Washington Classical Review

Christian Lane conducted the Emmanuel Choir in Bach’s complete motets Friday night in Baltimore. Photo: Magdaline Kovalchuk

Under the direction of Christian Lane, the Emmanuel Choir, performed the complete motets of Johann Sebastian Bach Friday night. This penultimate performance of the Baltimore choir’s season took place in its base at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in the Mt. Vernon neighborhood.

The six core motets, BWV 225-230, are some of the most exquisite gems in the choral repertoire, with Bach’s one-of-a-kind counterpoint, immaculate chorales, and dramatic harmonic language on full display. The program takes “complete” seriously by also including “Ich lasse dich nicht, du segnest mich denn,” BWV 1164). The work has been attributed to a cousin, Johann Christoph Bach, since 1823, though more recent scholarship has determined that its second movement is undoubtedly by J.S. Bach.

Music director Lane freely re-arranged the order of the motets to create an effective unfolding narrative: the program began with a plea, “Komm, Jesu, komm,” followed by a celebration, “Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied,” a promise, “Ich lasse dich nicht,” and ended with a prayer of thanksgiving, “Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf.” The crown jewel of Bach’s motets, the eleven-movement “Jesu, meine Freude,” (BWV 227) was reserved for the second half of the concert after intermission.

As Bach’s motets are some of the most extraordinary  and challenging choral pieces in the world, only a group of high-level singers like the Emmanuel Choir, led boldly by Lane, could pull off this choral marathon. 

While the performances of “Komm, Jesu, komm” and “Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied” displayed moments of graceful floridity and lovely purity, the choir really hit their stride with “Ich lasse dich nicht,” which was strikingly beautiful and full of colorful expression and heartfelt phrasing. The Baroque cellist, Adrienne Hyde, stood out especially in this movement, displaying a warm, open sound as a sensitive collaborator “Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf” was also well done  with exciting dynamic contrasts and clean, flowing coloratura, featuring especially strong performances from the soprano and bass sections.

“Jesu, meine Freude” featured bright German diction and a wide range of tonal colors from the ensemble with richness and depth contrasting an ethereal transparency. Unfortunately, here the contrapuntal complexity occasionally turned muddy; also there were moments, especially in the fifth and seventh movements, where the defiant and assertive energy of the texts came off rushed and rough.  The strongest section with soloists was the eighth movement, “So aber Christus in euch ist,” with Kaylee Parker’s ringing chiaroscuro, Cameron Falby’s sparkling flexibility, and Paul Max Tipton’s bold bass-baritone sound creating a captivating soundscape.

The final two motets of the concert, “Fürchte dich nicht” and “Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden,” lost a bit of steam, as some fatigue began to set in. In “Fürchte dich nicht,” the choir regained their focus and energy for the fugal section with a distinctive theme of descending, chromatic quarter notes on the text “Ich habe dich erlöset.” 

In the final piece, the homophonic section on the text “Denn seine Gnade und Wahrheit” took on a heavenly quality, supported by the ideally balanced Baroque cello and organ, played by Adam Pearl.

The Emmanuel Choir performs Craig Hella Johnson’s Considering Matthew Shepard 4 p.m. June 7. emmanueldowntown.org

Laura Curl is a soprano, teacher, and award-winning scholar from Bethesda, Maryland. She has undergraduate degrees in vocal performance and Italian, a doctoral degree in vocal pedagogy, from the University of Maryland, and a master’s degree in musicology from The Catholic University of America. As a performer, she sings a wide range of music, from Renaissance polyphony to folk music as a duo with her husband Alexander Gallows.