For its 18th season, the choir presented A Bach Christmas, featuring the Epiphany cantatas the choir will perform at Bachfest Leipzig 2020, BWV 124, 3 and 111, as well as the celebratory motet Singet dem Herrn and more, with Ensemble Caprice baroque orchestra and soloists, Meredith Hall, Nicholas Burns, Philippe Gagné and Andrew Mahon, followed by The Genius of Josquin, featuring his Missa Pange Lingua as well as magnificent motets and chansons, followed by Prelude-Europe 2020, which included music by German Baroque composers as well as Contemporary gems the choir was to take on its 5th European tour to Germany and Bachfest Leipzig 2020. However, because of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, the choir had to postpone its final concert and European tour to 2022. The OBC was also nominated for a JUNO 2020 award for its album, Handel, Bach & Schütz, on the ATMA Classique label.

The JUNO-nominated Ottawa Bach Choir (OBC) presents the second concert of the season, The Genius of Josquin, on Saturday, March 7, 2020, 8 PM, at St. Jean Baptiste Church, 96, Empress Avenue, in Ottawa. The concert highlights rarely performed sacred and secular music by the Franco-Flemish Renaissance genius, Josquin des Prez, who worked in France, Belgium, Italy and the Vatican. Repertoire includes Missa Pange Lingua, the exquisite Ave Maria and La Déploration de Johannes Ockeghem, as well as magnificent motets and chansons, all performed in the lush acoustic of Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church, in Ottawa.

The OBC has been nominated for a JUNO 2020 Award for its recording, Handel: Dixit Dominus; Bach & Schütz: Motets, in the category Classical Album of the Year: Vocal or Choral. Released on the ATMA Classique label, the album has been exclaimed as “staggering and movingly performed” (Gramophone Magazine), “among the very best” (American Record Guide) and “awe-inspiring” (The WholeNote).

The choir has also been invited to return to the world’s most prestigious international Bach festival, Bachfest Leipzig 2020,as one of a select number of ensembles worldwide (and the only Canadian ensemble) asked to present the entire chorale cantata cycle of Bach, in June 2020.

Founded in 2002 by Dr. Lisette Canton, the OBC offers a wide range of choral music from all historical periods, featuring some of Canada’s top choristers. With the combination of a scholarly and emotional approach, the OBC provides an unforgettable experience of choral music at its best. The OBC has toured extensively in Canada, the United States, Europe, and  China, and  had the honour of being the first Canadian choir ever to be among the performers in Bachfest Leipzig 2014.

Listing information:

Ottawa Bach Choir

Dr. Lisette Canton, Conductor                                                   

The Genius of Josquin

Missa Pange Lingua, Ave Maria, Le Déploration de Johannes Ockeghem, and magnificent motets and chansons

Saturday, March 7, 2020, 8 PM: St. Jean Baptiste Church, 96 Empress Avenue, Ottawa

Tickets: Reserved $50, Adult $40, Senior $35, Student $15, Children 12 and under are free

Tickets are available online: www.ottawabachchoir.ca, or at the following outlets:

Leading Note, 370 Elgin; Compact Music, 206 & 785 1/2 Bank Street, Ottawa

Information: info@ottawabachchoir.ca

HANDEL Dixit Dominus BACH & SCHÜTZ Motets

Showing that Toronto is not the only Canadian city capable of producing superb period ensembles, the Ottawa Bach Choir, conducted by founding director Lisette Canton, have combined with Matthias Maute’s Ensemble Caprice from Montreal in eloquent, persuasive performances of Handel, Schütz and Bach. The two have teamed up before, most notably in 2016, when they played in Beijing and Shanghai, and this is reflected in how easily they move to the heart of the music’s spiritual message, and how organically they integrate their HIP knowledge in order to communicate that message.

Their performance of Handel’s Dixit Dominus also gets the young composer’s precocious power and the passion of his utterances. From the exuberant, rigorous physicality of the opening chorus and the clear enunciation of the singing, the choir sing as if the words were actually being listened to and reflected upon by an engaged congregation.

The Canadian countertenor Daniel Taylor’s sweet-toned singing of ‘Virgam virtutis tuae’ is one of a number of lovely vocal contributions, another being sopranos Kayla Ruiz and Kathleen Radke’s exquisite ‘De torrente in via bibet’. There is splendid instrumental work throughout, including Jean-Christophe Lizotte’s cello solo in the ‘Virgam’. And the choir show their virtuosity and staying power in the fugue that concludes the ‘Gloria Patri, et Filio’.

