Fairfield County Chorale Holiday Concert

Join the Fairfield County Chorale in a festive holiday concert! Three joyous works by Bach and Mendelssohn are programmed, along with holiday music, a Chanukah song and Christmas carols you can sing along with. As usual, we have superb young soloists and a fine orchestra, all drawn from the amazing talent available in the Big Apple.

The centerpiece of the concert is Bach’s “Magnificat,” his glorious setting of the ancient and beautiful song of Mary as recorded in the Gospel of Luke. Each of its 10 movements is a unique gem, ranging from quietly reflective solos, a haunting duet, and an intricate and mysterious trio to exuberant and fast-moving pieces for chorus, brilliantly colored with trumpets and tympani. The melodies and textures are unsurpassed in Bach’s music.

A joyous cantata by Bach sets the words to the familiar hymn “Now Thank We All Our God” – “Nun Danket Alle Gott” in German. It begins and ends with “Chorale Fantasias,” fast-moving music for orchestra and the lower voices of the chorale, with the sopranos singing the first and last verses of the hymn, slowly floating above the busy texture below. The middle movement sets the second verse in an intimate duet for bass and soprano.

Like both the cantata and the Magnificat, the third major piece, a setting by Felix Mendelssohn of Psalm 95, “Come Let Us Praise and Kneel Before the Lord,” expresses exaltation and thanksgiving. Despite being a lovely piece, it is seldom performed. Perhaps this is because the last movement switches to a stern admonition not to close our ears or harden our hearts, ending quietly and thoughtfully just where an audience expects triumph and celebration. This is a beautiful work that should be better known.

Closing out the program will be a holiday piece by contemporary composer Thomas Cabiness and a delightful arrangement by our music director of the Chanukah song “I Have a Little Dreidel.” We end with familiar Christmas carols to which audience is invited to sing along, and we close as is our tradition with “Silent Night.”

Performed by the Fairfield County Chorale and Orchestra, with soprano Liane Cobel, mezzo-soprano Kate Maroney, countertenor Gon Halevi, tenor Nils Neubert and baritone Philip Kalmanovitch. Sunday, December 13th 2015, 3:00 PM at the Norwalk Concert Hall, 125 East Avenue, Norwalk.

Buy electronic tickets for this concert, or season tickets for all three of this season’s concerts, at fairfieldcountychorale.org, or call 203-254-1333. Hope to see you there!