BETHLEHEM, Pa. — For the first time ever, the Bach Choir of Bethlehem will release a live album of Felix Mendelssohn’s composed works.
The recording — a CD, actually — arrives months before the choir kicks off its 116th Bach Festival in May.
The live recording, a performance of Mendelssohn’s rendition of Bach’s "St. Matthew Passion," will be available for purchase as a CD and on streaming apps beginning Friday, March 22.
New edition
The live recording will feature music from the choir's concert held at historic Packer Memorial Chapel at Lehigh University last Nov. 4.
Composer Malcolm Bruno, a well-known classical music editor, conducted research for the project five years ago.
Bruno's findings allowed him to create a new score of Mendelssohn's version originally published in 1829, the choir said.
Recently, his new score of the edition was published by Bärenreiter, a renowned classical music publisher.
“The opportunity to premiere and record this scholarly edition of Mendelssohn’s version of Bach’s iconic work is perfectly suited to The Bach Choir and continues our legacy of premiering significant Bach-centric works in the United States since 1900," said Leela Breithaupt, the choir's executive director.
The concert/recording was conducted by Christoper Jackson and features 94 volunteer choir singers and 35 orchestra musicians.
The recording will be available on Spotify and Amazon Music.
“The opportunity to premiere and record this scholarly edition of Mendelssohn’s version of Bach’s iconic work is perfectly suited to The Bach Choir and continues our legacy of premiering significant Bach-centric works in the United States since 1900."Leela Breithaupt, Bach Choir of Bethlehem executive director
Festival dates
The 116th Bethlehem Bach Festival, which marks the finale of the choir's 125th anniversary celebrations, will take place on May 10-11 and May 17-18.
The concerts will be held at Packer Memorial Chapel and Zoellner Arts Center, and at Peter Hall at Moravian University.
The performance will feature artist-in-residence Vincent Lauzer, who will join the choir for renditions of "Komm," "Jesu," "Brandenburg Concerto No. 4," and the "Goldberg Variations."
Lauzer is a recorder player and artistic director of the Lamèque International Baroque Music Festival and co-artistic director of the Montreal Baroque Festival.
In addition to the annual performance of Bach’s "Mass in B Minor," the festival will also offer the Ifor Jones Chamber Music Concert, Bach at 4 and the Chamber Music in the Saal concerts.
For attendees who can't make it in person, there will be a livestream of the beloved "Mass in B Minor," on Saturday, May 11.
For info or to buy tickets, visit the Bach Choir website.
