Greg Funfgeld, organ Artistic Director & Conductor

Second Tuesdays

Next Bach Together Tuesday, October 13, 2020

Recorded LIVE!

Watch the concerts on our YouTube channel or facebook page

September 15, 2020 – PROGRAM

– Interview with Elizabeth Field & Uri Wassertzug –

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)Duo No. 2 in B-Flat Major, KV 424

Adagio-Allegro

Andante cantabile

Thema & Variazioni: Andante grazioso-

Allegretto-Allegro

– Elizabeth Field, violin & Uri Wassertzug, viola

– Introduction to Cantata 51 –

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)Cantata 51 – Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen!– Sherezade Panthaki, soprano; Rob Skoniczin, trumpet

Elizabeth Field & Linda Kistler, violins; Uri Wassertzug, viola;

Loretta O’Sullivan, cello; Stephen Groat, bass

The September Bach at Noon is supported in part by a generous endowment gift from Katherine S. Merle-Smith Thomas and is named in her honor.

Soloists Sherezade Panthaki, sopranoElizabeth Field, violinUri Wassertzug, viola Robert Skoniczin, trumpet

BACH t gether

A Gift of Music & Spiritual Refreshment

BACH at NOON Bethlehem 2020-2021

Johann Sebastian Bach | Cantata 51 – Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen!

Texts & TranslationsGerman translation by H. Ellis Finger

1. Aria (Soprano)

Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen!Was der Himmel und die Weltan Geschöpfen in sich hält,müssen dessen Ruhm erhöhen,und wir wollen unserm Gottgleichfalls jetzt ein Opfer bringen,dass er uns in Kreuz und Notallezeit hat beigestanden.

2. Recitative (Soprano)

Wir beten zu dem Tempel an,da Gottes Ehre wohnet,da dessen Treu,so täglich neu,mit lauter Segen lohnet.Wir preisen, was er an uns hat getan.Muss gleich der schwache Mund von seinen Wundern lallen,so kann ein schlechtes Lob ihm dennoch wohlgefallen.

3. Aria (Soprano)

Höchster, mache deine Güteferner alle Morgen neu. So soll für die Vatertreu auch ein dankbares Gemüte durch ein frommes Leben weisen, dass wir deine Kinder heissen.

4. Chorale (Soprano)

Sei Lob und Preis mit EhrenGott Vater, Sohn, heiligem Geist!Der woll in uns vermehren,was er uns aus Gnaden verheisst,dass wir ihm fest vertrauen,gänzlich uns lass’n auf ihn,von Herzen auf ihn bauen,dass uns’r Herz, Mut und Sinnihm festiglich anhangen;drauf singen wir zur Stund:Amen, wir werdn’s erlangen,glaub’n wir aus Herzensgrund.

5. Aria (Soprano)

Alleluja!

Rejoice in God throughout the lands!All creatures that fill heaven and earth must raise high his fame,and we likewise shall delight in bringing offerings to our God, for he has constantly stood by us in times of suffering and need.

We raise our prayers to the templewhere God’s honor resides,where his faithfulness,made new each day,rewards with pure blessings.We praise those things he has done for us.Though our feeble tongue must stammer at his wonders,even meager praise can be pleasing to him.

Most High, make new your goodnessin all our coming days. Thus unto our Father’s faithfulness our grateful conscience also shall show, through our virtuous lives,that we are called your children.

May glory and praise with honorbe unto God the Father, Son, Holy Spirit!May he gladly magnify in uswhat he has promised through grace,so that we trust firmly in him,wholly giving ourselves over to him,and relying on him from within our hearts,so that our heart, will, and mindcling to him with all their might;therefore we now sing:Amen, we shall prevail,through faith from the depths of our hearts.

Alleluia!

Soloists

Other chamber music appearances and affiliations have

included the New Zealand Festival of Chamber Music,

Mozart in Monterey, the Foulger International Music Festival,

the Empyrean Ensemble, the Sun Quartet, and the Beau Soir

Ensemble. Mr. Wassertzug is on the faculty of George Washing-

ton University. His own studies were at the University of Mary-

land, the Aspen Music Festival (on a fellowship), and the San

Francisco Conservatory of Music (awarded the Germaine Pre-

vost Scholarship). Some of his teachers included the members

of the Guarneri Quartet, Isadore Tinkleman, and Robert Becker.

An aficionado of coffee, Mr. Wassertzug has been roasting his

own coffee beans for several years. He lives in Virginia with his

wife, violinist Elizabeth Field, and their son.

