The Bach Society offers two Vespers in November, featuring music of Bach and other composers in a liturgical context.
Both services will be held at 5:00 p.m. at Christ the King Lutheran Church 2353 Rice Boulevard (corner Greenbriar). There is no admission charge; a free-will offering will be received.
At Bach Vespers on November 11, the Bach Choir and Orchestra will present Bach’s cantata Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis, BWV 21, the same work heard at the Bach Society’s first Vespers twenty-five years ago in November 1982. The cantata was written in Bach’s early years in Weimar and reflects the more intimate performing forces in use there; a small ensemble of singers from the Bach Choir will be accompanied by members of the Bach Orchestra on period intruments along with soloists Tracy Rhodus, Eduardo Lopez de Casas, Zachary Wilder, and Ryan Villaverde.
Organ Vespers on November 18 will feature German organist Sebastian Knebel playing works of Bach and Buxtehude. Knebel, who is currently serving as guest organist at Christ the King Church, studied in Dresden, Essen, and Weimar and is now based in Dresden, playing harpsichord and organ with many period-instrument ensembles in Germany and the Czech Republic, and working for the restoration and preservation of historical organs in Saxony and elsewhere.