Discovery Series

Exploring Great Artistry and Great Music


Bravura Bach

February 3 – 6 2023

Bravura Bach

TELEMANN Sinfonia Spirituoso in D Major
VIVALDI Laudate pueri
BACH Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major
BACH  Concerto in D Minor for Harpsichord
VIVALDI  Bassoon Concerto in B-flat Major “La notte”
BACH  Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, Cantata 51

Hélène Brunet, soprano
Gabriel Benton, harpsichord
Steven Marquardt, trumpet
Nate Helgeson, bassoon
Jeffrey Thomas, conductor

When & Where

Friday February 3 2023 8:00 p.m.
St. Stephen's Church, 3 Bayview Avenue, Belvedere

Saturday February 4 2023 7:00 p.m. • NEW VENUE
St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 2300 Bancroft Way, Berkeley

Sunday February 5 2023 4:00 p.m.
St. Mark's Church, 1111 O'Farrell Street, San Francisco

Monday February 6 2023 7:00 p.m.
Davis Community Church, 412 C Street, Davis

The program will last approximately 1 hour & 50 minutes including one intermission.

About the Music

Among Bach's musicians were some of the greatest virtuosi in Germany. His trumpeters were legendary, and he directed performances by some of the finest court orchestras. "Bravura Bach" celebrates the artistry of the American Bach Soloists as they perform an eclectic sampling of some of Bach's most challenging compositions. The impetuous Harpsichord Concerto in D Minor, the third Brandenburg Concerto — which requires 11 superlative performers — and the brilliant vocal and trumpet fireworks of "Jauchzet Gott" celebrate Bach at his best! More magic is in store with two works by Vivaldi: "Laudate pueri" and an atmospheric concerto for bassoon titled "La Notte." Telemann's Sinfonia Spirituoso will have its first performances by ABS.

Jude Ziliak

ABS violinist Jude Ziliak
presents Pre-concert "Insights" beginning
45 minutes before each concert time.


A Musical Feast

March 10 – 13 2023

A Musical Feast

MUFFAT  "A Splendid Wedding" (Splendidae Nuptiae)
TELEMANN  Tafelmusik: Ouverture, Suite, and Conclusion in E Minor
VIVALDI  "The Goldfinch" Concerto for Flute in D Major (Il gardellino)
BACH  "Musical Offering" Trio Sonata in C Minor
GREENE  Overture in E Major

Sandra Miller, flute

Bethanne Walker, flute
Elizabeth Blumenstock, violin
Gretchen Claassen, violoncello
Corey Jamason, harpsichord
Jeffrey Thomas, conductor

When & Where

Friday March 10 2023 8:00 p.m.
St. Stephen's Church, 3 Bayview Avenue, Belvedere

Saturday March 11 2023 7:00 p.m. • NEW VENUE
St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 2300 Bancroft Way, Berkeley

Sunday March 12 2023 4:00 p.m.

St. Mark's Church, 1111 O'Farrell Street, San Francisco

Monday March 13 2023 7:00 p.m.

Davis Community Church, 412 C Street, Davis

The program will last approximately 2 hours including one intermission.

About the Music

Happy festivity is the theme of this program that features a short ballet titled "A Splendid Wedding," written by Georg Muffat to introduce his musicians to the sounds of Versailles, and Telemann's "Table Music" composed for a banquet.

The central focal point of this program reflects Bach’s explorations into the most up-to-date styles of his era, coming to monumental fruition in his last works including the Trio Sonata from “The Musical Offering,” inspired by a short melodic theme that was given to Bach by Frederick the Great.

The mellifluous flauto traverso is brought front and center in Vivaldi's celebration of a singing goldfinch, and a truly charming overture by Maurice Greene — a composer who held all major musical appointments in England and was a founder of the original Academy of Ancient Music — features a pair of dulcet flutes.

Steven Lehning

ABS bassist Steven Lehning
presents Pre-concert "Insights" beginning
45 minutes before each concert time.


Harmonious Love

May 5 – 8 2023

Harmonious Love

HANDEL  Apollo & Dafne
RAMEAU  Pygmalion

Mary Wilson, soprano
Amy Broadbent, soprano
Morgan Balfour, soprano
Matthew Hill, tenor
Hadleigh Adams, baritone
Jeffrey Thomas, conductor

When & Where

Friday May 5 2023 8:00 p.m.
St. Stephen's Church, 3 Bayview Avenue, Belvedere

Saturday May 6 2023 7:00 p.m. • NEW VENUE
St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 2300 Bancroft Way, Berkeley

Sunday May 7 2023 4:00 p.m.

St. Mark's Church, 1111 O'Farrell Street, San Francisco

Monday May 8 2023 7:00 p.m.

Davis Community Church, 412 C Street, Davis

The program will last approximately 2 hours including one intermission.

About the Music

Handel’s cantata Apollo & Dafne was written in Venice when he was just 24 years old. It tells the story of Apollo’s vanity as he suggests that even Cupid’s bow is no match for his own. Challenging Apollo’s boastfulness, Cupid shoots his arrows and Apollo falls prey to rapturous yearnings for Dafne. She spurns his advances and, in a desperate effort to escape, is transformed into a laurel tree.

Love brings life to a statue in Rameau's Pygmalion. The protagonist sculptor has carved a beautiful marble figure and has fallen desperately in love with his inanimate work of art. He faithfully entreats Venus to turn his handiwork into a breathing, captivating, and singing creature. Love inspires a miracle and triumphs over longing.

Corey Jamason

ABS harpsichordist Corey Jamason
presents Pre-concert "Insights" beginning
45 minutes before each concert time.


Address

182 Howard Street, #536
San Francisco, CA 94105

Contacts

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Phone: +1 (415) 621 7900 
Fax: +1 (415) 621 7920