Music of the Baroque’s guest conductor Patrick Dupre Quigley/Photo: Dario Acosta
Music of the Baroque closes their 2023/2024 season with “Heaven and Earth,” a cornucopia of compositions that celebrate both earthly delight and spiritual enlightenment and span almost a century’s worth of music. “Heaven and Earth” can be heard on May 12 at Winnetka’s Faith, Hope and Charity Church, and on May 13 in Chicago’s Fourth Presbyterian Church. The concert becomes available for on-demand streaming May 17.
The oldest work is also one of the Baroque era’s most exquisite—Gregorio Allegri’s “Miserere mei, Deus,” a setting of the fifty-first Psalm. “Miserere” was probably composed for Holy Week services at the Sistine Chapel in 1638. It is said that Pope Urban VIII was so transfixed by the work’s beauty he forbade its transcription or performance outside the Vatican. It leaked anyway. Legend holds that the boy Mozart heard the piece and wrote it all out from memory, but there appears to be little factual basis for this story (despite father Leopold’s aggressive insistence).
Originally written for two choirs of five and four voices, the “Miserere” has gone through several permutations over the years in terms of voice types and embellishments employed. The famous soprano high C was not a feature of the original Vatican performances, though it is now regarded as one of the most exultant moments of the work. In whatever version, the work remains among the most beloved of a cappella choral works.
Henry Purcell’s semi-opera “King Arthur” premiered in 1691. Though less popular than his “Dido and Aeneas,” “Arthur” boasts some of Purcell’s most intriguing music. Few moments in the Baroque era compare in innovation with the famous “Frost scene” as trembling strings, halting rhythms, and risky chromatic harmonies combine to depict the awakening of the “Cold Genius” in the aria “What power art thou who from below.” The scene is regarded as one of Purcell’s great achievements.
George Frideric Handel’s “Dixit Dominus” appeared in 1707, during the composer’s early “Italian period.” It was an extraordinary accomplishment for the twenty-two-year-old German composer, who hoped to establish himself as a contender in the florid Italian style (against such formidable competition as Vivaldi, Scarlatti, Corelli and others). A setting of Psalm 110, Handel’s glittering score provides bravura opportunity for a five-part chorus and five soloists, with strings and continuo. The work remains one of Handel’s most admired compositions today.
Johann Sebastian Bach is among the most spiritual of composers; more than one musician has confessed to playing Bach as a grounding exercise on dark days. His Orchestral Suite No. 1, however, finds him resonating with the joys of the earth. Possibly composed around 1717, the Suite opens with an “overture” in the French style, then proceeds with six piquant examples of standard dance rhythms that would do Lully proud. Just try to keep your feet still.
“Heaven and Earth” marks the Music of the Baroque return of conductor Patrick Dupre Quigley, director of the Miami-based ensemble Seraphic Fire. MOB’s banner chorus will be heard under the direction of Andrew Megill.
“Heaven and Earth” will take place on Sunday, May 12, at Faith, Hope and Charity Church, 191 Linden Street, Winnetka; again on Monday, May 13, at Fourth Presbyterian Church, 126 East Chestnut. Concerts are at 7:30pm, approximately one hundred minutes including intermission. Tickets $35–$100. On-demand streaming on Friday, May 24, 5pm. More information here.
