception Study of Bach’s Works
Additional Panelists
Michael Marissen
Swarthmore College
Thomas Cressy
Cornell University
Andrea Moore
Smith College
2019 Symposium Schedule – Archive
Friday, April 12, 2019
7:30-9:00 pm: Panel Discussion: “Intercultural and Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Bach’s St. Matthew Passion“
Fine Arts Center: Bezanson Recital Hall; Free
Moderator: Ernest May (UMass Amherst, pictured)
Lydia Goehr (Columbia University)
Michael Marissen (Swarthmore College)
Ruth HaCohen (Hebrew University, Jerusalem)
Andrea Moore (Smith College)
Yo Tomita (Queen’s University Belfast)
Thomas Cressy (Cornell University)
The Panel Discussion will be live-streamed on Facebook Live, UMassMusicDance
Saturday, April 13, 2019
Paper Sessions and Keynote Address are in Bezanson Recital Hall, N. Pleasant St., Amherst
Cost: $5 Students; $25 General; Free for Presenters/Performers. Accepted: cash or check made out to UMass Amherst
8:30-9:00 am: Morning Refreshments and Registration
Fine Arts Center: Bezanson Recital Hall Lobby
9:00-10:30 am: Paper Session I: Compositional and Theoretical Approaches
Welcome by Roberta Marvin, Chair of the Department of Music and Dance
Session Chair: Roberta Marvin
Owen Belcher — J.S. Bach on Exhibit in the Museum of Music Theory
Emiliano Ricciardi — Transcribing and Completing The Art of Fugue: The Case of Berio’s Contrapunctus XIX
Maureen Carr — Echoes of an Offering: Bach’s Influence on the Creative Process for the Symphony of Psalms fugue
10:45 am-12:15 pm: Paper Session II: Bach on Piano
Session Chair: Mark Rodgers
Erinn Knyt — The Bach-Busoni Goldberg Variations
Karolina Kolinek — Bach Rewrite – Marcin Masecki, Wurlitzer Piano and Ontology of Bach’s Music
Ernest May — Glenn Gould, Bach Digital, Bach 333, and YouTube: Bach in the Digital Museum of Musical Performance
12:15-1:30 pm: Lunch
University Club, 243 Stockbridge Road
Lunch music performance by UMass alumni Lidia Chang, traverso (period flute) & Victoria Suchodolski, harpsichord
1:45-2:45 pm: Keynote Address:
Fine Arts Center: Bezanson Recital Hall
Welcome by Dean Julie Hayes
Lydia Goehr (Columbia University)
The Work of Music: Situating Bach in a Public Culture of Blasphemy, Devotion, and Resurrection
3:00-4:30 pm: Paper Session III: Bach Reception
Session Chair: Ernest May
Yo Tomita — The Bach Printed-Music Database and its Roles in the Reception Study of Bach’s Works
Ellen Exner — Friedrich Smend, Friedrich Blume, and the Myth of Mendelssohn’s “Matthew”
John Lutterman — Interpreting Bach’s Cello Suites: Werktreue vs. Praxistreue
4:45-6:15 pm: Paper Session IV: Religion, Culture, and Bach
Session Chair: Marianna Ritchey
Ruth HaCohen — A Nietzschean Moment in a Bach’s Passion? – Revisiting “Zerfließe mein Herze”, BWV 245 (35)
Tekla Babyak — The St. Thomas Aquinas of Music: Liszt’s Catholic Image of Bach
Peter Kupfer — “Good Hands”: The Music of J.S. Bach in Television Commercials
6:15-6:45 pm: Evening Reception
Fine Arts Center: Bezanson Recital Hall Lobby
2019 Prelude Events
UMass String Studio Bach Concerts
Thurs., December 6, 2018 @ 7:30pm, Bezanson Hall, Free
UMass Violin students perform Sonatas & Partitas of J.S. Bach
Sun., March 31, 2019 @ 7:30pm, Bezanson Hall, Free
UMass Viola & Cello students perform music of J.S. Bach & Telemann
Movements from: J.S. Bach’s Gamba Sonata No. 3, Cello Suites No. 1, 3 & 6, and the complete Telemann Concerto No. 1 for Four Violas
Bach Festival Prelude Lecture Series
Wednesdays at 5pm in Bezanson, Free
March 20: Nicola Courtright, Professor of Art History & Chair of Architectural Studies, Amherst College
Princely and Sacred Spaces in Europe During the Era of Bach
April 10: Joseph Levine, Professor & Chair of the Philosophy Department, UMass Amherst
Enlightenment Philosophers on Mind and Reality: Major Themes
Bach in the Subways
A Global Event around Bach’s birthday, March 21
March 21, 2019, downtown Amherst (FREE)
This year, BitS coincides with “Jamherst” – March 22-23
See the Bach in the Subways – Amherst website for more info
2019 Support
And additional support from:
Stamell Stringed Instruments, Amherst, MA & Poughkeepsie, NY
Northampton Community Music Center, Northampton, MA
Five College Learning in Retirement, Northampton, MA