Andrea Lauren Brown, soprano
Jody Kidwell, alto
Colin Doyle, tenor
Richard Zuch, bass

Gioachino Rossini:
Stabat Mater

J. S. Bach:
Christ lag in Todesbanden, BWV 4
Easter Oratorio, BWV 249

Three majestic works that pertain to the events of the Easter Triduum, the three days from Good Friday to Easter Sunday. Rossini’s Stabat Mater, a deeply moving work of heartfelt devotion by this beloved opera composer, written after his “retirement,” brimming with passion and theatrical drama, and as popular at its 1842 premiere as any of his operas. Plus two sublime masterpieces by J.S. Bach: his first cantata for Easter, Christ Lay in Death’s Bonds, the earliest and best known of all his sacred cantatas, and his majestic Easter Oratorio, for the first time in our programming, about the finding of the empty tomb on Easter morning, a triumphant work of praise, hope and joy that is the message of Easter. An inspiring concert for this most sacred day.

Running time: 2 hours 30 minutes, including one intermission