Ottawa (Canada) – The JUNO award-winning Ottawa Bach Choir (OBC) presents the first concert of its 23^rd season, Weihnachts-Oratorium (Christmas Oratorio), on Saturday, November 30, 2024, 7:00 p.m., at St. François d’Assise Church, 20 Fairmont Avenue, in Ottawa. Bach’s rarely-performed masterpiece features six cantatas celebrating the feast days between Christmas and Epiphany, describing the birth of Jesus to the adoration of the Magi. With the Theatre of Early Music baroque orchestra and fabulous soloists, including soprano Myriam Leblanc, countertenor Daniel Taylor, British tenor Charles Daniels and baritone Geoffrey Sirett, this timeless work of profound spiritual expression is a must-see during the Christmas season.

“Bach’s Christmas Oratorio is the epitome of the nativity story, composed at the height of the Baroque period and told through a dramatically unified combination of thrilling large-scale choruses, poignant Biblical narrative, beautifully scored solo arias and richly harmonized chorales, all adorned in Bach’s brilliant musical style,” says Founder and Artistic Director, Lisette Canton. “Come join us as we celebrate this festive season through Bach’s glorious masterpiece with some of today’s leading musicians in this style—you won’t want to miss it!”

Founded in 2002 by Dr. Lisette Canton, the Ottawa Bach Choir offers audiences a wide range of choral music of the finest quality, performing music from all historical periods while keeping Bach’s choral oeuvre as the focus of its repertoire. The choir has garnered acclaim through award-winning recordings and worldwide tours, including Canada, Europe, the United States, Mexico and China, featuring prestigious appearances at Bachfest Leipzig, Meet in Beijing, Festival Música Santa Fe, Ottawa Chamberfest, Carnegie Hall, and more.

For interviews and information, please contact:

Karen Frank, General Manager, karen.frank@ottawabachchoir.ca

Dr. Lisette Canton, Founder and Artistic Director, lisette.canton@ottawabachchoir.ca

Listing information:

Ottawa Bach Choir

with Theatre of Early Music baroque orchestra

Guest soloists: soprano Myriam Leblanc, countertenor Daniel Taylor, tenor Charles Daniels, and bass Geoffrey Sirett

Lisette Canton, conductor

Bach: Weihnachts-Oratorium (Christmas Oratorio), BWV 248

Saturday, November 30, 2024, 7:00 p.m.

St. François d’Assise Church, 20 Fairmont Avenue, Ottawa

Tickets: Reserved $60, Adult $50, Senior $45, Student $20, Children 12 and under free

Tickets are available online: www.ottawabachchoir.ca

Information: info@ottawabachchoir.ca

Ottawa, Canada – Celebrate Oktoberfest with the JUNO award-winning Ottawa Bach Choir on Saturday, October 5th, 2024, at 5:00 PM, at St. Stefan – Serbian Orthodox Church & Hall. This exceptional evening includes beautiful music from Bach to the Beatles, a cameo appearance by countertenor Daniel Taylor, delectable German-inspired canapés, sumptuous desserts, local beer brewed by Kichesippi Beer Co., and wine. Also included is a raffle featuring fantastic prizes from local businesses, concert tickets, and more! Join us for an evening of delightful melodies, delectable treats and great company that supports the OBC and the arts community. Willkommen! 

Founded in 2002 by Dr. Lisette Canton, the Ottawa Bach Choir offers audiences a wide range of choral music of the finest quality, performing music from all historical periods while keeping Bach’s choral oeuvre as the focus of its repertoire. The choir has garnered acclaim through award-winning recordings and worldwide tours, including in Canada, Europe, the United States, Mexico and China, featuring prestigious appearances at Bachfest Leipzig, Meet in Beijing, Festival Música Santa Fe, Ottawa Chamberfest, Carnegie Hall, and more!

