PROGRAM

Flute Concerto in D minor, Wq. 22, H. 425
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714–1788)
23'

Jauchzet dem Herrn alle Welt, BWV Anh. 160
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767)
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
11'
            
Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, TWV 8:7
Telemann
11'
    
Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor, BWV 1067
JS Bach
20'30"

Concert Duration:
Approximately 75 minutes plus intermission

MUSICIANS

Emi Ferguson, Flute
Aisslinn Nosky, Violin
Renée Hemsing, Violin
Maureen Murchie, Viola
Guy Fishman, Cello
Heather Miller Lardin, Bass
Ian Watson, Harpsichord

Arwen Myers, Soprano
MaryRuth Miller, Soprano
Nicholas Garza, Countertenor
Laura Atkinson, Alto
Gene Stenger, Tenor
Haitham Haidar, Tenor
Edmund Milly, Bass
Andrew Padgett, Bass

The story of the Baroque flute begins in continental Europe, specifically France, during the 17th century. While earlier forms of transverse flutes existed, it was the French who developed the flute into its Baroque form. The influence of the French court, particularly that of Louis XIV (1638–1715), also played a significant role in the instrument’s rise to prominence. The flute’s popularity spread throughout Europe into the 18th century and became a staple instrument in orchestras and chamber ensembles.

Georg Philipp Telemann, in his capacity as church music director in Hamburg, organized a festival in the city in 1730 to celebrate the bicentenary of the Augsburg Confession, the primary confession of faith of the Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of the Protestant Reformation. In the same year, Telemann composed the motet Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott (A Mighty Fortress Is Our God) as a choral setting of Martin Luther’s famous hymn (composed 1527–1529. Luther wrote the text in four stanzas as a paraphrase of Psalm 46, and the hymn became known as a Kampflied (battle song) of the Reformation

Johann Sebastian Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor is based on an earlier version that he composed in A minor. Most scholars believe that the flute part that appears in the B minor version was originally composed for another instrument (though there is disagreement as to what that instrument might have been). Fortunately, this “final” version uses the flute, which Bach deploys with particular panache in the closing Badinerie, a high-spirited, fast-moving virtuoso flute showstopper.

A pivotal piece in the development of the concerto genre, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s Flute Concerto in D Minor, Wq. 22-1 (H. 484-1) reflects changes in the musical tastes of the day, as the Baroque gave way to the Classical period. Bach composed the piece in 1747 in Berlin while employed at the court of Frederick II, King of Prussia. One of six surviving flute concertos written by Bach during his tenure at court, the Concerto in D minor holds a special place in the flute repertoire for its lyrical and virtuosic passages, its emotional depth and complexity, and the use of the “sensitive style” (Empfindsamkeit) that Bach championed.

Flötenkonzert Friedrichs des Großen in Sanssouci
(Frederick the Great Playing the Flute at Sanssouci)
Date: 1852
Artist: Adolph Menzel

STAATLICHE MUSEEN ZU BERLIN, NATIONALGALERIE

The painting portrays one of the private concerts at which Frederick used to perform as a solo flutist—sometimes with self-composed pieces. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach is depicted at the harpsichord.

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 1 • 3:00 pm
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