Welcome to the 103rd season of the Bach Elgar Choir! I am delighted to announce an exciting season of choral music making. The season will include a broad variety of works from the 18th and 19th centuries, and three of the four concerts will include our splendid Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra.
Our season opens with a great Romantic masterpiece, the Mass in A flat by Franz Schubert. This magnificent choral work explores the full range of colour and emotion that typify Schubert's Vienna of the 1820s. The concert includes another work also composed in Vienna - Beethoven's Choral Fantasy, a joyous, life-affirming outburst for choir, orchestra and piano soloist.
In December we continue our long-standing tradition of presenting Handel's Messiah. This perennial favourite is the perfect way to usher in the festive season. Following last year's rapturously received performance, you will want to be sure to order your tickets early!
A choral novelty awaits us in February. It's the Petite Messe Solennelle by the great Italian opera composer of the 19th century, Gioacchino Rossini. He wrote this rollicking tuneful work (which, incidentally, is neither petite nor solemn) towards the end of his life. Because it was intended for a private salon performance in Paris, there is no orchestra; rather, it calls for piano and harmonium accompaniment! Our esteemed accompanist Imre Olah and the brilliant young Canadian/Ukrainian pianist Olena Klyucharova will play the keyboard instruments.
Our season concludes in May with Franz Joseph Haydn's towering masterpiece, The Creation. This oratorio is a sublime musical setting of the Genesis account of the creation of the world. Ever since its first public performance in Vienna in 1799, the work has held a special place in the affections of music lovers around the world. An amalgam of gorgeous melodies, lush harmonies, bold orchestration, lusty humour, and profound Enlightenment philosophy results in a timeless work of genius. The splendid Bach Elgar Choir joins forces with 3 distinguished soloists and the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra for a truly memorable season finale - an event not to be missed!
I look forward to seeing you next season!
Howard Dyck, CM