European Christmas. Bach’s Magnificat

The traditional year’s concluding concert of “Latvijas koncerti” in Torņakalna Church will offer Magnificat by Johann Sebastian Bach to the audience – a sacral masterpiece that is concise in form, multicoloured in intonations and an extremely elating opus. A passionate adept of Bach’s music, Sigvars Kļava, will make music together with the Latvian Radio Choir directed by himself, the State Chamber Orchestra Sinfonietta Rīga, and the soloists – Inga Šļubovska from the Latvian National Opera, soprano Elīna Šimkus, counter tenor Sergejs Jēgers, Estonian tenor Mati Turi, and the young and rapily flourishing baritone Kalvis Kalniņš.

Magnificat is one of the most popular canonical texts of the Christian Church, often having been used by many composers in their creative works. The text is a panegyric to God (Luke 1:46–55), sung by Virgin Mary after angel Gabriel has annunciated the message about the anticipated birth of the Son of God. This is happening in the house of Mary’s relative Elisabeth, wife of Zechariah who is a priest in Judea. Gabriel announces to Mary that Elisabeth has once been deemed to be infertile, but still, thanks to God’s mercy, she has become pregnant although being quite an aged woman already. As Mary enters Elisabeth’s home she greets her, and at the same moment the foetus in Elisabeth’s womb leaps, she is filled with, and blessed by, the Holy Spirit and greets Mary with words: “Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? Look, the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.” After that Mary’s text follows, or the text of Magnificat. This, the most appropriate time for performing Magnificat is Christmas.

Magnificat written by Johann Sebastian Bach for the first time was performed in the Christmas of 1723 – this was the first year that Bach spent in Leipzig, taking the job of the cantor of St. Thomas Church. The opus is unbelievably laconic and concise – during less than half-an-hour, in a unique way, almost all possible states of soul and mind, that can befall a human, are interchanging.

Alongside Bach’s Magnificat, the year’s ending concert programme will feature the majestic anthem Zadok de Priest by George Frideric Handel, the familiar sounds of which use to accompany the crowning ceremonies of kings of England and during the moment of unction, as well as Handel’s lively opus written in his young years, Dixit Dominus.

Programme

Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel

Participants

Ieva Parša, mezzosoprano
Ieva Ezeriete, soprano
Inga Šļubovska, soprano
Sergejs Jēgers, counter-tenor
Mati Turi, tenor
Kalvis Kalniņš, bass
Latvian Radio Choir
Sinfonietta Rīga
Conductor Sigvards Kļava