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.

Margaret Carpenter Haigh, Paulina Francisco, Madeline Healey, and Arwen Myers, soprano
Laura Atkinson, Jay Carter, and Elisa Sutherland, alto
Haitham Haidar, Gene Stenger, and Steven Wilson, tenor
Matt Cramer, Edmund Milly, Constantine Novotny, and Jared Swope, bass

Nicolas Haigh, conductor

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