My Heart is Filled with Longing: German Cantatas and Sinfonias for Holy Week
Works by Erlebach, Rosenmüller, J. Christoph Bach, Schmelzer, J. Fischer
WATCH THE CONCERT VIDEO HERE
ARTEK will play 17th century sacred music appropriate for the solemn time of Holy Week. Featured singer is countertenor Ryland Angel, accompanied by a string ensemble. The music includes cantatas by Philipp Heinrich Erlebach, Kapellmeister in Thuringia, whose massive output of operas, cantatas, chamber music and more was largely destroyed by fire after his death; and Johann Christoph Bach, the first cousin once removed of J.S. Bach and the most noted member of the Bach family before Johann Sebastian’s success. The final piece on the program is an instrumental version of the famous Passion hymn, Herzlich Thut mich verlangen (My heart is filled with longing) by Johann Fischer, a rarely-heard composer whose musical career took him to positions in no less than nine different locations, including Paris at an early age where he was a scribe for Jean-Baptiste Lully; and to Lüneburg briefly in 1700, at a time when J.S. Bach was also in Lüneburg.
Gwendolyn Toth ~ organ & director
Ryland Angel ~ countertenor
Theresa Salomon ~ violin
Chiara Fasani Stauffer, violin
Peter Kupfer ~ viola
Dan McCarthy ~ viola
Arnie Tanimoto ~ cello
Motomi Igarashi ~ violone
Adam Cockerham ~ theorbo
ARTEK, founded by director Gwendolyn Toth in 1986, features America’s finest singers and instrumentalists in performances of 17th and 18th century repertoire from Italy and Germany. ARTEK concerts are known for their exciting, dramatic performances of Baroque music, with compelling musical settings of beautiful poetry and infectious dance rhythms that infuse the performances with vitality and spirit. In addition to acclaimed performances of I’ll Never See the Stars Again, highlights of past seasons include standing-ovation performances to sell-out crowds at the Regensburg (Germany) Tage Alter Musik Festival (1998 and 2003) and debut performances at the prestigious Boston Early Music Festival (2003) and the Berkeley Early Music Festival (2010). ARTEK toured internationally from 1997 to 2002 with the Mark Morris Dance Group, visiting major venues in the United Kingdom, Italy, and Canada as well as more than 50 of America’s premier theaters. ARTEK’s recordings of Monteverdi’s Orfeo and other early Italian repertoire have been widely praised; the ensemble released its most recent recording, Monteverdi’s Madrigals, Book VII in fall 2020.
1:15 – 2:00 pm
All concerts are free; no tickets or reservations are necessary.
SPECIAL HOLY WEEK LOCATION: In person at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 122 East 88th Street (at Lexington Avenue), New York City
Live stream details: You can watch it on your computer in any of two places by clicking on the name you wish: our website or YouTube.