Christ Church Cathedral, Vancouver
Bach Motets: Vanish! Spirits of Gloom
Works by: J.S. Bach, Johann Bach, Johann Christoph Bach, Johann Michael Bach, Johann Ludwig Bach
Artists: Hana Blažíková & Sherezade Panthaki, sopranos; Nicholas Burns and Emma Parkinson, altos; Charles Daniels & Haitham Haidar, tenors; Drew Santini & Jonathon Adams, basses; with special guests Shruti Ramani (voice) and Alon Sariel (oud), directed by Alexander Weimann
Our vocal soloists for the Monteverdi Vespers unite again in this programme of motets by J.S. Bach and his predecessors. Woven into the fabric of the programme are ornamented chorales based on Bach’s own ornamentation practice. Shruti Ramani and Haitham Hadar juxtapose the highly developed Indian classical and Middle Eastern styles of ornamentation to that of 18th century German practice.
One of the patriarchs of the vast Bach family was organist and composer Johann Bach (1604-1673). His nephew Johann Michael (1648-1694), another Bach family cousin, was organist at Gehren and father of J.S. Bach’s first wife Maria. His brother Johann Christoph (1642-1703), likely the most important Bach before his younger cousin Johann Sebastian, was described by J.S. as “the profound composer”.
Johann Ludwig Bach (1677-1731), a third cousin of Johann Sebastian, operated as Kappelmeister out of Meiningen. J.S. made several copies of his cantatas and held performances of them in Leipzig, holding him in perhaps the highest esteem out of all his familial contemporaries.
Runtime: 75 min + intermission
PROGRAMME
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 225
Johann Bach (1604-1673)
Unser Leben ist ein Schatten
Johann Ludwig Bach (1677-1733)
Unsere Trübsal die zeitlich und leicht ist, JLB 33
Johann Michael Bach (1648-1694)
Herr, wenn ich nur dich habe
Interval
J.S. Bach
‘Jesu, meine Freude’ (BWV 227)
Johann Christoph Bach (1642-1703)
Ich lasse dich nicht, du segnest mich denn
Hana Blažíková, soprano
Hana Blažíková was born in Prague. As a child she sang in the children’s choir Radost Praha and played the violin. Later she turned to solo singing, graduating in 2002 from the Prague Conservatory in the class of Jiří Kotouč and undertook further study with Poppy Holden, Peter Kooij, Monika Mauch and Howard Crook.
Today Hana has achieved high acclaim as a leading specialist in the interpretation of Baroque, Renaissance and medieval music, performing with ensembles and orchestras around the world, including the Collegium Vocale Gent, the Bach Collegium Japan, Sette Voci, the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, L’Arpeggiata, Gli Angeli Genève, La Fenice, Nederlandse Bachvereniging, Tafelmusik, Collegium 1704, Collegium Marianum, Musica Florea, L’Armonia Sonora and others.
In 2010 and 2013 she took part in a highly praised world tour of the St. Matthew Passion under the direction of Philippe Herreweghe and in 2011 she made her debut in Carnegie Hall with Masaaki Suzuki´s Bach Collegium Japan. In 2017 she appeared in major venues all over Europe and North America in the trilogy of Monteverdi operas mounted by John Eliot Gardiner for the composer’s 450th birthday. In the three operas she sang six roles including the title role in Poppea.
Hana appears on more than thirty CDs, including the well-known series of Bach cantatas with the Bach Collegium Japan. She also plays gothic and romanesque harp and presents concerts in which she accompanies herself on this instrument. In addition she is a member of the Tiburtina Ensemble, which specializes in Gregorian chant and early medieval polyphony.
Sherezade Panthaki, soprano
Soprano Sherezade Panthaki enjoys ongoing international collaborations with many of the world’s leading conductors including Mark Morris and Nicholas Kraemer to name two. Celebrated for her “full, luxuriously toned upper range” (The Los Angeles Times), and “astonishing coloratura with radiant top notes” (Calgary Herald) particularly in the music of Bach and Handel, recent seasons have included performances with many of the world’s leading orchestras the New York Philharmonic, Bach Collegium Japan, Wiener Akademie (Austria), NDR Hannover Radiophilharmonie (Germany), the Boston Early Music Festival and Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra (Canada) amongst others.
