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All musical roads lead to Bach.  Not one of the many J.C. Bach's or the significant W.F or C.P.E Bach but - the big guy - Johann Sebastian Bach.  From the simple educational pieces in the Notebook for Anna Magdelena Bach to the mind blowing complexity of the Concertos for Solo Violin, musicians all over the world have grown up with Papa Bach.  Violinist and director of the Bach Aria Soloists, Elizabeth Suh-Lane has. "Mastering Bach is a lifelong pursuit" she told the audience last Saturday.

The Kansas City Bach Aria Soloists have been pursuing Bach and the composers influenced by him for ten years with great success.  Through the development of the Hauskonzert approach to presenting chamber music in an actual room of  a generous patron's home, the group recreates the authentic Baroque experiences. But Bach was also a dedicated church musician and Kapellmeister.  His other "home" was the organ loft. Saturday night the performance took place at the elegant Village Presbyterian Church where the arched Palladian windows and white walls complimented the luminous blue harpsichord and the silvery organ pipes.


The Master of Ceremonies for the evening was William 'Bill" McGlaughlin, who KC audiences will remember as former Music Director of the Kansas City Symphony from 1986-1998;  and who audiences all over the U.S. will know as the voice of the classical music interview show, St. Paul Sunday Morning on National Public Radio. McGlaughlin introduced the pieces with interesting background information and facilitated an amusing dialog.  "This is music of the Enlightenment" he said.  And enlighten the audience, he did.

The program began with a piece about fatherly love, Gott versorget from Cantata 187 expertly sung by soprano Rebecca Lloyd.  Ms. Lloyd has a beautiful balance of mellow and bright in her tone which she understands and uses to maximum effectiveness.  In the piece Ich bin vergnugt, from Cantata 58, she animated the text with such ferocious passion that I wondered if this piece had informed Mozart when he wrote the Queen of the Night aria from The Magic Flute. Her final pieces from Cantata 202, Und dieses ist das Glucke, Sich uben im Lieben, were written as Tafelmusik, or table music, for a special occasion.  The text describes the sensual love between a man and a woman, something old papa Bach knew a thing or two about having fathered 20 children himself.  

The versatile guitarist, Beau Bledsoe joined Elizabeth Suh-Lane for some of Bach's more famous preludes transcribed for guitar and violin.  The highly arpeggiated preludes were performed with precision by Bledsoe whose instrument gave the usually stiff pieces a humble and heartfelt feeling.  Suh-Lane, used her lighter Baroque bow to skim the top of the strings.  The occasional overtone had a tendency to escape, but it didn't distract, it merely heightened my awareness of the authenticity of the sound.  Bledsoe and Lloyd joined after the intermission for the gorgeous Cantilena from Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5. Originally written to be accompanied by eight cellos, I like the texture of the guitar better. Bledsoe specializes in the Flamenco and tango music of South America and Spain, but he seemed to play this piece with more gravitas than flair. The piece ends with the soprano humming a high "A".  Lloyd effortlessly projected the glorious note through the space to the amazement of everyone there.

Elisa Bickers performed a series of improvisations on the familiar Baroque Chorale that we recognize as Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.  With each version, the tune morphed.  From the contrasting stops in each hand to a creative use of ornamentation and on to a passacaglia she stretched the limits of the tune -  as well as demonstrated the range of the instrument, just as Bach would have done.  The harpsichord would seem to be diametrically opposed to the organ in size and technique.  She played the harpsichord with a stylish touch that was sensitive to the needs of the ensemble.


When Elizabeth Suh-Lane took the stage, she demonstrated how Bach influenced Bartok.  First she played the fiery presto movement from the Sonata No. 1 in G minor for Unaccompanied Violin, BWV 1001.  Each note seemed to fall perfectly into place with exactly the right stress, and it made the busy lines meaningful to the ear.  Juxtaposing the Melodia and Presto movements from the Bartok Solo Sonata for Violin, Sz. 117 was pure genius.  She switched to the heavier, modern bow at that point, and it was as if a different instrument was being played.  The result was a rich, mellow, silky smooth sound. Bartok stretches the boundaries of possibility with this incredible piece, and Suh-Lane was required to use nearly every expressive technique known to her instrument.  The Presto movement, in particular, had unmistakable references to Bach.  It was clear that Bartok would not have been the same composer had Bach not lived.

The conclusion of the concert was met with a well deserved standing ovation.  Interesting, well designed programming is a hallmark of the Bach Aria Soloists.  Having the skilled Bill McGlaughlin on stage to flesh out the composers and put it all into context made this concert a satisfying mixture of education and entertainment.  I can't wait for their next intriguing collaboration.


REVIEW:
Bill McGlaughlin and the Bach Aria Soloists
Inspired by Bach
Saturday March 27,  2010
Village Presbyterian Church
Prairie Village, KS
For more information call 816-235-6222 or online at www.BachAriaSoloists.com

Top photo: Elizabeth Suh-Lane

By Megan Browne Helm

Classical, Vocal and Theatre Contributor

Megan Browne Helm grew up singing, dancing and acting.  Inspired by Emma Kirkby as a high school student in St. Louis she went on to study voice and sing with the Collegium Musicum at the Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio where she also had a radio show of contemporary classical music on WOBC.  At the University of Kansas she had the pleasure of working with former Kings’ Singer, Simon Carrington in his Collegium Musicum and Oread consort. Years later, she was a choral fellow at the Yale School of Music’s  Norfolk Chamber Music Festival.  She is currently singing with the Kansas City Symphony Chorus under the direction of Charles Bruffy. 

 As a freelance music and culture writer her work can be found on KCMetropolis.org, presentmagazine.com, the Lawrence Journal World, Shawnee Magazine, Leawood Lifestyle Magazine and KC Parent.  She was one of 26 journalists in the country chosen as a NEA Institute Fellow for Classical Music and Opera at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. 

Her current interest is how classical music remains relevant through active collaborations with artists in different fields, including science.  She also sees a connection between classical music, travel and food as a way to engage all of the senses in a 360 degree cultural experience.  She blogs at raworganum.wordpress.com.