The Schütz songs are similarly vivid and engaged, but even so the grandeur of Bach’s motet is staggering and movingly performed. The sound is captured splendidly by Montreal’s own ATMA Classique label in the audiophile space of Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church in Ottawa.

Laurence Vittes

© September 2019 Gramophone

HANDEL: Dixit Dominus BACH & SCHÜTZ: Motets

It seems to have become fairly common nowadays for choruses, some new, some long-established, to issue discs that either show off a particular program or ensemble. Never mind that downloads and sites such as YouTube may be more accessible to the public at large, but the compact disc is not yet on the same path as the dinosaurs in terms of relevancy. These serve an important purpose, in my opinion, as a means of introducing an ensemble to the world at large, as well as providing archival documentation of their talents. The repertory chosen is, for the most part, based upon known works, but occasionally there can be included odds and ends that are not always readily available as repertory pieces. This brings us to this recording of the Ottawa Bach Choir, which has put together a program of sacred works for which it is eminently suited. Handel’s large Dixit Dominus (HWV 232) is the centerpiece, but here we also find a series of four Passion motets by his German predecessor Heinrich Schütz, drawn from the Cantiones sacræ collection of 1625, and concluding with a filler work, Johann Sebastian Bach’s motet Komm, Jesu, Komm (BWV 229). The term used to describe this grouping in the notes is “German roots,” but in reality it seems as if they were chosen as a documentation of works taken on tour. The opening picture of the Bach Choir in Beijing seems to support this, particularly since all of them are readily available individually in the recording repertory; here I am reminded of John Eliot Gardiner’s fine rendition of the Handel as far back as 1992 on Erato, René Jacobs’s recent recording of all of Bach’s motets in 2017 on Harmonia Mundi, and the complete Cantiones sacræ on Carus by the Dresdener Kammerchor about six years ago. Thus there is no lack of fine exemplars of these works, but here, again, it is the choir and its interpretation that is the key to the disc.

The Dixit dates from 1707 as one of Handel’s earliest large-scale works. The accompaniment is limited to strings, albeit with a rather thicker texture, and it consists of various choruses with a few solos and two arias thrown in for good measure. I’ve always liked the first chorus of this work, since it has the restless energy one finds occasionally in Purcell with a steadily marching bass, machine-like strings, and a forceful declamatory statement by the chorus. It is a rousing way of starting off the piece and serves as a nice foil to the more lyrical aria (Virgam virtutis) that follows. This is texturally more sparse, allowing for the alto solo, here capably performed by countertenor Daniel Taylor, to create flowing lines. Elsewhere, the De torrente, which ought to be vivacious and joyous, is a thoughtful and somewhat mysterious duet for two sopranos that requires absolute control of pitch. Happily, soloists Kayla Ruiz and Kathleen Radke accomplish this with serene beauty, beneath which a ghostly chorus enters with occasional commentary. The suspensions are spine-tingling at times. The doxology replicates the opening chorus, with some of the impressive vocal lines for which Handel is famous. They wander and tumble over each other, and the strings and organ follow suit, especially when the harmonically stable cantus firmus enters in the tenors.

The pieces chosen from about a century earlier are quite different, showing that Schütz owed a great deal to the late Renaissance madrigal. For example, the cascading opening lines of Ego sum seem as blatant a statement of “egotistical” madrigalism as one might wish for in their bright and unmistakable effect. As this motet progresses, the harmonies shift fluidly, and there are moments of imitation but no strict polyphony. This seems reserved for Calicem salutaris, where the vocal entrances are scaffolded and the lines weave about each other until coming to a homophonic cadence. These are well-formed works that require close attention to detail in order to be understood.

As ensembles go, the Bach Choir, from which the soloists were drawn, has a nicely transparent sound that reflects this sort of music well. The diction is clear and the intonation is accurate. Conductor Lisette Canton has a fine ensemble to work with, and the period instrument group Caprice functions well as an accompaniment in the Handel without disturbing the vocal dominance. The clarity of the voices alone will give this performance a place in among the other renditions of this repertory. This is one disc that seems to transcend the mundane needs of public exposure, for it shows a disciplined group that is fully at home in the style of music and equal as a competitor for other ensembles. I, for one, am looking forward to their next disc. 

