Conductor Daniel Price reveres German composer Johann Sebastian Bach as one of the greats.
The ChoralSong founder links Bach’s contributions to music to those of Shakespeare’s to writing, or Michelangelo’s to art.
“When you first approach a work by Shakespeare or Michelangelo, you have an initial impression of beauty and of grace, but then the more you study it, you find layer upon layer of attention to detail and beauty in areas that might have been unexpected, and it just amazes you,” Price said. “The more you study it, the more your appreciation for it grows.”
Colorado Springs’ ChoralSong choir and orchestra will celebrate the works of Bach at “Bachfest!” on Saturday. The concert will cover an array of pieces from the Baroque composer and will feature guest soloists Jamal Sarikoki (baritone), Deborah Anderson (soprano) and David Price (tenor).
Musicians and vocalists at the show will tackle a handful of complete works from Bach, including motet “Lobet den Herrn” and cantata “Wachet Auf.” The performance will start with the opening movement of the “Magnificat,” and will also feature a sampling of movements from “Ein Feste Burg” and “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.” When creating the program, Daniel wanted to show the different sides to Bach’s repertoire, from more complex works to his lighter, beautiful melodies.
“If you’re going to dedicate an entire concert to one composer, it needs to be someone like Bach,” Daniel said. “Everything he wrote ended up being a model of how that form should be used. … He was able to do it in a way where everything was balanced and worked together to make a fabulous piece.”
The ChoralSong choir is embarking on its second season after debuting last year. Daniel founded the choir to provide more artistic opportunities as Colorado Springs continues to grow. The goal: perform a wide variety of music of the highest caliber, he said.
Whether a Bach aficionado or new to his music, Daniel hopes the audience can fully enjoy the selected works live.
“I have something in mind for people on both ends of the spectrum,” he said. “They will be able to hear some works done by him in a way that it would have been done in Bach’s time, with an orchestra that Bach would have used, and they will be able to truly appreciate Bach.”
