Bach at One

On Wednesdays this fall, Bach at One will continue the church’s century-old tradition of offering free lunchtime music, but in a new location: the nave of Trinity Church, where the church’s Baroque experts will help inaugurate the magnificent new Glatter-Götz/Rosales pipe organ.

Trinity Baroque Orchestra, Trinity Choir, NOVUS, and organist Avi Stein will highlight Johann Sebastian Bach’s virtuosity on the instrument that played such a vital role in his life and music. Renowned for his technical brilliance and musical expression, Bach created some of his most profound works on the organ, using it to push musical boundaries and explore the divine. Join us this October to hear cherished works and concertos by the composer and his compatriots.

October 1, 1pm in Trinity Church

Trinity’s organist, Avi Stein, will lead Trinity Choir and Trinity Baroque Orchestra in performing one of Bach’s most monumental works — the Mass in B Minor (Part 1: Kyrie and Gloria) — in an equally monumental space. In this selection from the magnum opus, written toward the end of Bach’s life, aficionados will recognize references to earlier compositions, including several cantatas and the St. Matthew Passion. A vast retrospective, this work is sure to underscore Johannes Brahms’s famous decree: “Study Bach, there you will find everything.” The conclusion of the Mass will be performed on October 29.

October 8, 1pm in Trinity Church

This program, which pairs the church’s new landmark organ with Trinity Baroque Orchestra, features Bach’s Organ Concerto in D Minor — a reconstruction of a lost concerto, based on the dazzling D Minor Harpsichord Concerto and movements from various cantatas. The musicians will also perform Orchestral Suite No. 1 in C Major, a grand ode to dance music inspired by the splendors of the court of Versailles. Led by Avi Stein, organ.

October 15, 1pm in Trinity Church

Bach’s most ambitious and jubilant motet for double choir, Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, will be performed alongside a lush, witty homage to the maestro. The Organ Concerto in G Minor was written by Francis Poulenc, one of the 20th century’s most eclectic composers, whose music is at once deeply emotional and charmingly urbane. Avi Stein, organ; Trinity Choir; NOVUS; Melissa Attebury, director.

October 22, 1pm – 2pm

After years and years of composing sacred music, Bach turned his focus to the Collegium Musicum, a public concert series in Leipzig performed in coffeehouses and beer gardens. There he both presented his own works and programmed the music of his contemporaries, such as Antonio Lucio Vivaldi and George Frideric Handel. Today, with Trinity Baroque Orchestra, Avi Stein performs organ pieces by each of these virtuosi.

October 29, 1pm – 2pm

Trinity Choir and Baroque Orchestra, led by Avi Stein, will wrap up Bach at One’s celebration of the church’s new organ with Bach’s Fugue in D Major and the conclusion of his transcendent Mass in B Minor (Part II-Part IV). Expect a majestic performance of a work widely considered to be the pinnacle of Bach’s compositional career. From the moving Credo and joyous Sanctus to the stunning Agnus Dei, the Mass is a showcase of the master at his most inspired, revealing both incredible artistry and a commitment to faith. Trinity Choir; Trinity Baroque Orchestra; led by Avi Stein, organ.

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