Bertil van Boer

© September/October 2019 Fanfare

Ottawa (Canada) – The Ottawa Bach Choir (OBC) presents the first concert of its 18^th season of magnificent choral music, A Bach Christmas, on Saturday, November 30, 2019, 7:30 PM, at Grace Church on-the-Hill, 300 Lonsdale Road, in Toronto; and Sunday, December 1, 2019, 7:30 PM, at Knox Presbyterian Church, 120 Lisgar Street, in Ottawa. The concert features festive repertoire for Christmas by Bach, including the cantatas the choir will perform at Bachfest Leipzig 2020, Meinen Jesum laß ich nicht, BWV 124; Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid, BWV 3; Was mein Gott will, das g’scheh allzeit, BWV 111, and more! This spectacular presentation includes the Ensemble Caprice baroque orchestra, as well as Canadian soloists, soprano Meredith Hall, countertenor Nicholas Burns, tenor Philippe Gagné and bass Andrew Mahon. 

“The OBC is thrilled to be invited to perform this rarely heard music by Bach at the most prestigious Bach festival in the world, Bachfest Leipzig, in June 2020, and we’ll share this beautiful music for the Christmas season with audiences in Ottawa and Toronto,” says Founder and Artistic Director, Lisette Canton. “You won’t want to miss these brilliant concerts with some of Canada’s most celebrated artists in such inspiring venues.”

The OBC’s seventh CD, Handel: Dixit Dominus, Bach & Schütz: Motets, was released on the ATMA Classique label and exclaimed as “among the very best” (American Record Guide) and “staggering and movingly performed” (Gramophone Magazine). The choir has also been invited to return to the world’s most prestigious international Bach festival, Bachfest Leipzig 2020,as one of a select number of ensembles worldwide (and the only Canadian ensemble) asked to present the entire chorale cantata cycle of Bach, in June 2020.

Founded in 2002 by Dr. Lisette Canton, the OBC offers a wide range of choral music from all historical periods, featuring some of Canada’s top choristers. With the combination of a scholarly and emotional approach, the OBC provides an unforgettable experience of choral music at its best.

The OBC has toured extensively in Canada, the United States, and Europe, and was invited to perform as Canada’s choral representative in the prestigious Meet in Beijing arts festival in Beijing, China, in April 2016. In 2014, the choir had the honour of being the first Canadian choir ever to be among the performers in Bachfest Leipzig 2014.

For interviews and information, please contact:

Dr. Lisette Canton, Founder & Artistic Director, 613-222-1882, lisette.canton@ottawabachchoir.ca

Listing information:

Ottawa Bach Choir

Dr. Lisette Canton, Conductor                                                   

A Bach Christmas

with Ensemble Caprice baroque orchestra and soloists

Saturday, November 30, 2019, 7:30 PM: Grace Church on-the-Hill, 300 Lonsdale Road, Toronto

Sunday, December 1, 2019, 7:30 PM: Knox Presbyterian Church, 120 Lisgar Street, Ottawa

Tickets: Reserved $50, Adult $40, Senior $35, Student $15, Children 12 and under are free

Tickets are available online: www.ottawabachchoir.ca, by phone: 613-270-1015, or at the following outlets:

Compact Music, 206 & 785 1/2 Bank Street, Ottawa

Information: info@ottawabachchoir.ca

The Ottawa Bach Choir (OBC) would like to welcome you to its eighteenth season of magnificent choral music. Over the past seventeen years, the professional ensemble has travelled the world and received national and international recognition. This season, the choir has been invited to return to the world’s most prestigious international Bach festival, Bachfest Leipzig 2020, as one of a select number of ensembles worldwide (and the only Canadian ensemble) to present the entire chorale cantata cycle of Bach. Last season, the choir released its seventh CD, Handel, Bach & Schütz, on the ATMA Classique label to rave reviews (“…this new one is among the very best,” American Record Guide 2019), and in 2016 the choir toured in China, where it was invited to perform as Canada’s choral representative in the prestigious Meet in Beijing festival. The choir has also performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City, across Canada, in Mexico, and in Europe in Germany, England, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and more.

Performances in the 2019-2020 season include a Subscription Series, several Special Events, as well as a 5^th European tour in June 2020.

The Subscription Series offers three spectacular concerts:

A Bach Christmas – November 30, 2019, 7:30 PM (Toronto); December 1, 2019, 7:30 PM (Ottawa)

The Genius of Josquin – March 7, 2020, 8 PM

Prelude-Europe 2020 – May 2, 2020, 8 PM

The Ottawa Bach Choir is pleased to offer its audiences a subscription series for a limited time only. Get the entire 2019-2020 concert season for less than 10% less than regular ticket prices. This offer ends on November 30, 2019.

