Paulina will join the Bach Akademie Charlotte Choir on a musical journey beginning in Johann Sebastian Bach’s music library in Leipzig and ending in the present day. Our program opens with virtuosic choral works that the great Thomaskantor taught his students in Leipzig before exploring contemporary responses to similar texts. Framed by the structure of a Lutheran service of Vespers, this concert will also include Bach Akademie Charlotte’s first performances of works by living composers. A not-to-be-missed highlight will be the first performance of Giles Swayne’s Magnificat I in the Southeast. Inspired by a field trip he took to southern Senegal and Gambia, Swayne incorporated the opening call of the Senegalese ploughing song O Lulum into the beginning of his composition. Brimming with unbridled fertility, rhythmic verve, and percussive drive, Swayne’s work shattered expectations of what ‘church music’ could be.
Bach Akademie Charlotte Choir
Nicolas Haigh, conducting
Friday, October 25 • 7:30 pm
The Cathedral of All Souls, Asheville, NC
Saturday, October 26 • 7:30 pm
Myers Park Presbyterian Church, Charlotte, NC
Sunday, October 27 • 3:00 pm
Lancaster Cultural Arts Center, Lancaster, SC