American Bach Soloists in December, 2022

Last year saw the return of “business as usual” for performances presented by American Bach Soloists (ABS) during the month of December. This included two complete performances of George Frideric Handel’s HWV 56 oratorio Messiah at Grace Cathedral, preceded by a Baroque Christmas program, also at Grace, and followed by a Baroque New Year’s Eve concert at Herbst Theatre. This will again be the plan for next month; and, as in the past, all performances will be conducted by Artistic Director Jeffrey Thomas.

For this year’s performance of HWV 56, the ABS instrumentalists and the American Bach Choir will again be joined by four vocal soloists: soprano Maya Kherani, countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, tenor James Reese, and bass-baritone Christian Purcell. These performances will both begin at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 15, and Friday, December 16. Grace Cathedral is located at the top of Nob Hill at 1100 California Street, between Taylor Street and Jones Street. Ticket prices for both concerts range between $25 and $125. All tickets may be purchased through a single ABS Web page powered by Tix.

As was the case last year, the Baroque Christmas program will include an abridged performance of HWV 56, beginning with Part I (the Christmas portion) and will conclude with the “Hallelujah” chorus at the end of Part II. Between these two selections there will be three instrumental offerings. The first of these will be the last of the 12 sinfonie collected in Giuseppe Valentini’s Opus 1. This particular composition was given the title “Sinfonia a tre per il santissimo Natale.” This will be followed by the “Concerto Pastorale” by Johann Christoph Pez. The final selection will be a movement from a vocal motet by Marc-Antoine Charpentier entitled In nativitatem Domini Nostri Jesu Christi canticum (catalog number H. 414). The movement to be performed is the second, which is entitled “Suite de la Nuit.” This performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, December 14. Ticket prices again range between $25 and $125 and may be purchased through the same ABS Web page.

Soprano Liv Redpath and Bass Alex Rosen (from the ABS event page)

The Baroque New Year’s Eve concert will again be a program of arias, duets, and instrumental music from the Baroque opera repertoire. As was the case last year, the vocalists will be soprano Liv Redpath and bass Alex Rosen. Handel will again be the featured composer with selections from Giulio Cesare (HWV 17), Radamisto (HWV 12), Semele (HWV 58), and Ezio (HWV 29). The other composers on the program will be Jean-Philippe Rameau (Hippolyte et Aricie) and Antonio Vivaldi (La fida ninfa).

This performance will begin at 4 p.m. on Friday, December 31, and last for about two hours (leaving plenty of time to ring in the New Year). The performance will be held in Herbst Theatre, which is located on the southwest corner of Van Ness Avenue and McAllister Street. Ticket prices again range between $25 and $125. However, these are being sold through a City Box Office Web page.