Sydney Philharmonia Choirs Announces Easter Saturday Concert

Over the past nine years, since 2013, Sydney Philharmonia's Choirs' Easter Saturday Bach concerts have become a much-loved Easter-tide tradition in Sydney. These annual Bach performances have also been critically acclaimed for their mastery of some of the most vocally demanding choral compositions ever written.

Throughout the global pandemic the Choirs have worked hard to continue sharing Bach's work: pivoting to a digital live-stream performance of an extract of St John Passion when live concerts were put on hold in 2020; and in 2021 presenting a reimagining of the entire work - interwoven with new compositions from contemporary Australian composers Joe Twist and Brooke Shelly.

On Easter Saturday in 2022, Sydney Philharmonia's Choirs present a one-off performance of Bach's monumental Mass in B Minor in the majestic acoustics of Sydney Town Hall, where the opulence its stunning Baroque orchestration can truly be enjoyed.

Composed at the pinnacle of Bach's career, this much-lauded example of 18th Century sacred music weaves moments of choral grandeur with intimate solo arias. Heroic in scope - with almost every singer and instrumentalist having a solo part to play, the Mass in B minor calls for virtuoso voices and colourful orchestration, including rarely heard Baroque trumpets, Corno di Caccia and timpani.

For Conductor Elizabeth Scott, recently appointed to the new position of Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' Associate Music Director, this is an especially exciting concert performance.

Growing up in musical household, Scott says she has always had a love for Bach, but it was during her time studying with Professor Thomas Pfeiffer at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Stuttgart in southern Germany, surrounded by and immersed in the history and music of the country, that this was solidified.

"The German culture values music, and particularly Bach's music, incredibly highly; it is a part of every community", Scott comments. "Every church in Germany can afford to employ its own Kapellmeister, and each of the churches regularly program performances of Bach's cantatas and passions. There is such a demand for choral singers there - both choirs and soloists."

"During my three years in Stuttgart I performed the soprano solos in St Matthew's Passion and St John's Passion many times. I truly loved singing Bach - with the complexity and instrumental style of the vocal lines, and it was here that I discovered that my vocal specialty was Baroque music."

Although she has performed Bach many times - in Australian, Germany and Norway, Scott says she has never previously sung or conducted his Mass in B minor.

"This is the culmination of Bach's life's work, in which he took pieces that he had written decades before and combined them with new movements. It is an incredible masterwork, containing the best music from the best composer to ever have lived," she comments.

"Everything that Bach wrote was so carefully thought out and planned: the keys he chose, the colours of the specific instruments in the specific ranges that he used are all integral to the performance.

"The opportunity to perform the Mass in B Minor with a Baroque orchestra featuring specially trained players on period instruments from the era, sets this concert experience apart. It is incredibly special to be able to share such an authentic experience - just as Bach would have expected to hear it - with our audience, on the other side of the world, almost 300 years after the work was written.

The Mass in B minor will be performed by Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' acclaimed Chamber Singers and VOX young adult choir, joined by four of Australia's finest Baroque soloists: soprano Celeste Lazarenko, mezzo-soprano Anna Dowsley, tenor Jonathan Abernethy and baritone Simon Lobelson.

A champion of young upcoming choristers, Scott says that VOX will bring a special energy and dynamic to the performance. "Learning this piece is a huge challenge for them - it is musically complex, and not their usual repertoire, but I am determined to ensure that the next generation of choral singers develop a passion, respect and understanding for Bach's incredible music."

Book now for Bach: Mass in B Minor, one concert only, 3pm Easter Saturday April 16 at Sydney Town Hall. sydneyphilharmonia.com.au/concerts/2022season/bachmassb/.

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