Crescendo presents Bach’s Christmas Oratorio

Crescendo is an award-winning music organization based in Lakeville, Connecticut, which will present two concerts with festive Baroque holiday music for chorus, soloists, and orchestra on Dec. 28 and 29. The program brings comfort, joy, and a sense of wonder to listeners and celebrates unity, love, and hope through the power of music.

Johann Sebastian Bach’s Christmas Oratorio stands at the center of the program. Cantatas by his predecessors and contemporaries showcase the festive themes of Advent, Christmas, and the New Year.

The Crescendo Chorus of thirty singers is joined by soprano Paulina Francisco (Canada), countertenor Nicholas Tamagna (Germany), tenor Gene Stenger (Connecticut), bass-baritone Douglas Williams (Massachusetts), and Crescendo Period Instrument Orchestra with musicians from New York City and Boston. The performances are led by Crescendo’s founding artistic director, Christine Gevert.

“Baroque music appeals directly to our emotions. It is the foundation of most of the music we hear nowadays. These compositions incorporate melodies, rhythms, and even forms from folk music. The cantatas are full of dance rhythms, and familiar tunes, which makes them very accessible to our ears. Even without being a classical music fan or choral music lover, it is hard to not be cheered up by forty voices and fifteen instruments singing music that has great harmonic progressions, and beautiful melodies,” Gevert explained.

Crescendo’s concerts will take place at Trinity Episcopal Church in Lime Rock Dec. 28 and 29.Provided

“The natural trumpets and period timpani are played by experts, and their sound is very solemn and lively at the same time. The Christmas cantatas were composed for the most important moment in the church celebrations. The period instruments used in these works have a sound that is a bit more transparent, and perhaps differentiated than the instruments we hear in modern orchestras, and they also have very unique colors. That makes them perfect to accompany the human voice,” she added.

Gevert was raised in Chile and lived in Europe for twelve years. She had been thinking of moving to Boston in the early 2000s but found the Early Music scene there difficult to break into as a foreigner. Luckily for local audiences, she found her way to the Northwest Corner.

“I met the minister of Trinity Church Lime Rock at a meditation retreat in Rishikesh, India, and she let me know that the small Episcopal parish had many music-loving members, and that the music director position was opening up. I applied, and was hired in October of 2001. It took a bit to get the music program going, but I was able to constitute Crescendo here in the fall of 2003, and our audience, chorus and instrumentalists came immediately also from the adjacent areas in New York and Massachusetts. We became an independent 501 (c)(3) organization in 2006,” Gevert says.

Leading ensembles and producing events comes with its own set of challenges. Musicians are not typically educated or trained in management, marketing, and fundraising for arts organizations.

“You need to learn everything at the same time while leading the artistic part of the organization. Everything is done on a shoe-string budget. It was always my goal to bring the very best professionals to our programs, and to pay them a just fee. So most of our funds are used for that, and very little is left for management, marketing, and development. Understanding the functioning of a not-for-profit organization is a journey that has many unexpected challenges and obstacles. Learning to be a leader is not easy in any discipline,” Gevert explained.

“Adoration of the Magi,” by 17th century artist Artemisia Gentileschi. Provided

Gevert feels that society has changed since Covid, with many people still reluctant to attend live performances. The renewal of audience members, supporters, and amateur musicians is more important than ever.

“We have always offered free music education to students and young musicians at Crescendo, and currently have a program in place that functions besides our concert series, and benefits young local musicians who receive one-on-one training,” she added.

Crescendo has been in Lakeville for 21 years in large part because of the many music lovers in the area. Early Music colleagues from the East Coast have also been great supporters.

“We hope that we will be able to celebrate the beauty and power of live music for many more years to come,” said Gevert.

The concerts will take place on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024 at 4 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church, 484 Lime Rock Rd., Lakeville, CT, and on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024 at 4 p.m. at Saint James Place, 352 Main Street, Great Barrington, MA.

Tickets are available online at www.crescendomusic.org, or on a first come, first served basis at the door, 45 minutes prior to the concert.