Great Barrington — Crescendo Music will present “The Bach Experience — Choral Music for the Spirit” at 4 p.m. on Saturday, December 6, at Saint James Place in Great Barrington, and at 4 p.m. on Sunday, December 7, at Trinity Church in Lakeville, Conn. The program features J.S. Bach’s Christmas Cantata “Sweet Comfort,“ his Mass in G-minor, and a set of double choir motets from the 16th century.
At the heart of Crescendo’s program is J.S. Bach’s Christmas Cantata “Sweet Comfort” (BWV 151). Its opening aria—often cited as one of Bach’s finest lyrical arias—has been praised for its warm, pastoral atmosphere, flowing flute lines, gentle rhythms, and tender, contemplative melody.
Johann Sebastian Bach’s Mass in G-minor is a compact, 20-minute setting of the Kyrie and Gloria that blends somber reflection with bright, energetic choral writing. Likely composed in the late 1730s, it reworks some of Bach’s earlier music into fresh, tightly crafted movements. The opening Kyrie is dark in mood, while the Gloria shifts quickly into livelier, more joyful territory, highlighted by a graceful duet and a final, fast-moving fugue. Though not as famous as Bach’s larger sacred works, the Mass in G-minor is a favorite of chamber choirs and early music groups for its clarity, emotion, and approachable scale.
The musicians for this program are as follows:
- Crescendo Chorus
- Jennifer Tyo — soprano
- Nicholas Tamagna — countertenor
- Pablo Bustos — tenor
- Will Doreza — baritone
- Crescendo Period Instrument Orchestra (Edson Scheid, concertmaster) directed by Christine Gevert
Crescendo Founding Artistic Director Christine Gevert, who holds both German and Chilean nationalities, earned a master’s degree in organ and early music performance in Germany and a degree in music theory in Chile. She has taught in both countries and has appeared widely as an organist, harpsichordist, and conductor. Gevert has performed with and led ensembles such as the Berliner Bachsolisten, Berliner Bachorchester, Leipziger Bachchor, La Giola, L’Arpa Festante, Musica Poetica, Chursaechsische Capelle, Estudio MusicAntigua, and Ars Antiqua Lipsiensis. In Chile, her collaborations include Collegium Josquin, Capella Antiqua, Pentagrama, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Chile, and the Orquesta de Cámara de la Universidad Católica.
Crescendo, based in Lakeville, Conn., is a regional choral and instrumental ensemble that presents programs ranging from Renaissance and Baroque music to contemporary and Latin American works, often performed on period instruments. Founded and directed by Christine Gevert, the ensemble performs primarily in Lakeville and Great Barrington and received the Chorus America/ASCAP Alice Parker Award in 2014.
Hear Crescendo perform “The Bach Experience — Choral Music for the Spirit,” a program of Baroque choral music, at 4 p.m. on Saturday, December 6, at Saint James Place in Great Barrington, and at 4 p.m. on Sunday, December 7, at Trinity Church in Lakeville, Conn. More information and tickets are available here.
