The Bach Choir of Bethlehem

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The Bach Choir of Bethlehem
Choir
Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Bethlehem Bach Festival, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia Evening Public Ledger, 6.2.1917).jpg
Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Bethlehem Bach Festival, Pennsylvania, 1917)
OriginFirst organized to study Bach's Mass in B Minor
Founded1898
FounderJohn Frederick Wolle, an organist at Central Moravian Church, Bethlehem, PA
Genre Baroque and classical music
PresidentHarold G. Black
Music directorGreg Funfgeld (retiring in June 2021)
Choir admissionBy audition
Headquarters440 Heckewelder Place
Bethlehem, PA 18018
(610) 866-4382
Influences Johann Sebastian Bach and the composers who influenced him and were influenced by him

The Bach Choir of Bethlehem is the oldest Bach choir in the United States. Dating back to "to Colonial times and to the Moravians who settled Bethlehem in 1712," according to the choir's archives, it was officially founded in 1898 by Central Moravian Church organist John Frederick Wolle, [1] and was established at roughly the same time as Bethlehem Steel, which first began operations in 1899. [2]

United States Federal republic in North America

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country comprising 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the most populous city is New York City. Most of the country is located contiguously in North America between Canada and Mexico.

Bethlehem Steel steel producer and shipbuilder

The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steel and shipbuilding company that began operations in 1904 and was America's second-largest steel producer and largest shipbuilder. The company's roots trace to 1857 with the establishment of the Bethlehem Iron Company; the Bethlehem Iron Company was established as the Saucona Iron Company and ceased operations in 1901. The Bethlehem Steel legacy began in 1899, with the formation of the first Bethlehem Steel, the Bethlehem Steel Company which was 2 years before the Bethlehem Iron Company ceased operations. The Bethlehem Steel Company leased all properties from the Bethlehem Iron Company from 1899 to 1901 and assumed ownership of all properties from the Bethlehem Iron Company after the Bethlehem Iron Company ceased operations.

Contents

Based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the choir has toured internationally, performing at the Royal Albert Hall, the Thomaskirche in Leipzig (where Johann Sebastian Bach was a cantor), and the Herkulessaal in the Munich Residenz (Munich's Royal Residence). It has also performed at such American venues as Carnegie Hall and The Kennedy Center, has recorded with the BBC Proms and on the Dorian and Analekta labels, [3] and hosts the world's longest-running Bach festival. [4]

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania City in Pennsylvania, United States

Bethlehem is a city in Lehigh and Northampton counties in the Lehigh Valley region of the eastern portion of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 74,982, making it the seventh largest city in Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie, Reading, and Scranton. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County, and 19,343 were in Lehigh County.

Pennsylvania U.S. state in the United States

Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state located in the Northeastern, Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The Appalachian Mountains run through its middle. The Commonwealth is bordered by Delaware to the southeast, Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, Lake Erie and the Canadian province of Ontario to the northwest, New York to the north, and New Jersey to the east.

Leipzig Place in Saxony, Germany

Leipzig is the most populous city in the German federal state of Saxony. With a population of 587,857 inhabitants as of 2018, it is Germany's eighth most populous city as well as the second most populous city in the area of former East Germany after (East) Berlin. Together with Halle (Saale), the largest city of the neighbouring state of Saxony-Anhalt, the city forms the polycentric conurbation of Leipzig-Halle. Between the two cities lies Leipzig/Halle International Airport.

History

Founded in 1898 by Central Moravian Church organist John Frederick Wolle in 1898, the Bach Choir of Bethlehem brought musicians together from the Bethlehem, Pennsylvania area to study the Mass in B Minor written by Johann Sebastian Bach. This choir is credited with having given the American premiere of Bach's complete Mass on March 27, 1900 (although there is evidence that parts of the Mass had been performed in the United States as early as 1870). [5] Following that premiere performance, the choir then also delivered the first complete performance in America of Bach's Christmas Oratorio in 1901.

<i>Christmas Oratorio</i> oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach

The Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248, is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It was written for the Christmas season of 1734 and incorporates music from earlier compositions, including three secular cantatas written during 1733 and 1734 and a now lost church cantata, BWV 248a. The date is confirmed in Bach's autograph manuscript. The next performance was not until 17 December 1857 by the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin under Eduard Grell. The Christmas Oratorio is a particularly sophisticated example of parody music. The author of the text is unknown, although a likely collaborator was Christian Friedrich Henrici (Picander).

Members of the Bach Choir of Bethlehem were photographed prior to their November 1922 performance at Philadelphia's Academy of Music. Bach Choir Visits Cradle of Liberty (Philadelphia Evening Public Ledger, November 6, 1922).jpg
Members of the Bach Choir of Bethlehem were photographed prior to their November 1922 performance at Philadelphia's Academy of Music.