Ms. Panthaki is no stranger to classical and modern concert repertoire; she is in high demand for her interpretations of Mozart, Haydn, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Poulenc, and Orff, as well as numerous new music premieres. Born and raised in India, Ms. Panthaki holds graduate degrees with top honors from the Yale School of Music and the University of Illinois, and a Bachelor’s from West Virginia Wesleyan College. She is a founding member and artistic advisor of the newly-debuted Kaleidoscope Vocal Ensemble – a vocal octet celebrating racial and ethnic diversity in performances and educational programs of early and new music and she currently heads the Vocal Program at Mount Holyoke College.
Nicholas Burns, alto
Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, countertenor Nicholas Burns has been described as possessing a “thrilling voice” and past performances have been described as a “revelation” (Opera Canada). As an artist at the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme, Nicholas performed Bach cantatas under Philippe Herreweghe. He has appeared with Early Music Vancouver for several iterations of the Christmas Vespers and summer Bach Festivals. Nicholas has also appeared with the American Bach Soloists, Arion Baroque Orchestra, Tafelmusik, The Theatre of Early Music, le Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal, the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, L’Harmonie des saisons, and l’Orchestre symphonique de Longueuil. On the opera stage, Nicholas has performed in numerous Handel operas including the title role in Giulio Cesare, Bertarido in Rodelinda, and the world premiere of a new opera, L’Orangeraie. Upcoming engagements include performances of Bach cantatas at the BachFest Leipzig, and a programme of Monteverdi with the American Bach Soloists. Aside from singing, Nicholas is an accomplished bagpiper, having won the World Pipe Band Championships in 2012.
Emma Parkinson, alto
Chinese-Canadian mezzo-soprano Emma Parkinson has performed across Canada and internationally, she has been hailed as "an outstanding voice" (La Scena Musicale). This season, Emma performed in the world premiere of Chinatown with City Opera Vancouver, and in the Canadian premiere of Du Yun’s Angel’s Bone with re:Naissance Opera and Sound the Alarm Music Theatre. Past seasons have seen Emma perform with Vancouver Opera as Jade Boucher in Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking, and with Pacific Opera Victoria in the Canadian premiere of Rattenbury. Emma has appeared with Burnaby Lyric Opera in the title role of Carmen, and, as Suzuki in Madama Butterfly. As an alumnus of the Atelier lyrique of Opéra de Montréal, she performed Orlofsky in Opéra de Montréal’s production of Die Fledermaus. In Europe, Emma debuted with Seefestspiele Berlin as Mercédès in Carmen, and performed a concert with Les Chorégies d’Orange in France. Her concert highlights include soloist appearances with the Alberta Baroque Ensemble, Vancouver Bach Choir, Kingston Symphony Orchestra, Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and the Orchestre Métropolitain, under the baton of Yannick Nézét-Seguin. Emma was honoured to perform as a special guest soloist for Ballet BC’s 35th Anniversary Gala.
Charles Daniels, tenor
Charles Daniels is a noted interpreter of Baroque music, though his narrative gifts are praised for music as diverse as Machaut Virelais and Graham Treacher’s Visions (2016). His recordings include Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo with Andrew Parrott, Bach’s Matthäus Passion with the Bach-Stiftung; Schütz Weihnachtshistorie, Monteverdi’s Vespers and Purcell’s Fairy-Queen with the Gabrieli Consort; Heracleitus with the Bridge Quartet and Lambert airs with Fred Jacobs; Kilar’s Missa Pro Pace with the Warsaw Philharmonic; much Bach and recent Purcell releases with the King’s Consort.
He created the dual role of Ulisse and John Gregory Dunne to critical acclaim in last year’s Bayerische Staatsoper production of Il Ritorno d’Ulisse/Jahr des magisches Denken His concert appearances span the intimate and the grand, from BBC Radio 3 recitals with lutenist Elizabeth Kenny, domestic music of Bach for Nederlandse Bach Vereniging and Handel Chandos Anthems in their original setting of the Canons Estate church, to performances of Britten’s War Requiem (Canterbury, Lille) and Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius (Cardiff, Wroclaw). Recent concerts include Dowland in Japan with Les Voix Humaines, Viadana in Verona and Switzerland with Bruce Dickey, a Weckmann programme in Vienna’s Konzerthaus and the 50th birthday celebration in Oxford of Andrew Parrott’s Taverner Consort.
