All Six Bach Motets Across Two Days and Two States

May 30 and 31 | Great Barrington, MA and Lakeville, CT

Crescendo, the regional choral ensemble based in Lakeville and directed by Christine Gevert, performs all six of J.S. Bach's surviving motets across two consecutive afternoon concerts this weekend. Three on Saturday at Saint James Place in Great Barrington, three on Sunday at Trinity Lime Rock in Lakeville, with one repeated at both performances. Discounted tickets are available for attending both.

acording to the program, Bach's motets BWV 225 through 230 are considered among the pinnacles of the choral repertoire, each with a distinct emotional character. "Sing to the Lord a New Song" is bright and celebratory; "The Spirit Helps Our Weakness" is formal and majestic; "Jesus, My Joy" is the most emotionally complex, moving through grief, comfort, and faith in a long, carefully structured work.

They were not composed as a set but performed together over two afternoons they give a full picture of what Bach was capable of in vocal writing.

The 22-voice Crescendo Vocal Ensemble is joined by basso continuo player Guinevere Fridley, with Gevert directing from the organ. Gevert holds both German and Chilean citizenship and studied organ and early music performance in Germany; her programming across Crescendo's season regularly moves between Baroque repertoire and Latin American folk and chamber music, which sets the ensemble apart from most regional choral groups. Crescendo received the Chorus America/ASCAP Alice Parker Award in 2014.

Saturday: Saint James Place, 352 Main St., Great Barrington, MA. Sunday: Trinity Lime Rock, 484 Lime Rock Rd., Lakeville, CT. Tickets at crescendomusic.org.