The oldest Bach choir in the United States, The Bach Choir of Bethlehem celebrates it's 120th birthday in 2018. Since it's founding in 1898, the now famous choir has attracted thousands of visitors from across the United States and beyond to the annual Bethlehem Bach Festival in Pennsylvania. According to a note on the score, the Song for Saint Cecilia's Day (HWV 76) - usually referred to as the Ode for Saint Cecilia's Day - took just 10 days to compose, between September 15 and 24, 1739. The Ode is not an oratorio but rather a sequence of movements, comprising instrumental pieces, declarative recitatives, expressive arias, and powerful choruses that extol music and it's patron saint. With Cassandra Lemoine, Benjamin Butterfield & The Bach Festival Orchestra, directed by Greg Funfgeld, this is a glorious release.

Tracklist:

Ode For St. Cecilia’s Day, Hwv 76: I. Overture - Larghetto E Staccato
Ode For St. Cecilia’s Day, Hwv 76: II. Overture - Allegro
Ode For St. Cecilia’s Day, Hwv 76: III. Overture - Minuets I & II
Ode For St. Cecilia’s Day, Hwv 76: IV. Recitative "From Harmony, From Heav’nly Harmony"
Ode For St. Cecilia’s Day, Hwv 76: V. Recitative "When Nature Underneath A Heap"
Ode For St. Cecilia’s Day, Hwv 76: VI. Chorus "From Harmony, From Heav’nly Harmony"
Ode For St. Cecilia’s Day, Hwv 76: VII. Aria "What Passion Cannot Music Raise And Quell!"
Ode For St. Cecilia’s Day, Hwv 76: VIII. Chorus "The Trumpet’s Loud Clangor"
Ode For St. Cecilia’s Day, Hwv 76: IX. March
Ode For St. Cecilia’s Day, Hwv 76: X. Aria "The Soft Complaining Flute"
Ode For St. Cecilia’s Day, Hwv 76: XI. Aria "Sharp Violins Proclaim"
Ode For St. Cecilia’s Day, Hwv 76: XII. Aria "But Oh, What Art Can Teach"
Ode For St. Cecilia’s Day, Hwv 76: XIII. Aria "Orpheus Could Lead The Savage Race"
Ode For St. Cecilia’s Day, Hwv 76: XIV. Recitative "But Bright Cecilia Raised The Wonder High’r"
Ode For St. Cecilia’s Day, Hwv 76: XV. Aria "As From The Pow’r Of Sacred Lays"

UPC: 774204954123
Label: Analekta
Release Date: 10.26.18
Format: CD

Handel / Bach Choir Of Bethlehem - Ode for St Cecilia's Day (CD)