Charles’ reconstructions of Gesualdo’s Sacrae Cantiones à6 have been premiered by the Gesualdo Consort of Amsterdam and his completion of Purcell’s court Ode Arise my Muse was broadcast on Radio-Canada during the Montréal Baroque Festival. He is delighted to return to EMV for this summer’s Festival.
Haitham Haidar, tenor
Haitham Haidar is a Lebanese-Palestinian Canadian tenor based in Montreal. He is a proud graduate of Yale’s Institute of Sacred Music, McGill’s Schulich School of Music, and the University of British Columbia. Praised for his ‘ductile,’ ‘bright,’ and ‘robust’ tenor, Haitham enjoys performing oratorio, opera, and chamber music across North America, Europe, and Asia. Haitham is also a proud member of Kaleidoscope Vocal Ensemble (KVE), whose mission aims to present vocal music with the highest artistic excellence, while celebrating racial, ethnic, and gender diversity.
Haitham has been seen as a tenor soloist on a US and European tour with Apollo’s Fire and as the Evangelist in Bach’s St. John Passion at the Winnipeg Baroque Festival. He has also been a recent soloist and ensemble member TENET Vocal Artists, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and Arion Baroque Orchestra, as well as the Evangelist in Schütz’s Weinachtshistorie with Folger Consort. Haitham is a featured soloist on Conspirare’s Grammy nominated album House of Belonging. Haitham has also performed as a soloist and ensemble member with groups like Seraphic Fire, Skylark Ensemble, and Ensemble Arion.
Haitham’s approach to performance has always been humanity first. Being an Arab immigrant in North America comes with its unique set of oppressive challenges and it is because of that and what he sees around him in the field, that he aims to touch people’s hearts with music and compassion and make change in the world the best way he knows how.
Drew Santini, bass
Canadian baritone Drew Santini performs opera, oratorio and chamber music, and collaborates on a diverse gamut of musical projects. Comfortable in repertoire of many periods, he is particularly known for his stylish, sensitive performances of Bach and his contemporaries performing with such groups as Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Gli Angeli Genève, The English Concert, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, The Orchestra of the 18th Century, Ensemble Masques and Netherlands Bach Society.
The 23/24 season began with a debut appearance with the Orchestra of the 18th Century singing Guglielmo in their tour of Mozart’s Così fan tutte with conductor Manoj Kamps and stage director Lisenka Heijboer Castañón. Other highlights of the season included performances of John Blow’s Venus & Adonis with Ensemble Masques in France and Spain, a tour of Handel’s Messiah with Nieuwe Philharmonie Utrecht led by Johannes Leertouwer, a program with the Luthers Bach Ensemble and guest conductor Ton Koopman, Bach’s Matthäus-Passion with the Dutch Bach Society led by Johanna Soller and Bach’s Mass in B minor in Hungary with Capella Savaria and guest conductor Bart Van Reyn.
Drew has recorded albums with Gli Angeli Genève, La Bande Montréal Baroque, BachPlus, and Oerknal! New Music Collective. He appears in over 25 works on ‘All of Bach’, a project by the Dutch Bach Society to record the complete oeuvre.
Drew originally hails from Stratford, Ontario. He holds degrees from The Juilliard School (MM) and Manhattan School of Music (BM). He currently lives in The Hague, Netherlands. drewsantini.com
Jonathon Adams, bass
EMV’s 2021 Artist-in-Residence, Jonathan Adams was born in amiskwaciwâskahikan (Edmonton, Canada). Jonathan is a Two-Spirit, nêhiyaw michif (Cree-Métis) baritone and performance artist. In concert, they have appeared as a soloist with Philippe Herreweghe, Sigiswald Kuijken, Hans-Christoph Rademann, Václav Luks, Ensemble BachPlus, Vox Luminis, il Gardellino, and B’Rock Orchestra at Opera-Ballet Flanders. Jonathon is a featured soloist in the film MESSIAH / COMPLEX produced by Against the Grain Theatre and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (2020). Jonathon was a fellow of the Netherland Bach Society in 2020 and performs regularly with Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir. Future solo engagements include recording and concerts with il Gardellino, concerts with Servir Antico, Les Voix Humaines, Ensemble Caprice, L’Orchestre Baroque Arion, Studio de Musique Ancienne de Montréal, L’Harmonie des Saisons, and Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra amongst others.