For interviews and information, please contact:

Lisette Canton, Founder & Artistic Director, lisette.canton@ottawabachchoir.ca

Karen Frank, General Manager, karen.frank@ottawabachchchoir.ca

Listing information:

Ottawa Bach Choir

Lisette Canton, Conductor

Daniel Taylor, Guest Countertenor and Patron

Bach & Beer

Saturday, October 5, 2024, 5 PM

St. Stefan – Serbian Orthodox Church & Hall, 1993 Prince of Wales Drive, Ottawa

Tickets: $75 ($50 tax receipt available upon request)

Tickets available online: www.ottawabachchoir.ca

Additional Information: info@ottawabachchoir.ca

The JUNO award-winning Ottawa Bach Choir (OBC), under the artistic direction of Lisette Canton, invites you to join us for our 23^rd season of transcendent choral music! The professional ensemble has travelled the world, received national and international recognition, and also won a 2020 JUNO award for Best Classical Album of the Year: Vocal or Choral, for its album Handel: Dixit Dominus, Bach & Schütz: Motets!

The 2024-2025 Season Series offers three spectacular concerts:

(1) Bach: Weihnachts-Oratorium (Christmas Oratorio), Saturday, November 30, 2024, 7 PM, St. François d’Assise Church, 20 Fairmont Avenue, Ottawa

(2) Polychoral Extravaganza, Saturday, March 1, 2025, 7:30 PM, Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre, 355 Cooper Street, Ottawa

(3) Gloria!, Saturday, May 10, 2025, 7:30 PM, St. Patrick’s Basilica, 220 Kent Street, Ottawa 

Early Bird Subscription tickets, at a 15% discount, are available through our website for a limited time. Offer expires on September 2, 2024. Afterwards, regular subscription (at a 10% discount) and individual ticket prices will apply. For more information, e-mail us at info@ottawabachchoir.ca,

Don’t miss the chance to share our passion and discover the best that choral music has to offer!

Ottawa (Canada) – Ottawa Lovers of motets and part-songs are in for a treat! Founded in 2002 by Dr. Lisette Canton, the Juno Award-winning Ottawa Bach Choir (OBC) will grace the stage with a programme created just for Chamberfest featuring motets by Johann Sebastian Bach and Anton Bruckner (in honour of his 200th birthday), plus works by Isabella Leonarda, Clara Schumann, Monteverdi, Purcell, Pärt, and Taverner. Don’t miss this expert performance of beloved repertoire delivered with OBC’s signature “…bright, clear, and transparent sound, springy feel for rhythm, beautifully shaded dynamics, and exemplary diction…” (Steve Smith, NY Times)

Works include baroque favourites by Bach, Schütz, Purcell, Monteverdi and Isabella Leonarda, along with later motets by Bruckner, Clara Schumann, Canadian Rupert Lang, Pärt and Tavener, and part-songs by Lasso and Saint-Saëns.

The Ottawa Bach Choir, founded in 2002 by Dr. Lisette Canton, offers audiences a wide range of choral music of the finest quality, performing music from all historical periods while keeping Bach’s choral oeuvre as the focus of its repertoire. With the combination of a scholarly and emotional approach, the OBC provides an unforgettable experience of choral music at its best. The OBC won the 2020 JUNO Award for its album, Handel: Dixit Dominus; Bach & Schütz: Motets, in the category Classical Album of the Year: Vocal or Choral, and returned from the prestigious international festival, Bachfest Leipzig, in June 2022. The OBC has toured extensively in Canada, Europe, the United States and China, and had the honour of being the first Canadian choir ever to be among the performers in Bachfest Leipzig 2014. The choir’s eighth album, Johann Sebastian Bach: Six Motets, on the ATMA Classique label, critically acclaimed as “one of the finest on record” (The WholeNote), is available on all streaming platforms as well as on the choir’s website.

Listing information:

Ottawa Bach Choir

with Jonathan Oldengarm, organ; Jean-Christophe Lizotte, cello; Joseph Phillips, double bass

Lisette Canton, conductor

Flights of Angels

Saturday, July 27, 2024, 7:00 p.m.

Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre, 355 Cooper St., Ottawa

Tickets are available online on the Chamberfest website

Information: info@chamberfest.com

Ottawa (Canada) – The JUNO award-winning Ottawa Bach Choir (OBC) presents the final concert of its 22^nd season, Leipzig 1723, on Saturday, May 4, 2024, 8:00 p.m., at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 82 Kent Street, in Ottawa. The concert features exquisite German baroque cantatas by the candidates for Thomaskantor in Leipzig: Telemann, Graupner and Bach. Works include Telemann’s Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, TWV 7:30; Graupner’s Aus der Tiefen rufen wir, GWV 1113/23a; and Die Elenden sollen essen, BWV 75, the first cantata Bach composed for his new post as Thomaskantor in Leipzig. Accompanied by Ensemble Caprice baroque orchestra, organist Matthew Larkin and talented soloists from the choir, this brilliant concert will close the season with a fluorish.

“In honour of the 300^th anniversary of Bach’s tenure as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, we are thrilled to present magnificent cantatas by the three main candidates considered for the position, Telemann, Graupner and Bach,” says Founder and Artistic Director, Lisette Canton. “Hear these rarely performed gems by the leading German composers of the day and immerse yourself in this timeless music, performed with the distinguished Baroque orchestra Ensemble Caprice and soloists. A glorious experience you won’t want to miss!”    

The Ottawa Bach Choir, founded in 2002 by Dr. Lisette Canton, offers audiences a wide range of choral music of the finest quality, performing music from all historical periods while keeping Bach’s choral oeuvre as the focus of its repertoire. With the combination of a scholarly and emotional approach, the OBC provides an unforgettable experience of choral music at its best. The OBC won the 2020 JUNO Award for its album, Handel: Dixit Dominus; Bach & Schütz: Motets, in the category Classical Album of the Year: Vocal or Choral, and returned from the prestigious international festival, Bachfest Leipzig, in June 2022. The OBC has toured extensively in Canada, Europe, the United States and China, and had the honour of being the first Canadian choir ever to be among the performers in Bachfest Leipzig 2014. The choir’s eighth album, Johann Sebastian Bach: Six Motets, on the ATMA Classique label, critically acclaimed as “one of the finest on record” (The WholeNote), is available on all streaming platforms as well as on the choir’s website.

For interviews and information, please contact:

Karen Frank, General Manager, karen.frank@ottawabachchoir.ca

Dr. Lisette Canton, Founder and Artistic Director, lisette.canton@ottawabachchoir.ca

Listing information:

Ottawa Bach Choir

with Ensemble Caprice baroque orchestra and soloists

Lisette Canton, conductor

Leipzig 1723

Saturday, May 4, 2024, 8:00 p.m.

St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 82 Kent Street, Ottawa

Tickets: Reserved $55, Adult $45, Senior $40, Student $20, Children 12 and under free

Tickets are available online: www.ottawabachchoir.ca

Information: info@ottawabachchoir.ca

The JUNO award-winning Ottawa Bach Choir (OBC) presents the second concert of its 22^nd season, The Maestro of San Marco, on Saturday, March 2, 2024, 8:00 p.m., at Knox Presbyterian Church, 120 Lisgar Street, in Ottawa. The concert features sacred and profane music by Claudio Monteverdi, who was Maestro di cappella of San Marco in Venice over the course of 30 years, from 1613-1643. Works include his Messa a quattro voci da cappella and selected Madrigals from Books 1-8, a prolific output of works that marked the transition from the Renaissance to the Baroque. The choir is joined by a chamber instrumental ensemble and soloists from the choir.

“We are delighted to present rarely heard music by the Italian Baroque master, Claudio Monteverdi, which traces the journey from the balanced counterpoint of the Renaissance to the dramatic text-inspired music of the Baroque,” says Founder and Artistic Director, Lisette Canton. “Experience this passionate music in both the sacred and profane contexts – you’re sure to be inspired!”

