The second of our selections from Bach’s Christmas Oratorio features the opening four movements of Part V. We hope that you’ve had a wonderful holiday season and wish you a very happy 2023!

Recorded at Music Center at Strathmore, North Bethesda, MD

Washington Bach Consort
Dr. Dana T. Marsh, Artistic Director

Soprano
Elijah McCormack, soloist
Katelyn Grace Jackson
Amy Nicole Broadbent
Sara MacKimmie
Margot Rood
Kate Vetter Cain

Alto
Kristen Dubenion Smith, soloist
Hannah Baslee
Sarah Davis Issaelkhoury
Derek Greten-Harrison
Barbara Hollinshead
Sylvia Leith

Tenor
Jacob Perry, Jr.,
soloist & Evangelist
David Evans
Patrick Kilbride
Matthew Loyal Smith
Oliver Mercer
Robert Petillo
Andrew Sauvageau

Bass
Enrico Lagasca, soloist
Joshua Brown
Karl Hempel
Ian Pomerantz
Gilbert Spencer
Jason Widney

Violin I
Andrew Fouts
Natalie Rose Kress
Leslie Nero
Freya Creech

Violin II
Tatiana Chulochnikova
Gail Hernández Rosa
Caroline Levy
Annie Loud

Viola
Daniel Elyar
Marika Holmqvist
Scott McCormick

Violoncello
John Moran
Wade Davis

Violone
Jessica Powell Eig
Motomi Igarashi

Flute
Colin St-Martin
Kathryn Roth

Oboe
Geoffrey Burgess
Margaret Owens
Fatma Daglar
Sarah Schilling

Bassoon
Anna Marsh

Trumpet
Josh Cohen
David Puckhoff
Dennis Anthony Ferry

Timpani
Michelle Humphreys

Harpsichord
Adam Pearl

Organ
Leon Schelhase

The Washington Bach Consort wishes a joyous and Merry Christmas to all who celebrate! Our musical offering from the recent program, Orpheus Britannicus, is not a Christmas carol or an anthem about the Nativity. However, the text of Henry Purcell’s “O sing unto the Lord” is Psalm 96—which is liturgically assigned to Christmas Eve. This captivating work was one of seven commissioned in 1687/88 by the Rev’d John Gostling, renowned basso profundo colleague of Purcell’s in the Chapel Royal. This performance features the Bach Consort and Jonathon Adams (bass), with Amy Broadbent (soprano), Clifton Massey (countertenor), and Matthew Loyal Smith (tenor). Dana Marsh conducts.

Recorded at National Presbyterian Church, Washington, DC

Washington Bach Consort
Dr. Dana T. Marsh, Artistic Director

SOPRANO
Amy Nicole Broadbent, soloist
Julie Bosworth
Jaely Chamberlain Turner
Alicia DePaolo
Susan Lewis Kavinski
Sara MacKimmie
Margot Rood

ALTO
Clifton Massey, soloist
Hannah Baslee
Kristen Dubenion-Smith
Barbara Hollinshead
Sylvia Leith
P. Lucy McVeigh

TENOR
Matthew Loyal Smith, soloist
Ryan C. Connelly
David Evans
Patrick Kilbride
Jacob Perry, Jr.
Jason Rylander

BASS
Jonathon Adams, soloist
Jason Widney, soloist
Joshua Brown
Ian Pomerantz
David Rugger
Ross Tamaccio

VIOLIN I
Andrew Fouts, concertmaster
Marika Holmqvist
Gail Hernández Rosa
Natalie Kress

VIOLIN II
Tatiana Chulochnikova
Marlisa del Cid Woods
Leslie Nero
Freya Creech

VIOLA
Risa Browder
Scott McCormick
Isaiah Chapman

BASS VIOLIN
John Moran
Wade Davis
Alexa Haynes-Pilon

VIOLON
Jessica Powell Eig

OBOE & RECORDER
Geoffrey Burgess
Margaret Owens

TRUMPET
Josh Cohen
Jason Dovel

TIMPANI
Michelle Humphreys

HARPSICHORD & ORGAN
Paula Maust

LUTE & THEORBO
William Simms

Here is an excerpt from a rarely performed work by Henry Purcell, “My Heart is Inditing,” (Z.30), first performed in Westminster Abbey for the coronation of King James II in 1685. The work evinces some of Purcell’s very finest string writing (played by the English Court’s strings, modeled on the French Vingt-Quatre Violins du Roi), also including some of the composer’s most beautiful writing for vocal ensemble. The piece also marks the first performance of this particular coronation text at such an occasion. An exquisite piece—we hope you enjoy the excerpt! Stay tuned—a new video yet to come for St. Cecilia’s Day, November 22!

Recorded at National Presbyterian Church, Washington, DC

Washington Bach Consort
Dr. Dana T. Marsh, Artistic Director

SOPRANO
Amy Nicole Broadbent, soloist
Julie Bosworth
Jaely Chamberlain Turner
Alicia DePaolo
Susan Lewis Kavinski
Sara MacKimmie
Margot Rood

ALTO
Clifton Massey, soloist
Hannah Baslee
Kristen Dubenion-Smith
Barbara Hollinshead
Sylvia Leith
P. Lucy McVeigh

TENOR
Matthew Loyal Smith, soloist
Ryan C. Connelly
David Evans
Patrick Kilbride
Jacob Perry, Jr.
Jason Rylander

BASS
Jonathon Adams, soloist
Jason Widney, soloist
Joshua Brown
Ian Pomerantz
David Rugger
Ross Tamaccio

VIOLIN I
Andrew Fouts, concertmaster
Marika Holmqvist
Gail Hernández Rosa
Natalie Kress

VIOLIN II
Tatiana Chulochnikova
Marlisa del Cid Woods
Leslie Nero
Freya Creech

VIOLA
Risa Browder
Scott McCormick
Isaiah Chapman

BASS VIOLIN
John Moran
Wade Davis
Alexa Haynes-Pilon

VIOLON
Jessica Powell Eig

OBOE & RECORDER
Geoffrey Burgess
Margaret Owens

TRUMPET
Josh Cohen
Jason Dovel

TIMPANI
Michelle Humphreys

HARPSICHORD & ORGAN
Paula Maust

LUTE & THEORBO
William Simms

Devotion & Contemplation
Membra Jesu nostri, BuxWV 75
Thursday, May 20, 2021 at 8 p.m. on YouTube
Recorded at The Franciscan Monastery

Dieterich Buxtehude (c.1637/39–1707)
Membra Jesu nostri, BuxWV 75

The North German composer Dieterich Buxtehude (c.1637/39–1707) was held in such high reverence by the 20-year-old Johann Sebastian Bach that he walked 250 miles from Arnstadt to Lübeck to hear the great organist/composer. Membra Jesu nostri is an exquisite cycle of seven short cantatas, each a contemplation of a different part of the body of Christ. Derived from a thirteenth-century poem, the work evinces a vast spectrum of divinely inspired emotion and introspective beauty.

Read the Program Notes

Vocalists:
Margot Rood & Sara MacKimmie, sopranos; Reginald Mobley, countertenor; Jacob Perry, Jr., tenor; Jonathan Woody, bass

Instrumentalists:
Julie Andrijeski & David McCormick, violins; Amy Domingues, John Moran, Leslie Nero & Niccolo Seligmann, violas da gamba; Jessica Powell Eig, viola da gamba & violone; Adam Pearl, organ