St. Luke's to Live-Stream OUTSIDE THE BACHS Concert Preview, 5/8

St. Luke's Explores Music Outside the Bachs at The Morgan Library & Museum and Brooklyn Museum on May 11, May 14, and May 16, 2014. Live-Streamed Preview & Chat Hosted by WQXR's Terrance McKnight to Feature Music by Rameau on May 8, 2014.

New York, NY - It would be an understatement to say that the Bach family helped to define the 17th and 18th century musical landscape. St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble's upcoming series of three concerts at The Morgan Library & Museum and Brooklyn Museum, Outside the Bachs, don't include music by the Bachs themselves, but instead spotlight contemporaries in Baroque Europe-especially those who influenced J.S. Bach, and later, his sons.

Bach greatly admired the popular and influential Italian and French composers of his time, studying Corelli's concerti grossi and Alessandro Scarlatti's cantatas, borrowing fugue subjects and bass lines from Albinoni, transcribing works by Vivaldi, and making frequent use of dance forms mastered by Rameau. Jean-Marie Leclair-the only composer on the program born after J.S. Bach-was renowned for his technical finesse and rich harmonies, and was nicknamed the "French Bach" during his day.

The St. Luke's program begins with Corelli's rarely heard Sonata a Quattro in D Major for Trumpet, Violins, and Basso Continuo, unknown until a complete edition of Corelli's works was published in 1976. One of Rameau's exquisite harpsichord works, Deuxième concert in G Major from Pièces de clavecin en concerts, shows his affinity for lively dance music, and Albinoni's Concerto à cinque in B-flat Major features the trumpet in beautifully lyrical lines. Leclair's Sonata in C Major highlights both his French and Italian training, combining the harpsichord's graceful arpeggiations and bass lines with the violin's bright, virtuosic passages. In Vivaldi's Trio Sonata in D minor, for two violins and harpsichord, a Spanish theme is reimagined in 20 contrasting variations. The program closes with Alessandro Scarlatti's Sinfonia No. 2 in D Major for Flute, Trumpet, Strings, and Continuo, a five-movement work in the style of a concerto grosso.

As a prelude to these concerts, and as part of its OSL@DMC series, Orchestra of St. Luke's will present a Live-Streamed Preview & Chat at The DiMenna Center for Classical Music, featuring St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble and hosted by WQXR's Terrance McKnight. The musicians will perform Rameau's Deuxième concert in G Major from Pièces de clavecin en concerts, and will discuss the music and their interpretation, taking questions from both the live and online audiences.

A limited number of seats are available in the live audience, free by reservation; visit OSLmusic.org/OSLatDMC to RSVP. The live-stream will be accessible the evening of the event at OSLmusic.org/OSLatDMC. Participants may submit questions for the musicians at any time to AskOSL@OSLmusic.org or may post questions via Facebook (Facebook.com/OSLmusic) or Twitter (Twitter.com/OSLmusic) the evening of the event, using the hashtag #OSLatDMC.

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