Robert Skoniczin, Trumpet, has combined a love for teaching

music at all levels and performing in a variety of settings,

including classical, commercial, jazz, and touring Broadway

shows. Robert has backed various star attractions such as

Aretha Franklin, Martina McBride, Anne Murray, Pete Fountain,

Marvin Hamlisch, Mannheim Steamroller, and The Who. He can

be heard on several recordings including Manhattan Transfer’s

DVD The Christmas Concert, Reanimations and Shadowcatcher

with the West Chester University Wind Ensemble, The Quest

for Adventure with Tromba Mundi, American Anthems with

the Gramercy Brass Orchestra, and numerous spots for NFL

Films. Maintaining a busy playing schedule, he often performs

with the Delaware, Allentown, and Reading Symphonies;

Opera Philadelphia and OperaDelaware; Pennsylvania Ballet;

Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia; Ocean City Pops; and

Liberty Wind Symphony. In December 2019, Robert made his

debut as principal trumpet with the Bach Festival Orchestra,

showcasing his piccolo trumpet virtuosity on arguably some

of the most famous and challenging trumpet works in the

repertoire. Robert is on staff at the Wells School of Music at

West Chester University (WCU) and performs with Kryos Brass,

the WCU faculty brass quintet. He is Associate Conductor

with Bravo Brass, the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra’s Brass

Ensemble program, designed to further the musicianship of

advanced middle and high school brass players in the region.

In 2015, Robert made his Carnegie Hall debut performing

with Tromba Mundi, unveiling three new works for trumpet

ensemble: Birds of Paradise by Erik Morales, Swashbuckler by

Andrés Soto and The Quest for Adventure by Bertrand Moren.

He has worked closely with the International Trumpet Guild

since co-hosting the Conference in 2014 and now serves as

the Conference Volunteer Coordinator. His principal teachers

have included Vince Penzarella of the New York Philharmonic

and Christopher Tranchitella of the Kennedy Center Opera

House Orchestra. Robert is a member of the National Band

Association, the International Trumpet Guild, Phi Beta Kappa

and is a performing artist for S.E. Shires trumpets.

Sherezade Panthaki, Soprano, has had international success in

music of the Baroque and beyond, fueled by superbly honed musi-

cianship; “astonishing coloratura with radiant top notes” (Cal-gary Herald); “a full, luxuriously toned upper range” (Los Angeles Times), and passionately informed interpretations, “mining deep

emotion from the subtle shaping of the lines” (New York Times).

Ms. Panthaki enjoys ongoing collaborations with many of the

world’s leading interpreters including Nicholas McGegan and Ma-

saaki Suzuki. This season marks return appearances with Philhar-

monia Baroque Orchestra, Bach Collegium Japan, and Tafelmusik

Baroque Orchestra, as well as new engagements with the Min-

nesota Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and Musica

Angelica (Los Angeles). Ms. Panthaki has ongoing national and

international solo appearances in various programs throughout

the year with the New York City-based Parthenia Viol Consort.

Elizabeth Field, Violin, enjoys an active career as a chamber

musician and soloist on period and modern violin. Elizabeth

is the concertmaster for the Bach Festival Orchestra and has

served as a guest concertmaster for numerous ensembles

including the Washington Bach Consort, Opera Philadelphia,

The National Philharmonic, Opera Lafayette, Charleston

Baroque Society and the Spire Ensemble in Kansas City. Field

performs regularly with her chamber ensembles, The Vivaldi

Project, The Eisenstadt Trio (with fortepianist Andrew Willis)

and ArcoVoce and is a frequent guest artist with the Mallarme

Chamber Ensemble and La Fiocco. Field holds a Doctorate in

Historical Performance Practice from Cornell University and is

the Founder and Co-Director (along with cellist Stephanie Vial)

of The Vivaldi Project and its educational arm, the Institute for

Early Music on Modern Instruments (EMMI). As a team, Field

and Vial have served as performance-practice coaches for

numerous universities and music schools including The Curtis

Institute of Music, The Longy School of Music, Blair and Belmont

Schools of Music in Nashville, and the Boston Conservatory of

Music. Ms Field also performed and recorded extensively for

Deutsche Gramophone with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and

performed regularly with leading New York ensembles including

the St. Luke's Ensemble, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, American

Composers Orchestra, the Solisti Chamber Orchestra and the

New York City Opera. Dr. Field was the violin professor at

California State University in Sacramento and at the University

of California, Davis for several years before moving to D.C.

with her husband Uri Wassertzug, who joined the Washington

National Opera Orchestra. She is currently an Associate Professor

of violin at George Washington University.

