The Dryden Ensemble Presents Organist Jacob Street In An All-Bach Organ Recital

The Dryden Ensemble will present organist Jacob Street in an all-Bach organ recital on Saturday, November 10 at 7:30 p.m. at Miller Chapel, located on the campus of Princeton Theological Seminary, 64 Mercer Street, Princeton, New Jersey. Tickets are $25 for general admission and free to students with an ID. They may be purchased at the door or online at http://www.drydenensemble.org.

The program opens with one of Bach's early works for organ, the exuberant Prelude and Fugue in C Major, BWV 531, followed by Partita 'Ach, was soll ich Sünder machen,' BWV 770, a set of ten variations dating from his time in Arnstadt, where he began his career as organist at the age of eighteen. At the heart of the program is the Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 582, which many consider to be Bach's greatest work for keyboard. The composer Robert Schumann once described the variations in the Passacaglia as "intertwined so ingeniously that one can never cease to be amazed." The Trio Sonata in E Minor, BWV 528, is essentially chamber music for one person, in which the three parts are played by the right hand, the left hand and the feet respectively. The concert closes with Contrapunctus 11, a triple fugue in four voices from Bach's monumental work, The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080.

Organist and harpsichordist Jake Street performs extensively throughout the United States as a solo recitalist and continuo player. Jake is a graduate of Holy Cross College, Oberlin Conservatory, and Yale University. He has studied organ with Olivier Latry, Arvid Gast, and Thomas Murray, and harpsichord with Webb Wiggins, Michael Fuerst, and Arthur Haas. From 2013-14 he lived in Lübeck, Germany as a Fulbright Scholar, studying on the many historical instruments there and giving recitals throughout northern Germany.

Jake has been a prizewinner in multiple competitions, including Prize for the Interpretation of French Music in Biarritz, France; Second Prize in the International Buxtehude Organ Competition in Lübeck, Germany; and the Prix de la ville d'Angers in the Jean-Louis Florentz International Organ Competition. He has performed in solo recitals across Europe and the United States, most recently in Lübeck and in Strasbourg, France. As a church musician, Jake has served as Organ Scholar at Trinity Church Copley Square, Boston, and currently serves as Director of Music at St. Paul's on the Green, Norwalk, Connecticut.

The Dryden Ensemble's 2018-2019 season continues on January 19 and 20 the group will present Queen Christina Goes to Rome, a theatrical program with two acclaimed actors. The season will conclude on April 6 and 7 with Musica Stravagante, featuring glorious music for oboe and strings by Albinoni, Vivaldi, Biber, Bach, and others.

Photo: Jacob Street, organist