Philharmonia Baroque Returns to Bach for Xmas

Some readers may recall that last year Music Director Richard Egarr took a particularly ambitious approach to the “holiday spirit” by preparing and leading the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale (PBO) in a program entitled Six Centuries of Christmas. This year PBO will “narrow the window,” so to speak, with a program of more limited scope, given the simple title A Bach Christmas. There will be only three selections, framed by two of Johann Sebastian Bach’s cantatas, BWV 62 (Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland) and BWV 147a, an early version of BWV 147 (Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben). BWV 147a may be a recent discovery, since both its current Wikipedia page and the Bach Cantata Page, provided by the University of Alberta, agree that the music for the text is missing, while the BWV 147 version is one of Bach’s more popular cantatas. It is best known for the concluding chorale whose music is often known by the familiar title "Jesus, joy of man’s desiring.” (The German version of this text does not appear in the BWV 147a libretto.)

The two Bach selections will frame two compositions by his contemporary, Christoph Graupner. The first of these will be the GWV 1138/11 cantata Reiner Geist, lass doch mein Herz. This will be followed by the GWV 445 instrumental overture in F major.

Conductor Ruben Valenzuela on the banner for the PBO Web page for A Bach Christmas

The vocal soloists for this program will be soprano Sherezade Panthaki, mezzo Mindy Ella Chu, tenor Michael Jones, and bass-baritone Joel Chapman. The Philharmonia Chorale will be led by its director, Valérie Sainte-Agathe. The ensemble will be directed by Ruben Valenzuela, the next candidate for the position of Music Director. As usual, the performance will take place in Herbst Theater, located at 401 Van Ness Avenue on the southwest corner of McAllister Street. The performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 12. Ticket prices range from $40 to $132. They may be purchased through a City Box Office Web page, which includes a diagram showing where seats are still available.