Thursday July 12 2012

Opening Night Gala Dinner: Restaurant Paul K 5:00 p.m. $75

Chamber Series: Works by J. S. Bach 8:00 p.m. $18-$40

Sonata in A Major for Violin & Harpsichord • Ich habe genug, CANTATA 82
Sonata in D Major for Viola da gamba & Harpsichord • Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 in B-flat Major

Friday July 13 2012

Chamber Series: Clerambault, Couperin, Leclair, and Rameau 8:00 p.m. $18-$40

Couperin: Sonata "La Sultane" & La Paix du Parnasse • Leclair: Flute Sonata No 2 in E Minor
Clerambault: Chaconne in D Major • Rameau: Troisième Pièce de Clavecin en Concert

Saturday July 14 2012

Public Colloquium: "Invitation to the Dance" 2:30 p.m. FREE - PRE-REGISTRATION REQUESTED
Join Academy faculty and participants in an exploration of the dances that provide the foundation and framework of Baroque music. Guest artist Sandra Noll Hammond will give an informative presentation and lead Academy members in a Baroque Dance workshop. With particular expertise in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century ballet, her career in dance has embraced ballet, modern dance, and baroque dance performance. She is a published author (McGraw-Hill) and a frequent guest artist on university campuses, where she enjoys introducing students to earlier forms of ballet technique and repertory from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Masterworks Series: The Leipzig Masters 8:00 p.m. $23-$45
Johann Sebastian Bach succeeded Johann Kuhnau as cantor of the Thomaskirche (St Thomas Church) in Leipzig. But Bach was the Leipzig town council's third choice! This program of masterful compositions presents the music of Kuhnau and Bach, along with masterpieces by Christoph Graupner and Georg Philipp Telemann - the first and second choice candidates for the job.

Kuhnau: Ihr Himmel jubilirt von Oben • Graupner: Magnificat in C Major
Telemann: La Bourse (Paris Stock Exchange) • Bach: Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major

Kathryn Mueller, soprano ~ Danielle Reutter-Harrah, mezzosoprano ~ Judith Malafronte, alto
Aaron Sheehan, tenor ~ William Sharp, baritone ~ American Bach Choir

Sunday July 15 2012

Masterworks Series: Bach's Mass in B Minor 2:00 p.m. $23-$50
The composition that many call the greatest musical work of all time will be performed by the ABS Academy Orchestra, the American Bach Choir, and soloists from the Academy, conducted by ABS Music Director Jeffrey Thomas. Fanfare Magazine wrote that "Thomas' direction seems just right, capturing the humanity of the music…there is no higher praise for Bach performance." [This work will be repeated on Sunday July 22 2012 at 2:00 p.m.]

Monday July 16 2012

Master Class Series: Harpsichord 3:00 p.m. FREE

Lecture Series: Jeffrey Thomas - The Evolution of Bach's Cantatas 5:00 p.m. FREE

Academy-in-Action Series: Bach Cantatas and works by Baroque masters 8:00 p.m. $10

Tuesday July 17 2012

Master Class Series: Violin & Viola 3:00 p.m. FREE

Lecture Series: Corey Jamason - A Day in the Life of a Parisian Musician 5:00 p.m. FREE

Academy-in-Action Series: Bach Cantatas and works by Baroque masters 8:00 p.m. $10

Wednesday July 18 2012

Master Class Series: Voice 3:00 p.m. FREE

Lecture Series: Steven Lehning - Purcell's Orchestra 5:00 p.m. FREE

8:00p.m. $10

Thursday July 19 2012

Master Class Series: Violoncello, Viola da gamba, Violone, & Contrabass 3:00 p.m. FREE

Lecture Series: Debra Nagy - Rameau the Revolutionary 5:00 p.m. FREE

Friday July 20 2012

Master Class Series: Winds & Brass 3:00 p.m. FREE

Lecture Series: Robert Mealy - Rameau & the Metamorphosis of the Baroque 5:00 p.m. FREE

Masterworks Series: Rameau's Pigmalion and Purcell's Dido & Aeneas 8:00 p.m. $18-$40
In this double-bill of Baroque operas, Love brings life to a statue and sorrowful death to a queen. Rameau's protagonist, the sculptor Pigmalion, faithfully entreats Venus to turn his artistry into a beautiful (singing) creature. In Purcell's tragedy, the ambitious Trojan Prince, Aeneas, leaves his betrothed Queen of Carthage abandoned and resigned to a lovelorn death. Vocalists and instrumentalists from the 2012 ABS Academy will be joined by the American Bach Choir in this evening about the magical and mortal powers of love.

Saturday July 21 2012

Lecture Series: An Afternoon with Robert Commanday 4:30 p.m. FREE
Robert Commanday, celebrated music critic, conductor, and founding editor of San Francisco Classical Voice, will give a lecture titled "A Millennium in 50 Years: The Discovery of Early Music," about the rich history of the early music movement in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. Following the lecture and joined by his colleagues and associates, Mr. Commanday's outstanding contributions to the cultural life of Northern California will be celebrated at this special tribute.

Distinguished Artist Series: Ian Howell, countertenor - Voice & Viols 8:00 p.m. $18-$40
Praised by San Francisco Classical Voice for the "heart at the core of his soulful sound," Philadelphia's Broad Street Review reported "As breathtaking as his voice is...Howell's stage presence is overpowering in a way that eludes description." Countertenor Ian Howell will present a recital accompanied by members of ABS and a viol consort drawn from the 2012 Academy. The performance will feature J.S. Bach's solo cantata "Gott soll allein," and music by William Byrd, Henry Purcell, Johann Christoph Bach, Georg Melchior Hoffman, and Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer.

Songs and Consort Music by William Byrd and Henry Purcell • Fischer: Klag-Gedicht
Hoffmann: Schlage doch, gewünschte Stunde • J.C. Bach: Ach, daß ich Wassers gnug hätte
J.S. Bach: Gott soll allein mein Herze haben, CANTATA 169

Sunday July 22 2012

Masterworks Series: Bach's Mass in B Minor 2:00 p.m. $23-$50
The 2012 Festival concludes with the composition that many call the greatest musical work of all time, performed by the ABS Academy Orchestra, the American Bach Choir, and soloists from the Academy, under the direction of Jeffrey Thomas: "Thomas' direction seems just right, capturing the humanity of the music ... there is no higher praise for Bach performance" — Fanfare