In 1914, the Bach Choir's conductor, J. Frederick Wolle, was described by the Harrisburg Telegraph as "the foremost present-day student of Bach" in its coverage of the ensemble's performance at Bethlehem's ninth Bach festival. [6] In 1921, Philadelphia's Evening Public Ledger described the ensemble as a "famous organization," and noted that its members would perform at that city's Academy of Music on November 6. [7]

Bruce Carey and William Ifor Jones conducted the ensemble from 1933-1938 and 1939-1969, respectively. Greg Funfgeld, a 1976 graduate of Westminster Choir College, is the choir's current artistic director and conductor, a position he has held since 1983. Under his leadership, the choir has expanded its concertizing from annual performances at the Bethlehem Bach Festival to a year-round series of 31 concerts, has released 12 recordings, and has been involved with the production of two films (the PBS documentary, Make a Joyful Noise, and the internationally distributed Classical Kids’ DVD, Mr. Bach Comes to Call. Funfgeld also initiated and expanded the choir's educational outreach initiatives, including Bach to School and Bach at Noon, which were awarded National Endowment for the Arts Grants from 2011 to 2017 and a 2012 international award from the J.S. Bach Foundation in Switzerland. [8]

Bruce Anderson Carey was a Canadian choir conductor, baritone, and music educator. He began his career in Hamilton, Ontario, where he notably founded the Bach-Elgar Choir in 1905. After directing that ensemble for seventeen years, he moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States where he was conductor of two famous choruses: the Mendelssohn Club and The Bach Choir of Bethlehem.

William Ifor Jones British musician

William Ifor Jones was a Welsh conductor and organist. Born into a large coal-mining family and raised in Merthyr Tydfil, Jones studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London from 1920 to 1925. He studied the organ with Sir Stanley Marchant at St. Paul's Cathedral, London; orchestral conducting with Sir Henry Wood and Ernest Read; and harmony with Benjamin Dale. He was for a time organist at the Welsh Baptist Church in Castle Street, London, worked at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and assisted with the British National Opera Company in the role of prompter.

Greg Funfgeld is an American conductor, especially a choral conductor. He has been the artistic director and conductor of The Bach Choir of Bethlehem from 1983, appearing internationally. He has recorded several works by Bach including the Mass in B minor in 1997.

In 2007, The Bethlehem and Baldwin Wallace University (BW Bach Festival), the oldest collegiate Bach festival in the nation as well as the second-oldest Bach festival in the nation), performed together for BW's 75th anniversary of the festival. [9] These two groups have worked together to celebrate the milestones of their festivals. Riemenschneider, founder of the BW festival, was inspired by a 1931 trip to the Bethlehem Bach Festival. [10] [11] [12]

Baldwin Wallace University university in Berea, Ohio

Baldwin Wallace University (BW) is a private, independent liberal arts and sciences university in Berea, Ohio, United States, offering bachelor's and master's degrees, certificates and professional education programs. The university was founded in 1845 as Baldwin Institute by Methodist businessman John Baldwin. Eventually the school merged with nearby German Wallace College in 1913 to become Baldwin-Wallace College. In 2012, to more accurately reflect the expanded breadth of BW’s undergraduate and graduate academic programs, Baldwin-Wallace College officially became Baldwin Wallace University.

In May of 2019, the choir announced that both its artistic and executive directors would retire within a period of two years. After executive director Bridget George departs in December 2020, artistic director Greg Fungfeld will then leave his post in June 2021. [13]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Choir History and Archives," in "About the Choir." Bethlehem, Pennsylvania: The Bach Choir of Bethlehem (website), retrieved online February 15, 2019.
  2. ↑ James, Renee A. "Ars longa, vita brevis in Bethlehem." Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: PennLive, April 29, 2019.
  3. ↑ "Choir Leadership", in "About the Choir." Bethlehem, Pennsylvania: The Bach Choir of Bethlehem, retrieved online February 15, 2019.
  4. ↑ James, "Ars longa, vita brevis in Bethlehem," PennLive.
  5. ↑ Butt, John (1991). Bach: Mass in B Minor. Cambridge Music Handbooks. Cambridge University Press. p. 31. ISBN   978-0-521-38716-3.
  6. ↑ "Ninth Bach Festival in May at Bethlehem." Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Harrisburg Telegraph, February 21, 1914.
  7. ↑ "Bach Choir Here for Concert Today: 400 of Famous Organization From Bethlehem to Sing at Academy This Afternoon." Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Evening Public Ledger, November 5, 1921.
  8. ↑ "Greg Funfgeld, Artistic Director & Conductor," in "Choir Leadership," in "About the Choir." Bethlehem, Pennsylvania: The Bach Choir of Bethlehem (website), retrieved online February 15, 2019.
  9. ↑ OESTREICH (May 7, 2007). "Bach's Captains and Foot Soldiers of Musical Industry". NY times. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  10. ↑ "Oldest Bach Festivals Combine for Anniversary Celebration". PR newswire. July 2007. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  11. ↑ "The Bach Choir of Bethlehem". The Bach Choir of Bethlehem history. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  12. ↑ Gehman (Jul 9, 2006). "America's oldest Bach choirs joining to make history [SECOND Edition]". Morning Call - Allentown, Pa. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  13. ↑ Larimer, Craig. "Bach Choir of Bethlehem announces retirements of conductor and executive director." Allentown, Pennsylvania: Morning Call, May 22, 2019.
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