The Ottawa Bach Choir, founded in 2002 by Dr. Lisette Canton, offers audiences a wide range of choral music of the finest quality, performing music from all historical periods while keeping Bach’s choral oeuvre as the focus of its repertoire. With the combination of a scholarly and emotional approach, the OBC provides an unforgettable experience of choral music at its best. The OBC won the 2020 JUNO Award for its album, Handel: Dixit Dominus; Bach & Schütz: Motets, in the category Classical Album of the Year: Vocal or Choral, and returned from the prestigious international festival, Bachfest Leipzig, in June 2022. The OBC has toured extensively in Canada, Europe, the United States and China, and had the honour of being the first Canadian choir ever to be among the performers in Bachfest Leipzig 2014. The choir’s eighth album, Johann Sebastian Bach: Six Motets, on the ATMA Classique label, critically acclaimed as “one of the finest on record” (The WholeNote), is available on all streaming platforms as well as on the choir’s website.

For interviews and information, please contact:

Karen Frank, General Manager, karen.frank@ottawabachchoir.ca

Dr. Lisette Canton, Founder and Artistic Director, lisette.canton@ottawabachchoir.ca

Listing information:

Ottawa Bach Choir

with chamber ensemble and soloists

Lisette Canton, conductor

The Maestro of San Marco

Saturday, March 2, 2024, 8:00 p.m.

Knox Presbyterian Church, 120 Lisgar Street, Ottawa

Tickets: Reserved $55, Adult $45, Senior $40, Student $20, Children 12 and under free

Tickets are available online: www.ottawabachchoir.ca

Information: info@ottawabachchoir.ca

The JUNO award-winning Ottawa Bach Choir (OBC) presents the first concert of its 22^nd season, Magnificat, on Saturday, December 2, 2023, 8:00 p.m., at St. Matthew’s Church, 130 Glebe Avenue, in Ottawa. The concert features settings of the Magnificat, including the original setting by Johann Sebastian Bach, composed for his first Christmas in Leipzig in 1723, as well as settings by Jan Dismas Zelenka and Heinrich Biber, both originally from the Czech Republic, and the Italian Isabella Leonarda, Also included is the virtuosic cantata for solo soprano and trumpet by Bach, Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, BWV 51. The Theatre of Early Music baroque orchestra joins the choir, along with guest soloists, soprano Myriam Leblanc, countertenor Daniel Taylor, tenor Owen McCausland, and bass Alex Dobson.

“We are thrilled to open our 22^nd season with an array of spectacular and rarely heard settings of the Magnificat, culminating in the original music Bach composed as Thomaskantor in Leipzig in 1723, along with virtuosic music for solo soprano and trumpet,” says Founder and Artistic Director, Lisette Canton. “Come share our passion as we celebrate this festive season with magnificent works from the Baroque period with some of today’s leading musicians in this style—you won’t want to miss it!”

The Ottawa Bach Choir, founded in 2002 by Dr. Lisette Canton, offers audiences a wide range of choral music of the finest quality, performing music from all historical periods while keeping Bach’s choral oeuvre as the focus of its repertoire. With the combination of a scholarly and emotional approach, the OBC provides an unforgettable experience of choral music at its best. The OBC won the 2020 JUNO Award for its album, Handel: Dixit Dominus; Bach & Schütz: Motets, in the category Classical Album of the Year: Vocal or Choral, and returned from the prestigious international festival, Bachfest Leipzig, in June 2022. The OBC has toured extensively in Canada, Europe, the United States and China, and had the honour of being the first Canadian choir ever to be among the performers in Bachfest Leipzig 2014. The choir’s eighth album, Johann Sebastian Bach: Six Motets, on the ATMA Classique label, “one of the finest on record” (The WholeNote), is available on all streaming platforms as well as on the choir’s website.

