Repertoire: pre-1983

Here's the last post on repertoire/programs with various ensembles. It includes my time at Mt. Holyoke College (I'll have to fill out the repertoire here sometime), the first years with the Pacific NW Bach Festival, and the seven years with Seattle Pro Musica (which I founded). I started Pro Musica with a chamber choir, then in the second year started a group (instrumental and vocal) devoted to performing Bach cantatas once a month. I was inspired to do this after watching Helmuth Rilling do a Kantate-Fest at the Gedächtniskirche in Stuttgart in the fall of 1971. After working with the instrumentalists of the Bach Ensemble and for choral/orchestral works with the Pro Musica Singers, we also did a chamber orchestra the last three years. This was a terrific experience and I did 71 different programs in the 7 years I conducting that ensemble.

I haven't included 10 years of being a church musician as well, which did include a lot of repertoire--2 years at a small Lutheran Church (I did my first Bach cantata there: Christlag in Todesbanden) and 8 years at University United Methodist Temple.

1980-1983

From 1980-1983 I taught at Mt. Holyoke College in Massachusetts—two of those years I conducted the all-Freshman class Concert Choir, in the middle year took the upperclass Glee Club while Cathy Melhorn was on sabbatical—with these groups I did a wide variety of repertoire for women’s voices, including a concert of premieres by composers from the Northeast chapter of the American Society of University Composers—in addition, I conducted several Bach cantatas on a series at the University Chapel, plus works in combination with men’s choruses from other universities (Columbia, University of Virginia, Wooster Polytechnic), including Haydn’s Nelson Mass, Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy, and Orff’s Carmina Burana)

Pacific NW Bach Festival (Spokane), period instruments

This festival took place in Spokane, WA, run by David Dutton (baroque oboe) and Beverly Biggs (harpsichord)--a combination of local musicians and imports took part in this festival, which I conducted from the very first one through seven years (my touring schedule at PLU, in January, finally meant I had to leave the festival). Concertmasters included Stanley Ritchie, Elizabeth Blumenstock, Daniel Stepner, and others. Janet See, a fabulous baroque flute player who later was John Elliott Gardner's flutist in London, was also part of the festival from the beginning. There were a variety of soloists, but particularly Max Van Egmont, the noted Dutch baritone, from the second year of the festival, and Nancy Zylstra, soprano. Getting to conduct Max in Bach's Ich habe genug was a special memory. The chorus was all local. A great experience each January for seven years.

1983

Cantata #212 Peasant Cantata........... J.S. Bach

Cantata #49 Ich geh’ und suche mit Verlangen

Motet #1 Singet dem Herrn

Cantata #213 Lasst uns sorgen, lasst uns wachen

La Fête du Soleil (scene from the Second Act of Les Indes Galantes)........... Rameau

1982

Cantata #202 Wedding Cantata........... J.S. Bach

Cantata #8 Liebster Gott, wann werd’ ich sterben

Magnificat........... C.P.E. Bach

Opera: Pimpinone, or The Unequal Marriage........... Telemann

Ballet Music from Hippolyte et Aricie........... Rameau

1981

Cantata #152 Tritt auf die Glaubensbahn........... J.S. Bach

Motet #6 Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden

Missa Brevis in F

1980

Cantata #158 Der Friede sei mit dir........... J.S. Bach

Cantata #32 Liebster Jesu, mein Verlangen

Cantata #208 Hunting Cantata

1979

Cantata #40 Dazu is erschienen der Sohn Gottes........... J.S. Bach

Cantata #80 Ein Feste Burg

Cantata #212 Peasant Cantata

(a very young Thomas Hampson was baritone soloist for these concerts)

1973-1980—Seattle Pro Musica

From 1973-1980 I was Artistic Director/Conductor for the Seattle Pro Musica ensembles: Pro Musica Singers (1973-80), Bach Ensemble (1974-80), and Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra (1977-80). In those seven years I conducted 71 different programs, with repertoire including:

C. P. E.  Bach              Magnificat

J. S.  Bach                   Motets: Jesu, meine Freude;  Singet dem Herrn; Lobet den Herrn

                                    Christmas Oratorio

                                    Easter Oratorio

                                    Magnificat

                                    Mass in B Minor

                                    St. John Passion

                                    St. Matthew Passion

                                    41 Cantatas (nos. 1, 8, 11, 12, 16, 20,  26, 32, 33, 39, 40, 41, 43, 46, 66, 70, 75, 76, 78, 80, 82, 93, 95, 105, 106, 112, 127, 129, 143, 146, 147, 148, 149, 158, 172, 182, 196, 199, 208, 212, 213)

Bartok                         Romanian Folk Dances for Chamber Orchestra

Beethoven                  Symphony no.1

Brahms                       Motets, Op. 29

Britten                        Choral Dances from "Gloriana"

                                    Rejoice in the Lamb

                                    Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings

                                    Simple Symphony

Byrd                            Mass for Four Voices

Carissimi                    Jepthe

Debussy                     Trois Chansons

Elgar                           Serenade for Strings

Handel                        Dixit Dominus

                                    Messiah

Haydn                         Part-Songs for Four Voices and Piano

                                    Harmoniemesse

                                    Cello Concerto in C Major

Monteverdi                Vespers of 1610

Mozart                        Mass in C Minor

                                    Requiem

                                    Piano Concerto in  D Minor, K. 466

                                    Symphony #29 in A

                                    Symphony #40 in g

Poulenc                       Christmas Motets

                                    Un Soir de Neige

                                    Deux Marches et un Intermede

Purcell                        Come, Ye Sons of Art

Ravel                           Trois Chansons

Rossini                        String Sonatas # 3 and 6

Schubert                     Symphony #5

Sibelius                       Romanza in C, for Strings

Tippett                        Magnificat

Vaughan Williams     Flos Campi (for Viola solo, chorus and chamber orchestra)

Wolf                            Sechs Geistliche Lieder

                                     Italian Serenade (Viola solo and strings)