Tallahassee Bach Parley "Love and Lamentation"

“Love and Lamentation”
Music by Bach, Handel, Purcell, Buxtehude, and Schmelzer
“Baroque Music on Period Instruments”

“Love and Lamentation” is the theme of the Tallahassee Bach Parley concert on Sunday, January 29. Guest artist Josh Lee will be playing viola da gamba, along with Phyllis Pancella, mezzo-soprano, and the regular Parley band on period style baroque instruments: Valerie Arsenault, Carrie Holden, and Brian Arsenault will play violin; Melissa Brewer, viola; Kim Jones, cello; Melanie Punter on bass, and Charles Brewer on harpsichord.

Love can bring both joy and sorrow, and the music on the concert will explore different feelings on this spectrum. For the light-hearted side of love, the Bach Parley will begin with Purcell’s “Fairy Queen” suite, which is a version of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. For the more despairing side of love, Pancella will sing the famous lament from near the end of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, as well as the dramatic mad scene from Handel’s opera, Hercules, “Where shall I fly?” For sacred treatment of the theme of “Love and Lamentation,” Pancella will sing the breathtaking aria, Erbarme dich (Have mercy) from Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with music director Valerie Arsenault on solo violin, and Buxtehude’s joyful Jubilate Deo (Rejoice in the Lord) with Josh Lee on viola da gamba.

The Tallahassee Bach Parley brings the music of Baroque-era composers like J. S. Bach to life. Performing on period-style instruments, the Bach Parley offers unique, exceptional concert experiences to educate and engage our community. The French word “parley” means discussion and Music Director Valerie Arsenault will talk with the audience between the pieces to discuss historical context about the composers and to offer suggestions about what to listen for in the music.

“The Bach Parley musicians use instruments that the composers and performers had when this music was written – we can captures a sound that people in the 18th century would recognize today,” says Arsenault. The music of the Baroque period was originally composed for more intimate chambers and smaller audiences. The acoustics at St. John’s beautifully capture the complexity and resonance of the Bach Parley’s period style instruments.

Three additional concerts are planned for the rest of the Bach Parley concert season, plus a collaboration with the Tallahassee Community Chorus and the annual Bach Parley “Kids Go for B’roque” concert in the spring. At all Tallahassee Bach Parley concerts this season, patrons will receive an insert in their programs with a discount coupon to use after the concert at participating Downtown restaurants.

For additional information about the Tallahassee Bach Parley, including the Bach Parley String Academy music school, visit www.tallahasseebachparley.org.

Enjoy the music, the venue, and the magic of Baroque performance!