For interviews and information, please contact:

Elena Goubanova, Administrative Manager, elena.goubanova@ottawabachchoir.ca

Dr. Lisette Canton, Founder and Artistic Director, lisette.canton@ottawabachchoir.ca

Listing information:

Ottawa Bach Choir

with Theatre of Early Music baroque orchestra; Daniel Taylor, artistic director

Guest soloists: soprano Myriam Leblanc, countertenor Daniel Taylor, tenor Owen McCausland, and bass Alex Dobson

Lisette Canton, conductor

Magnificat

Saturday, December 2, 2023, 8:00 p.m.

St. Matthew’s Church, 130 Glebe Avenue, Ottawa

Tickets: Reserved $55, Adult $45, Senior $40, Student $20, Children 12 and under free

Tickets are available online: www.ottawabachchoir.ca

Information: info@ottawabachchoir.ca

THE WHOLE NOTE

VOCAL AND CHORAL

Bach: Six Motets – Ottawa Bach Choir; Lisette Canton

Written by Matthew Whitfield

Category: Vocal and Choral

Published: 14 September 2023

Bach – Six Motets Ottawa Bach Choir;

Lisette Canton

ATMA ACD2 2836 (atmaclassique.com/en)

Founded in 2002 by Dr. Lisette Canton, the Juno Award-winning Ottawa Bach Choir (OBC) is an ensemble which specializes in the performance of early music, with a particular emphasis on the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Their latest release, titled Six Motets, is a monumental effort featuring Bach’s choral motets, noted for their complexity, profundity and breathtaking beauty. This recording begins with a thrilling rendition of Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV225, which launches at breakneck speed through passages of virtuosic counterpoint and driving rhythmic patterns, eases into a luxurious aria and returns with fiery energy for the conclusion. Such focus on rhythm and clarity is a defining feature of this entire disc, which brings Bach’s music to life in an illuminative and vital way. Perhaps the most exceptional excerpt of OBC’s Six Motets is the monolithic Jesu, meine Freude BWV227, an 11-movement work for five-part chorus that spans a tremendous range of moods and affects. Here the choir offers a masterclass in precision and execution, but never at the expense of musicality. The opening chorale is well-paced, expertly phrased and subtly expressive, the devilish “Trotz dem alten Drachen” is one of the best this reviewer has encountered, and the lyrical “Gute Nacht, o Wesen” is hauntingly beautiful. In a market saturated with recordings of Bach’s famous motets, it could be challenging to rationalize yet another addition to the catalogue, yet this effort from the OBC holds its own as one of the finest on record. There is not a weak point present and, whether familiar or not with these legendary works, Six Motets is highly recommended listening for all.

To purchase the CD: https://ottawabachchoir.ca/en/product/bach-six-motets/

PANM 360

OTTAWA BACH CHOIR – SIX MOTETS

by Elena Mandolini

“Johann Sebastian Bach’s six motets are part of the well-known repertoire of choral music. Despite (or perhaps thanks to) their great popularity, numerous recordings of these works exist, always offering a renewed listening experience. The Ottawa Bach Choir, under the direction of Lisette Canton, presents an exceptional interpretation of it in its most recent album, released on the ATMA Classique label. Since 2002, the choir has offered an exploration of choral music through the ages, but always keeping Bach’s work at the heart of its repertoire. Joining the choir are musicians Jonathan Oldengram (organ), Matthew Larkin (harpsichord), Lucas Harris (theorbo), Jean-Christophe Lizotte (cello) and Reuven Rothman (double bass). We will appreciate on the album the lively and nuanced interpretation of Bach’s motets. Each voice (human or instrumental) is distinct, we hear all the subtleties of the compositions. But you can also take a step back and appreciate the overall effect, where each detail fits together precisely. The contrast effects and the interpretation of nuances, forte or piano, are very successful and contribute to this dynamism that can be heard throughout the listening. All these elements also create a depth to the sound, which allows you to immerse yourself in listening.”

© April 27, 2023