The Grand Tour

Announcing an Exhilarating Season

by Music Director Sanford Dole

We have three exciting programs lined up for our 24th season! As the name implies, The Grand Tour will take us through many styles and eras of the world’s great choral music.

Our December concert, A Baroque Christmas Around the World, features soloists and an orchestra of period instruments. After touching down at the European destinations of Germany, Italy, and France, I thought it would also be fun to highlight music from the New World. There was a thriving musical culture on this side of the Atlantic during the 17th and 18th centuries. Compositions by the maestros de capilla of the cathedrals in Mexico City and La Plata, Bolivia, will be heard along with works by J. S. Bach, Marc-Antoine Charpentier, and Alessandro Scarlatti.

For our March concert, we present There is Sweet Music: The English Choral Tradition, Then and Now. Sacred and secular a cappella works from the Renaissance make up the first half of the program. The second half transports us to the 20th century.

Featured styles include the exquisite polyphony of such masters as Purcell, Byrd, and Tallis, and the lush harmonies of Stanford, Howells, and Vaughan Williams. I am especially looking forward to the more recent works of John Tavener and Jonathan Harvey and to our program closer, There is Sweet Music by Sir Edward Elgar, a brilliant little gem set in two different keys, the women one half-step apart from the men.

Be prepared to offer a hearty “bon voyage” as we present works on our June concert that will be included in our first ever tour abroad, scheduled for July. A Musical Journey will include music from a diverse group of countries, styles, and eras. Bach’s motet Der Geist hilft will be featured, along with works by Gabrieli, Palestrina, and Bruckner and the music of Russian and French composers.

The second half will be all-American! Along with the music of eminent composers from around the country, I am excited to feature a set of works by Bay Area composers. Scores by nationally-known Kirke Mechem and David Conte will be heard alongside those of up-and-coming local talent.

Join us for this exciting season of great choral music performed with panache by the Guild Chorus, one of the Bay Area’s musical treasures!

Volume 11, Issue 1

Baroque Choral Guild, 953 Industrial Ave. Ste 118, Palo Alto CA 94303, 650.424.1410