{"id":119480,"date":"2025-11-14T13:03:31","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T18:03:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=119480"},"modified":"2025-11-14T13:03:31","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T18:03:31","slug":"preview-ottawa-bach-choir-opens-24th-season-handels-ode-st-cecilias-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/11\/14\/preview-ottawa-bach-choir-opens-24th-season-handels-ode-st-cecilias-day\/","title":{"rendered":"PREVIEW | Ottawa Bach Choir Opens 24th Season With Handel\u2019s Ode For St. Cecilia\u2019s Day"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The
The Ottawa Bach Choir (Photo courtesy of OBC)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Ottawa Bach Choir (OBC) kicks off its 2025\/26 season with Handel: Ode for St. Cecilia\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

In addition to Handel\u2019s rarely heard piece, the program includes Purcell\u2019s Welcome to all the Pleasures and Haydn\u2019s Missa Cellensis.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 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,\u201d says OBC Founder and Artistic Director, Dr. Lisette Canton<\/strong> in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoin us as we magnify the power of music in \u2018heavenly harmony\u2019 with extraordinary musicians in this style. Ottawa audiences won\u2019t want to miss this festive celebration!<\/p>\n

Handel\u2019s Ode for St. Cecilia\u2019s Day HWV 76<\/h3>\n

Handel wrote his Ode for St. Cecilia \u2014 the patron saint of musicians \u2014 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Purcell\u2019s Welcome to all the Pleasures Z339<\/h3>\n

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\u2019s day.<\/p>\n

Haydn\u2019s Missa Cellensis Hob. XXII:5<\/h3>\n

Haydn\u2019s Missa Cellensis in honorem Beatissimae Virginis Mariae (Hob. XXII:5) is also known as C\u00e4cilienmesse (St. Cecilia Mass). Haydn wrote the work in 17 movements in 1766, not long after his appointment to Kapellmeister to Prince Nikolaus Esterh\u00e1zy. 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.<\/p>\n

The Ottawa Bach Choir<\/h3>\n

The Ottawa Bach Choir was founded by Dr. Lisette Canton in 2002, and offers its audiences choral music through the centuries, while keeping Bach\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

OBC 2025\/26<\/h2>\n

The Choir\u2019s season continues with two additional concerts for their 24th season.<\/p>\n

Bach: Johannes-Passion (St. John Passion) (March 14, 2026)<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u2019s most dramatic works. The concert features the Theatre of Early Music baroque orchestra and international soloists, including soprano H\u00e9l\u00e8ne Brunet, countertenors
\nDaniel Taylor and Nicholas Burns, British tenor Charles Daniels, and other artists.<\/p>\n

Sacred and Profane (May 9, 2026)<\/strong><\/p>\n

This program includes Frank Martin\u2019s mMass for Double Choir, as well as music written for Shakespearian texts by composers Vaughan Williams, M\u00e4ntyj\u00e4rvi, Perrie, Tavener, and others. The Choir will be joined by pianist and organist Jennifer Loveless in a celebration of spring.<\/p>\n