Ottawa Bach Choir & Baroque Orchestra / Lisette Canton
Canto 2011—55 minutes

This program is in honor of the Ottawa Bach Choir’s 10th anniversary. It’s a well constructed program that begins and ends with JS Bach, with the pieces arranged chronologically in between and encompassing modern times, the most recent composer being Eric Whitacre, who was born in 1970.

The first Bach piece is a wedding cantata from the young Bach, BWV 196. Two Monteverdi words are included: the title piece, ‘Cantate Domino’, and a longer ‘Beatus vir’. Following is ‘Hear my Prayer, O Lord’, by Henry Purcell, and a short piece each from Buxtehude and Saint-Saens. Four modern composers are represented: Olivier Messiaen, with his ‘O Sacrum Convivium!’; Rupert Lang, with an Agnus Dei in French; Eric Whitacre, ‘Lux Aurumque’; and, finally, from Knut Nystedt a work called ‘Immortal Bach’. The final Bach piece is a motet and chorale, ‘The Spirit Doth our Weakness Help’. All song lyrics are printed in the notes.

These works are all beautifully sung; I have enjoyed listening to this several times. The sound is excellent.

CRAWFORD

© American Music Guide 2012