Tafelmusik's 40th Anniversary Season to End with 'Magnificat' and 'Missa Divi Xaverii'

Tafelmusik's 40th anniversary season culminates in May with exuberant music by J.S. Bach and Jan Dismas Zelenka, two composers long championed by Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir. Bach's cherished Magnificat is paired with the Toronto premiere of Missa Divi Xaverii by his Czech contemporary, Jan Dismas Zelenka. Chamber Choir Director Ivars Taurins presides over this very special end to a celebratory season with guest soloists Jana Miller, soprano; Meg Bragle, mezzo-soprano; and Colin Ainsworth, tenor. The concerts take place May 9 to 12, 2019 at Koerner Hall, TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning. Complete program details are available at tafelmusik.org.

"It's no coincidence that the final program of Tafelmusik's celebratory 40th anniversary season features works by Bach and Zelenka - two composers dear to the hearts of the choir and orchestra, and our audience! The music of these composers embodies the dynamic, engaging, and soulful qualities that never fail to inspire us. It's also our delight to present Zelenka's brilliant Missa Divi Xaverii to Toronto audiences for the first time," said Ivars Taurins.

Tafelmusik has performed the inventive, daring music of Zelenka since its very first season in 1978/79, and its debut performances of Missa Divi Xaverii make for an especially fitting conclusion to the 40th anniversary season. The mass is scored for choir, soloists and orchestra augmented with flutes, four trumpets, and timpani. First performed in 1729, theMissa has been described as "one of his most dazzling and joyful compositions" by Czech conductor and Zelenka specialist Václav Luks.

The exuberant Magnificat was among the first of Bach's large choral works. Composed in 1723 during the composer's first year at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, this setting of Mary's hymn from the Gospel of St. Luke already demonstrates Bach's astonishing expressive ability to convey the meaning of the Latin text through music.

BMO Financial Group is the Presenting Sponsor for Bach Magnificat. Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP is a Concert Sponsor.