The Ottawa Bach Choir (OBC) kicks off its 2025/26 season with Handel: Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day on November 22. The JUNO award-winning choir will be joined by Ensemble Caprice baroque orchestra, and soloists soprano Ellen Wieser, tenor Owen McCausland, and countertenor Nicholas Burns.
In addition to Handel’s rarely heard piece, the program includes Purcell’s Welcome to all the Pleasures and Haydn’s Missa Cellensis.
“The celebration of music, honouring the patron saint of music St. Cecilia, is one of great historical significance and we are thrilled to present some of the finest works on this theme by Handel, Purcell and Haydn,” says OBC Founder and Artistic Director, Dr. Lisette Canton in a statement.
“Join us as we magnify the power of music in ‘heavenly harmony’ with extraordinary musicians in this style. Ottawa audiences won’t want to miss this festive celebration!
Handel’s Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day HWV 76
Handel wrote his Ode for St. Cecilia — the patron saint of musicians — in 1739, and it consists of 12 movements. The work had its premiere in London later that year. The text uses a poem by English writer John Dryden, A Song for St. Cecilia’s Day, which was written in 1687. Dryden, then the English Poet Laureate, wrote it for the annual festival of St. Cecilia, which was observed in London and throughout Europe each November 22. The theme of the poem is the power of music, both in human lives and in the divine order of the world.
Purcell’s Welcome to all the Pleasures Z339
Henry Purcell wrote his Welcome to All the Pleasures in honour of St. Cecilia at the age of 24. It was completed in 1683 as a commission for The Musical Society in London, and was first performed that year. Purcell uses a text by Christopher Fishburn (as stipulated by the commissioning organization), which focuses, as the title implies, on the joys of music. In it, Purcell uses the ritornello (a string technique) and ground (a repeated bass line) in what was then an innovative way, and the piece was successful from its debut. The work was the first of a series of commission by the Musical Society of London to commemorate the Saint’s day.
Haydn’s Missa Cellensis Hob. XXII:5
Haydn’s Missa Cellensis in honorem Beatissimae Virginis Mariae (Hob. XXII:5) is also known as Cäcilienmesse (St. Cecilia Mass). Haydn wrote the work in 17 movements in 1766, not long after his appointment to Kapellmeister to Prince Nikolaus Esterházy. It was known as the St. Cecilia Mass until the original manuscript was discovered in Budapest in 1970. The work is the third, and largest, of the 14 Latin masses that Haydn would write during his lifetime.
The Ottawa Bach Choir
The Ottawa Bach Choir was founded by Dr. Lisette Canton in 2002, and offers its audiences choral music through the centuries, while keeping Bach’s choral music at the heart of its repertoire. In addition to its local concert season, the Choir has toured nationally and internationally throughout North America, Europe, Mexico, and China, and made several award-winning recordings.
OBC 2025/26
The Choir’s season continues with two additional concerts for their 24th season.
Bach: Johannes-Passion (St. John Passion) (March 14, 2026)
Bach composed his popular St. John Passion, BWV 245, in 1724 in Leipzig. It was a sensation on its debut, and is one of the composer’s most dramatic works. The concert features the Theatre of Early Music baroque orchestra and international soloists, including soprano Hélène Brunet, countertenors
Daniel Taylor and Nicholas Burns, British tenor Charles Daniels, and other artists.
Sacred and Profane (May 9, 2026)
This program includes Frank Martin’s mMass for Double Choir, as well as music written for Shakespearian texts by composers Vaughan Williams, Mäntyjärvi, Perrie, Tavener, and others. The Choir will be joined by pianist and organist Jennifer Loveless in a celebration of spring.
- Find details and tickets for the November 22 performance of Handel’s Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day and the rest of their season [HERE].
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