Uri Wassertzug, Viola, has performed professionally in many

locations around the world including Alaska, California, and

Utah in the U.S. as well as the UK, Italy, Japan, and New Zea-

land. Since 1998 he has been a member of the Kennedy Center

Opera House/Washington National Opera Orchestra as well as

Idaho’s Sun Valley Summer Symphony. He has also performed

with the San Francisco Opera and Symphony, the National

Symphony, the Sacramento Symphony, the Cabrillo Festival, and

the California Symphony, among many others. Mr. Wassertzug

is a member of the National Chamber Ensemble and appears

frequently on the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Concerts series.

The Bach Choir of Bethlehem

THE OLDEST AMERICAN BACH CHOIR, The Bach Choir of Bethlehem gave the first complete American performances of Bach’s

Mass in B Minor in 1900 and Christmas Oratorio in 1901. Since its founding in 1898, the now-famous Choir has been attracting thousands

of visitors from across the United States and beyond to the annual Bethlehem Bach Festival in Pennsylvania. Since 1983, under Greg Funfgeld’s

direction, the 85 dedicated volunteer singers of The Bach Choir of Bethlehem, performing with the Bach Festival Orchestra and distin-

guished soloists, have received international acclaim. Programming has expanded to 40 concerts and educational programs per year

for an audience of more than 22,000. Venues have included the Herkulessaal at Munich’s Royal Residence and the Thomaskirche, Bach’s

church in Leipzig, as part of the 1995 Germany tour; The Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall as part of The Choir’s Centennial Celebration in

1998–2000; the BBC Proms in London’s Royal Albert Hall as part of an eight-concert tour of the United Kingdom in 2003; and Severance

Hall, Cleveland, for the 75th anniversary of the Baldwin-Wallace Bach Festival in 2007. In September 2011, The Bach Choir represented

the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in a 10th anniversary musical observance of 9/11 in New York City, giving concerts in Saint Paul’s

Chapel and Trinity Church, Wall Street. In 2013, The Choir performed Mendelssohn’s Elijah at Strathmore in the Washington D.C. area,

and in 2014, the new opera Young Meister Bach for the 250th anniversary of the German Society of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. In June

2021, The Bach Choir will be featured in a performance in the Thomaskirche, as part of Leipzig’s famous Bachfest, with additional concerts

in Dresden, Herrnhut, and Prague.

The Choir has released 11 recordings on the Dorian and Analekta labels including most recently Bach’s Cantata 21 (2018), Handel’s Ode

for Saint Cecilia’s Day (2018), A Child’s Christmas in Bethlehem (2013), and Saint John Passion (2012). The Choir has been featured

on National Public Radio’s Performance Today and Prairie Home Companion, Deutsche Radio, the BBC World Service, CBS Sunday

Morning, and the Emmy award-winning PBS documentary on The Choir, Make a Joyful Noise. It has been recognized for its outstanding

educational outreach programs (Bach at Noon, Bach to School, and interdisciplinary Family Concerts) by annual awards from the

National Endowment for the Arts (2011–2019). The J.S. Bach Foundation in Switzerland named The Bach Choir of Bethlehem as the

first American recipient of its annual award to a single Bach organization, recognizingThe Bach Choir’s outstanding work in Bach

performance and education for young people (2012). Mr. Bach Comes to Call, a film based on the acclaimed Classical Kids CD, was

co-produced by The Bach Choir of Bethlehem and is distributed internationally by the Children’s Group. In July 2018, our affiliated

Bel Canto Youth Chorus, currently celebrating its 27th year under the direction of founder Joy Hirokawa, officially merged with The

Bach Choir of Bethlehem. Both organizations are looking to increase their impact in training the next generation of choral singers and

cultivating a life-long passion for the choral arts. For more information visit The Bach Choir’s website – BACH.org.

Concerts presented VIRTUALLY on YouTube and Facebook!

BACH at NOONTuesday, October 13

BACH t gether

All new concerts, presented virtually – recorded live at Central Moravian Church.

Join us on YouTube and Facebook!

