Miller Theatre to Continue Early Music Series with Vox Luminis in THE BACH DYNASTY

Miller Theatre at Columbia University School of the Arts continues its Early Music series with THE BACH DYNASTY, featuring the Belgian vocal group Vox Luminis on Saturday, February 13, 2016 at 8:00 p.m. at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin (145 W. 46th Street).

Miller Theatre's "essential" (The New Yorker) Early Music series has been lauded as a leader in the scene. This year Miller welcomes back four established masters of period performance-The Tallis Scholars, Orlando Consort, Le Poème Harmonique, New York Polyphony-and is thrilled to present Vox Luminis from Belgium in their Miller debut. The result is an eclectic and fascinating tour of the musical riches of the pre-Classical era.

The Belgian vocal ensemble Vox Luminis-acclaimed for their "profound, rewarding, and intoxicating" (Gramophone) performances-makes their series debut with motets from one of music's most illustrious families. Over the generations, the Bach family set the standard for German Lutheran church music: rich, warm, and powerful, the work fits its transcendent subject matter. Culminating in J.S. Bach's dramatic Jesu meine Freude, this program lets the splendid works of Johann's predecessors (and cousins) ring out.

From Miller Theatre Executive Director Melissa Smey: "I look forward to welcoming Vox Luminis to our Early Music series for the first time. They are fantastic singers, and this program will be an especially interesting one for audiences-an opportunity to hear music from generations of the Bach family, side by side."

Tickets: $30-$45; Students with valid ID: $7-$27. Visit www.millertheatre.com/events/the-bach-dynasty for more information.

REPERTOIRE:
Johann Bach (1604-1673): Unser Leben ist ein Schatten
Johann Bach: Sei nun wieder zufrieden
Johann Michael Bach (1648-1694): Ich weiss dass mein Erlöser lebt
Johann Michael Bach: Sei, Lieber Tag, willkommen
Johann Michael Bach: Halt, was du hast
Johann Christoph Bach (1642-1703): Der Mensch, vom Weibe geboren
Johann Christoph Bach: Lieber Herr Gott, wecke uns auf
Johann Christoph Bach: Fürchte dich nicht
Johann Ludwig Bach (1677-1731): Das Blut Jesu Christe
Johann Ludwig Bach: Das ist meine Freude
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750): Jesu meine Freude

PERFORMERS:
Zsuzsanna Toth, soprano
Maria Valdmaa, soprano
Stefanie True, soprano
Caroline Weynants, soprano
Jan Kullmann, countertenor
Barnabas Hegyi, countertenor
Robert Buckland, tenor
Olivier Berten, tenor
Philippe Froeliger, tenor
Lionel Meunier, bass and artistic direction
Sebastian Myrus, bass

Continuo:
Jorge Lopez Escribano, keyboard
Ricardo Rodriguez Miranda, viola da gamba

Vox Luminis (www.voxluminis.com) - Vox Luminis, founded in 2004 in Namur, Belgium, is an ensemble specializing in the performance of 16th-18th century vocal music.

The ensemble has been praised for its seamless blend of high quality individual voices, exquisite tuning, and clarity of sound. Critics have also commented on the ensemble's enthusiasm in sharing its passion for early music with an audience. The majority of the group met at one of the most significant centers for early music in Europe: the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. Vox Luminis has performed in festivals and venues across Europe. The ensemble records exclusively for the Belgian label, Ricercar. Their first CD, released at the end of 2007, features four vocal works by Domenico Scarlatti, including his famous 10-part Stabat Mater. In May 2010, the ensemble released its second album,Samuel Scheidt: Sacrae Cantiones, which features several world premieres. Their interpretation of Heinrich Schütz's Musicalische Exequien (2011) has received several prestigious awards such as the Gramophone Recording of the Year, the Baroque VocalGramophone Award, and the International Classical Music Award. Their most recent recording, Johann, Johann Christoph, Johann Michael Bach: Complete Motets (2015) is the first complete recording of the motets by Johann Sebastian Bach's ancestors.

Other recordings have also received many awards throughout the world, includingGramophone's Editor's Choice, Diapason d'Or, Choc de Classica, Muse d'Or Baroque, Preis der Deutschen Schallplatten Kritik, Joker de Crescendo, and Prix Caecilia.