St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble Presents BAROQUE IN PIECES, 10/14-19

St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble will begin its 2012/2013 chamber series with Baroque repertoire by Heinrich Biber, Tomaso Albinoni and J.S. Bach. Baroque in Pieces will be presented in three concerts taking place at Brooklyn Museum and The Morgan Library & Museum (Richard Gilder Chamber Music Series).

The program will begin with a piece by Heinrich Biber, one of the greatest violinists of the 17th century. Biber's Sonata No. 3 in F Major offers a dazzling array of virtuosic violin technique, featuring St. Luke's Krista Bennion Feeney. The work showcases the dramatic German style of Baroque violin sonatas.

The program will then move from Germany to Italy with Albinoni's distinctive Concerto for Two Oboes in C Major. The work will spotlight St. Luke's oboists Stephen Taylor and Melanie Feld, each performing melody lines with grace and lyricism.

The final two works by J.S. Bach were composed during his five years in Cöthen, which produced a large portion of his secular, instrumental works. Bach's Violin Concerto in A minor reflects the vivid, energetic concerto traditions of Italy-Vivaldi, in particular-blended with an intricate, German contrapuntal style. Bach invigorates the structure of the Italian concerto by adding a greater emphasis on the orchestra in its exchange with the violin soloist Krista Bennion Feeney.

Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 1 in C Major will close the program with a festive, large ensemble performing a collection of stylized Baroque dances. Bach himself titled the works with the name "Ouvertures," as an indication of their grand, French style, which originated with the ballets of Jean-Baptiste Lully and quickly spread throughout Europe.

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