Vaughan Williams

Bach Sonata in C Major, BWV 1033 – Robin Kani, fluteTenor Arias from Cantata 7 and the Christmas Oratorio – Lawrence Jones, tenor

Merciless Beauty for Tenor and String Trio – setting poetry by Geoffrey Chaucer

A Season of Grace

Bach at Noon • Second Tuesdays 12:10–1pm Central Moravian Church • Historic Downtown Bethlehem, PA Fall concerts presented virtually online; no audience present. 2020 – September 15, October 13, November 102021 – January 12, February 9, March 9, April 13

St. John’s Lutheran Church • Downtown Allentown, PA 2021 - June 8, July 13, August 10

Virtual Christmas Concert • Opening Up Our Hearts – Music and Inspiration of ChristmasFeaturing members of The Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Bach Festival Orchestra and The Bel Canto Youth ChorusSunday, December 13, 2020 at 4pm • Details to follow

Greg Funfgeld Family Concert • Including Benjamin Britten – Young Person's Guide to the OrchestraSunday, February 28, 2021 at 3 pm • Zoellner Arts Center

Choral Workshop & Performance • Bel Canto Youth Chorus March, 2020

Spring Concert • Duruflé – Requiem and Handel – Messiah, Part TwoSunday, March 21, 2021 at 4:00 pm • First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem

Spring Concert • Bel Canto Youth ChorusSaturday, May 1, 2021

113th Bethlehem Bach Festival May 14-15 & May 21-22, 2021

Gifts & Abundance

2020–2021 SEASON

BACH.org

ENCORE!! REPLAY!! BACH

t gether

Due to Covid 19, the Gala event with Yo-Yo Ma scheduled for October 16 is in the process of being re-scheduled, with a new date to be announced.

GALA EVENT UPDATE

Sonata in C Major, BWV 1033 – Robin Kani, fluteTenor Arias from Cantata 7 and the Christmas Oratorio – Lawrence Jones, tenor

Merciless Beauty for Tenor and String Trio – setting poetry by Geoffrey Chaucer

All our virtual concerts are posted on our YouTube channel and Facebook page. Watch and enjoy them anytime!

The Central Moravian Church

The Moravian Church had its origin in the pre-Reformation awakening under John Hus.

The Unitas Fratrum (Unity of the Brethren) was organized in 1457. Because much of its

early history is centered in Moravia, the Unity is known formally as the Moravian Church,

and recognized as the oldest organized Protestant denomination in the world. The Moravian

Church places much emphasis on mission, music, and education. It was J. Fred Wolle,

organist of Central Moravian Church in Bethlehem, who founded The Bach Choir of

Bethlehem in 1898 and conducted The Choir in the first performance of Bach’s Mass in

B Minor in America here at Central Church in 1900. Central Moravian Church continues

to have a flourishing music program presented by its resident music ensembles and

visiting artists, under the leadership of Director of Music and Organist, Rebecca Lepore.

In addition to five Central Moravian Church music CDs including An Old Fashioned Moravian

Music Christmas – an organ recording featuring Rebecca Lepore, and Christmas Eve at

Central Moravian Church, a recently published 256-page book entitled Praise and

Thanksgiving: 275 Years of Music at Central Moravian Church is available at the Moravian

Book Shop.

Special thanks to:

Central Moravian Church,

especially Rt. Rev. Hopeton Clennon,

Rev. Dr. Lynnette Delbridge, and

Rebecca Lepore, Director of Music

John C. Baker, audio engineer Bill George, videographer

The Guarantors of The Bach Choir for their continuing support.

Free-will offerings to help support Bach at Noon.

Please donate online at BACH.org or send your contribution to:

The Bach Choir of Bethlehem

440 Heckewelder Place • Bethlehem, PA 18018

610-866-4382 | BACH.org

Bach at Noon 2020–2021 Bethlehem Schedule

For further information about The Bach Choir of Bethlehem:

• Visit Bach.org for upcoming concert and ticket information, to join our mailing list or to order CDs and other Bach Choir merchandise.

• Consider becoming a Guarantor with The Choir: learn more at the website or by calling 610-866-4382 extension 113

• Follow us on facebook and twitter

The Bach Choir of Bethlehem gratefully acknowledges our

Bach at Noon corporate & foundation sponsors.

Jephson Educational Trust

Keystone Savings Foundation

Presser Foundation

Bach at Noon BroadcastBach at Noon concerts will be broadcast on WWFM, a long-time media sponsor. This year’s broadcasts are made possible by the generous support of John L. and Carol Daniel, Edith Lauderdale, Arthur Mead Martin and Anthony R. Thompson and Vickie Ziegler Thompson. Watch for broadcast dates on our website.

2020 2021September 15 January 12

October 13 February 9

November 10 March 9

April 13

Bach at Noon Together Allentown 2021: June 8 July 13 August 10

The Bach Choir is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts

and The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts