Ensemble PHOENIX - J.S.Bach: A praise to God from Zion

Intro

jerusalem from the mount of olives Frederic Edwin Church

Some of the most beautiful and moving arias were written by Johann Sebastian Bach for the alto voice.

Alon Harari and PHOENIX will present a collection of those, taken from the cantatas as well as from St. John and St. Matthew Passions.

The program is completed by two magnificent trio-sonatas by the great master.

Alon Harari countertenor
Rachel Ringelstein baroque violin
Myrna Herzog viola da gamba & musical direction
Marina Minkin harpsichord

On the program

Negev

The programs takes its title from the aria Gott, man lobet dich in der Stille zu Zion from Cantata BWV 120, on the text of Psalm 65:1: “God, You are praised in the stillness of Zion, and vows to You shall be fulfilled.”

It gathers arias for countertenor from some of the most beautiful Bach cantatas and his Passions, presented in a chamber version. The texts express the Christian devout’s faith in Jesus, in whom “the seed of all people is blessed and redeemed”(Cantata BWV200); they describe “the night of sorrow” preceding the crucifixion (St. John’s Passion), “weep bitterly with heart and eyes and ask for mercy” (St. Matthew Passion), admonish “an unblemished conscience of clear faith and goodness [that] makes us beautiful before God and mankind”(Cantata BWV24) and long for “sweet peace and quiet rest” in the world to come (Cantata 82).

The program is complemented by two trio-sonatas: BWV 1028, for viola da gamba and obbligato harpsichord, and BWV 1019 for violin and obbligato harpsichord.

The performers Alon Harari, Rachel Ringelstein, Marina Minkin and Myrna Herzog are among Israel’s finest musicians in the early music field.