Thanks to a long term ‘Creating, Knowing and Sharing’ grant from the Canada Council for the Arts, 2021 witnessed the world premiere of Adams’ performance piece nipahimiw / the plaint with collaborators Christi Belcourt, Reneltta Arluk, Evan Ducharme, Susie Napper and Catalina Vicens. nipahimiw / the plaint is slate for presentation at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Vancouver’s UBC First Nations Longhouse, Montreal’s McCord Museum, Quamajuq Inuit Art Museum (Winnipeg) and the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa.
Shruti Ramani, voice
Shruti Ramani is an innovative emerging vocalist, composer, and educator based in Vancouver, Canada. Shruti hails from Mumbai, India, where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Hindustani music under the mentorship of Dr. Ritu Johri from the Agra Gharana. She moved to Canada and acquired a Bachelor’s degree in Jazz Studies (Performance) with a specialization in voice from Capilano University. Her original music is an exciting and novel combination of Indian and Jazz traditions. Shruti is the band leader of Raagaverse, an eclectic Indo-Jazz fusion ensemble. Raagaverse also includes Juno-nominated bassist Jodi Proznick, exemplary pianist and composer Noah Franche-Nolan, and dynamic drummer Nicholas Bracewell. Within one year of forming, Raagaverse has performed at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, Jazz at the Bolt, and the JazzYYC Canadian Festival. Raagaverse won a highly-competitive grant from the Canada Council for the Arts, which they used to record their debut album in the summer of 2023. Raagaverse’s album is set to release in the spring of 2024, and currently has three singles available on all streaming platforms: Saajan, Khaabon Ke Parindey, and Naina.
Aside from spearheading Raagaverse, Shruti has earned a reputation as a multifaceted and versatile vocalist that can sing anything. Her agile and precise vocal style has allowed her to lend her musical voice to projects spanning a wide-range of genres, including Hindustani, Jazz, improvised music, pop, Carnatic, and European classical. Shruti describes her singing style as maximalist and heavily ornamented. She subverts traditional expectations within the realm of Jazz because of her formative training in Hindustani music. As a vocalist, she has been part of renowned ensembles, such as Grammy-award winning music director A. R. Rahman’s highly-selective vocal ensemble NAFS, and the Juno-nominated all-women Jazz ensemble Ostara Project, spearheaded by Jodi Proznick and Amanda Tosoff. She has also worked with the NOW Society in collaboration with Douglas Ewart and Lisa Cay Miller. Shruti does not restrict herself in her musical endeavours because she is very keen to collaborate with artists with varied influences and experiences. She loves to learn new music and learn from new people. Overall, Shruti’s diverse musical skillset and highly technical vocal style set Shruti apart as a unique vocalist in the Canadian vocal landscape.
As a composer, many of Shruti’s compositions include rich Hindustani melodies situated within dense and dynamic Jazz harmonies. Shruti’s music often uses centuries-old texts and melodies that tell stories of love, grief, longing, and evoking the feeling of being at home. She enjoys exploring composing for both small and large ensembles. Shruti writes for diverse instrumentation settings, including Jazz quartet, string quartet, orchestra, big band, Carnatic ensembles, and choir. Some of her commissioned compositional highlights include a voice and orchestral composition for Sister Jazz Orchestra, a string quartet and voice arrangement for the Mixtophonics Festival, a composition commissioned by ethnomusicologist and musician Dr. Curtis Andrews for a Carnatic ensemble, and a big band composition commissioned by the Hard Rubber Orchestra.
