Shout for Joy

Come usher in the holiday season with the Sebastians as we explore the intersection of the German and Italian styles of the baroque! We start with a concerto grosso by the Milan-born Giuseppe Sammartini, which closes with a pastorale reminiscent of Corelli’s Christmas Concerto. From there, travel with us to Germany. When the Thomaskirche in Leipzig was looking for a new cantor, they first tried to get Telemann, who used the offer as leverage for a higher salary. Graupner was their seconds choice, and only when he couldn’t leave his position in Darmstadt did they settle with J.S. Bach! After Graupner’s quirky Trio Sonata in D major, we head to Leipzig for Bach’s joyous Cantata 51, Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, featuring soprano Katharine Dain and trumpeter Steven Marquardt.

The second half of our program starts with a glorious sonata by the well-traveled Georg Muffat, from his collection Armonico tributo. Muffat spent time in Italy, Austria, and Germany, and his music is a wonderful mix of French dance styles, Italian violin technique, and German structure. Soprano Katharine returns for a small motet by Heinrich Schütz, who studied in Venice. His choice of accompaniment—two violins and continuo—mirrors the most stylish Italian vocal music of the time. We finish with Vivaldi’s “Summer” concerto from The Four Seasons, which you are welcome to see as either an optimistic look forward or wistful look backwards, as the cold sets into NYC!

Dutch-American soprano Katharine Dain performs opera, chamber music, and oratorio throughout Europe and North America. Highlights of current and recent seasons include Konstanze (Mozart Die Entführung aus dem Serail) in the opera houses of Rouen, Avignon, Clermont-Ferrand, Reims, and Massy, Donna Anna (Mozart Don Giovanni) in Ecuador, Hungary, and on tour throughout the Netherlands and Belgium with the Orchestra of the 18th Century, and Cunégonde (Bernstein Candide) in Banff. On the concert platform, Katharine has recently performed works of Dutilleux and Berlioz with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Ryan Bancroft and song cycles of Zemlinsky and Berg under Reinbert de Leeuw in Austria’s Osterfestival; this season she will join longtime collaborators Daniel Reuss and Cappella Amsterdam for the Brahms Requiem as well as the Orchestre d’Auvergne in Mahler’s Fourth Symphony. A musician of unusual intelligence and fearlessness, Katharine is becoming particularly known for her work in 20th- and 21st-century repertoire. In 2020 she will be the featured soloist with the NSO under conductor Manoj Kamps in a touring program of Wagner, Stravinsky, and a newly-commissioned piece written for her by young Dutch composer Rick van Veldhuizen. She has co-founded several chamber groups including Damask Vocal Quartet, whose first album of works by Brahms and contemporaries, O schöne Nacht, garnered universal acclaim in the press and won the French award the Choc de Classica.

Steven Marquardt performs (nearly) exclusively on historical instruments, doubling on Baroque trumpet and natural horn. Based in New York, NY, Steven performs regularly with Apollo’s Fire, Trinity Baroque Orchestra, Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity, and Boston Early Music Festival. Recent appearances as principal trumpet or soloist include Apollo’s Fire, Trinity Baroque Orchestra, Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity, Musica Angelica, Opera Lafayette, Chatham Baroque, Bourbon Baroque, Philadelphia Bach Collegium, Portland Bach Experience, ACRONYM, and Bach Akademie Charlotte. Recent appearances on natural horn include Trinity Baroque Orchestra, Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity, Opera Lafayette, Bach Collegium Philadelphia, Juilliard415, and Boston Early Music Festival. Highlights for the 2019-20 season include performing and recording BWV 51 with Amanda Forsythe and Apollo’s Fire in April 2020, debut performances with Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, and Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 with Apollo’s Fire in July 2020. Steven will again be playing horn and trumpet on Bach’s Mass in B-minor with Spire Chamber Ensemble (Kansas City) and Cantata Collective (Berkeley, CA). Originally hailing from Burnsville, Minnesota, Steven is a graduate of Indiana University (M.M.) and Concordia College-Moorhead (B.M.). He resides in Manhattan with his wife, Marissa.