Join us and come discover the best that choral music has to offer!

Lisette Canton
Founder and Artistic Director

For its 17th season, the choir presented Christmas in Venice, featuring Monteverdi’s Christmas Vespers, along with works by baroque composers who worked at the prestigious St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, with Ensemble Caprice baroque orchestra and soloists, followed by La Sainte-Chapelle, with works by prominent composers, de Sermisy, Certon, and Charpentier working at La Sainte Chapelle in Paris in the Renaissance and Baroque periods, and finally Mozart Celebration, including masterpieces by Mozart composed while he was in Salzburg. The choir also released its 7th CD, Handel, Bach & Schütz, on the ATMA Classique label.

For its 16th season, the choir presented Nativity, featuring the premiere of Novum Canticum by Marc Langis, along with music for Christmas from the Renaissance, Baroque and Contemporary periods, accompanied by harpist Caroline Léonardelli and organist Matthew Larkin, followed by Victoria: Officium Defunctorum, featuring the masterpiece by the Renaissance composer, along with works by Palestrina, Allegri, and more, and finally Baroque passion, including Handel’s Dixit Dominus, Bach’s motet, Komm, Jesu, komm, BWV 229, and Schütz’ Passion Motets, which the choir recorded for its 7th CD.

HANDEL: Dixit Dominus BACH & SCHÜTZ: Motets

ATMA

The recent flow of recordings of Handel’s Dixit Dominus has brought the recognition that this Psalm setting of 1707 was the composer’s first great choral masterpiece.

I have lost track of how many recordings it has been given, but I can say that this new one is among the very best. The Ottawa Bach Choir, a 21-member mixed-voice group, digs into the work with wonderful enthusiasm and strength, capturing all its exuberance. With the addition of countertenor Daniel Taylor, the soloists come from the choir ranks and they are quite good.

Choices amid competition for this halfhour work will partly depend on what other material is paired with it. Here five brief Passion motets from the 1625 publication of the Cantiones Sacrae of Heinrich Schutz are offered. This entire program was recorded in May 2018, but the choir sounds different here—more dense and constricted. The composer’s use of post-Renaissance polyphony and madrigalian textures seems to dampen the performers’ precision and clarity.

For the finale, Canton and her choir turn to their namesake, JS Bach, with his Komm, Jesu, Komm, one of his unaccompanied motets. These musicians are beautifully attuned to the music’s richly contrapuntal eight-voice double choir texture.

There really was space for more music here, and I wish more had been added (like another Bach motet).

© 2019 American Record Guide  

THE WHOLE NOTE

VOCAL AND CHORAL

Handel: Dixit Dominus; Bach & Schütz: Motets – Ottawa Bach Choir; Lisette Canton

Written by Dianne Wells

Category: Vocal and Choral

Published: 27 March 2019

Handel – Dixit Dominus; Bach & Schütz – Motets
Ottawa Bach Choir; Lisette Canton
ATMA ACD2 2790 (atmaclassique.com/En)

The Ottawa Bach Choir and Ensemble Caprice join forces in this recording for thrilling performances of Baroque masters Handel, Bach and Schütz. From the outset of Dixit Dominus, the quick pace and precision with which the chorus deftly moves through Handel’s ever-running and cascading phrases is awe-inspiring. Daniel Taylor guests for the alto aria Virgam virtutis in which the interplay between his golden voice and the continuo instruments is sublime. Soprano Kathleen Radke maintains a wonderfully relaxed vocal line through the execution of elaborate lines in Tecum principium in die virtutis and later she and Kayla Ruiz create enchanting chemistry in the soaring duet De torrente in via bibet.

Looking back almost a century, next on the recording are rarely heard Passion Motets from Heinrich Schütz’s Cantiones Sacrae. Heavily influenced by Italian madrigals of the time, Lisette Canton coaxes the full anguish of the thematic material from the choir in emphasizing dissonances and highly expressive rhetoric. The recording ends with homage to the choir’s eponym. In Bach’s Komm, Jesu, komm, excellent recording technique and choice of venue shine through, with a lovely resonance from the start and an erudite interchange captured in the dialogue of a choir divided into two sections by the composer.

To purchase the CD: https://ottawabachchoir.ca/en/product/handel-dixit-dominus-bach-schutz-motets-2/