Shruti also has extensive experience teaching music to people with a wide range of ages, musical abilities, and genres. She is currently a faculty member at the renowned VSO School of Music teaching both Jazz vocals and Hindustani music. As a teacher, Shruti prioritizes developing a strong mentorship relationship with students, and her teaching style is supportive while building strong foundations of musical understanding in her students. Shruti also teaches workshops, including giving a workshop on Hindustani and Jazz fusion for the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, and workshops on vocal technique and practice for Pardalis Studio, Tiny Lights Ignites, and Jazz Yukon. Shruti has also spoken on panels, particularly related to 2SLGBTQ+ and gender representation in Jazz. For example, she has spoken on a panel about queer musicians for Muze West, and a panel on women in Jazz for Jazz YYC. As part of her focus on uplifting women and gender-diverse people in music, Shruti is a reoccurring instructor at the VSO School of Music’s Sisters in Jazz Day.
Alon Sariel, oud
Philharmonic hall, not jazz podium; Mozart festival not cult TV rock programme – back then, Alon Sariel had not foreseen how things would develop: back then, in 1994, when his music teacher told the eight-year-old that the mandolin and the electric guitar were “basically the same thing”. This was a momentous deception that was to deliver to the world of music one of the most versatile mandolin players, lutenists and ensemble directors of the present day. In his concert programmes, Alon uses the lute, Baroque guitar, oud and other plucked instruments to give his audiences the most diverse musical experiences. The mandolin, which has survived the centuries and found its place in the most varied of music styles and cultures, occupies a very special place in his heart.
His many acclaimed recordings of Renaissance and Baroque works – his album “Telemandolin” was recognised in 2018 with an OPUS Klassik award – have firmly established him in the public eye as a specialist for early music. His work with international soloists and ensembles such as Maurice Steger, Andreas Scholl, Lautten Compagney, Norway’s Barokksolistene and many others attests to his reputation. That said, Alon’s guiding principle is a changing perspective. In other words: giving new life to existing material, as well as creating completely new works.
That is why Alon, as soloist and conductor, frequently brings contemporary compositions both to the stage and into the studio. He conducted the Munich Chamber Orchester in Markus Stockhausen’s “Symbiosis”, premiered as soloist with the Deutsches Kammerorchester Berlin Gilad Hochman’s “Nedudim”, and commissioned two new works for mandolin from Uri Caine for the Beethoven anniversary year in 2020. His album and PENTATONE debut “Plucked Bach” is a journey through Bach’s Cello Suites on six of his different plucked instruments, with a follow-up “Plucked Bach II” released in 2023.
Looking beyond the scope of a professional musician, Alon is an active member of Rhapsody in School, introducing classical music to schoolchildren of all ages. Furthermore, he supported the Live Music Now Foundation and has played in Daniel Barenboim’s West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. Animal protection is also an important issue for Alon; he has been an ambassador for the Pro Animale charity since 2021.
Alexander Weimann, director
Alexander Weimann is one of the most sought-after ensemble directors, soloists, and chamber music partners of his generation. After travelling the world with ensembles such as Tragicomedia, Cantus Cölln, the Freiburger Barockorchester, Gesualdo Consort and Tafelmusik, he now focuses on his activities as Music Director of the Pacific Baroque Orchestra in Vancouver, Music Director of the Seattle Baroque Orchestra, and regular guest conductor of ensembles including the Victoria Symphony, Symphony Nova Scotia, Arion Baroque Orchestra in Montreal and the Portland Baroque Orchestra.
Alex was born in Munich, where he studied the organ, church music, musicology (with a summa con laude thesis on Bach’s secco recitatives), theatre, mediæval Latin, and jazz piano, supported by a variety of federal scholarships. From 1990 to 1995, he taught music theory, improvisation, and Jazz at the Munich Musikhochschule. Since 1998, he has been giving master classes in harpsichord and historical performance practice at institutions such as Lunds University in Malmö, the Bremen Musikhochschule, the University of California (Berkeley), Dartmouth College (New Hampshire), McGill University, Université de Montréal, and Mount Allison (New Brunswick). He now teaches at the University of British Columbia and directs the Baroque Orchestra Mentorship Programme there. He has received several JUNO and GRAMMY Award nominations – most recently, for the album Nuit Blanches with the Pacific Baroque Orchestra and Karina Gauvin.