Choir presents music for the Lenten season

The next performance by the Chattanooga Bach Choir in its Barnett & Company Cantata Series will be “Music for the Lenten Season,” the religious observance in the liturgical calendar that begins with Ash Wednesday, which was Feb. 14, and spans about six weeks leading up to Easter Sunday.

The concert will be held in Christ Church Episcopal at 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 18.

The program will open with Dietrich Buxtehude’s Canzonetta in D minor for organ performed by the Bach Choir’s accompanist, Karla Fowkes.

The choir will sing Handel’s Chandos Anthem, No. 3, “Have Mercy on Me, O God” ( Psalm 51); and Heinrich Isaac’s Lenten motet “Scapulis suis” (Psalm 91:4-5).

“Anticipating our per- formance of Handel’s Messiah in April, we are presenting one of his Chandos Anthems, settings of Psalm texts written in 1717-18 for the first Duke of Chandos and performed in his private chapel,” says director David Long.

Chandos Anthem No. 3 takes its text from Psalm 51, “Have Mercy on Me,” which is commonly read in the season of Lent. A multimovement work similar to a cantata, Anthem No. 3 features soprano and tenor soloists, chorus and chamber orchestra.

Joining the choir and orchestra will be guest soloists Maria Rist, soprano, and James Harr, tenor.

Isaac’s a cappella motet, “Scapulis suis,” is a setting of Psalm 91: 4-5. That scripture, “He shall cover you with his wings and you shall be safe under his feathers; his faithfulness shall be your shield and buckler” is liturgically appropriate for the first Sunday in Lent.

The choir’s cantata series explores Bach cantatas written for every Sunday in the church year. In these hour- long concerts, director Long introduces each cantata with a brief musical explanation placing it in its liturgical context.

For more information: www. chattanoogabach choir.org.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Chattanooga Bach Choir