Gli Angeli Genève {Switzerland}
Stephan MacLeod – conductor
Wednesday August 27, 7:15 PM
Oblackie Centrum Edukacji i Kultury
ul. Elżbietańska 9/10 Gdańsk
Kościół św. Józefa
Treasures from Bach’s Library
PROGRAM
Johann Gottfried Reiche (1667–1734)
Sonatina
Antyfona / Antiphon
Ecce Sacerdos Magnus
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525?–1594)
Missa Ecce Sacerdos Magnus
Kyrie – Gloria
Johann Georg Christian Störl (1675–1719)
Ciaccona
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Missa Ecce Sacerdos Magnus
Sanctus – Agnus Dei
Johann Gottlieb Goldberg (1727–1756)
Durch die herzliche Barmherzigkeit DürG 1
Coro: Durch die herzliche Barmherzigkeit unsers Gottes
Aria: Dunkle Wolken, weicht, verschwindet
Recitativo: O froher Hoffnungsblick
Coro: Dass er erscheine denen
Arioso: Da Adam in der Sünder Orden mit seinen späten Kindern trat
Recitativo: Ein helles Licht
Coro: Und richte unsre Füsse
Recitativo: So folge denn, o Welt, dem Lichte
Choral: Johannes ging vor Jesu her
***
Johann Ludwig Bach (1677–1731)
Missa Brevis super „Allein Gott in der Höh’ sei Ehr”
Kyrie
Nikolaus Decius (1485?–1541?) – linia mel. / mel.
Johannes Eccard (1553–1611) – oprac. / sett.
Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr
Johann Ludwig Bach
Missa Brevis super „Allein Gott in der Höh’ sei Ehr”
Gloria
Martin Luther (1483–1546) – linia mel. / mel.
Martin Agricola (1486–1556) – oprac. / sett.
Ach Gott, vom Himmel, sieh darein
Johann Sebastian Bach
Cantata Ach Gott, vom Himmel, sieh darein, BWV 2
Coro: Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein
Rezitation: Sie lehren eitel falsche List
Aria: Tilg, o Gott, die Lehren
Rezitation: Die Armen sind verstört
Aria: Durchs Feuer wird das Silber rein
Choral: Das wollst du, Gott, bewahren rein
Vocalists
- Aleksandra Lewandowska – soprano (solo)
- Zoë Brookshaw – soprano (solo)
- Alex Potter – alto (solo)
- Ludmila Schwarzwalder – alto (ripieno)
- Thomas Hobbs – tenor (solo)
- Olivier Coiffet – tenor (ripieno)
- Stephan MacLeod – bass (solo), conductor
- Frederik Sjollema – bass (ripieno)
Instrumentalists
- Lambert Colson – cornetto
- Guy Hanssen – trombone
- Charlotte Van Passen – trombone
- Bart Vroomen – trombone
- Emmanuel Laporte – oboe
- Seung-Kyung Lee-Blondel – oboe
- Leila Schayegh – violin
- Eva Saladin – violin
- Sonoko Asabuki – viola
- Martine Schnorhk – viola
- Ageet Zweistra – cello
- Michaël Chanu – violone
- François Guerrier – harpsichord
- Francis Jacob – positive organ
Aleksandra Lewandowska, soprano
Aleksandra Lewandowska was born in Poland, where she studied violin and piano before turning to singing, which she studied with Wojtek Drabowicz in Poznan and then at the Weimar Conservatoire. She attended masterclasses with Evelyn Tubb and Barbara Schlick, and made her debut at the Poznan Opera in Auroraby E.T.A Hoffmann.
Aleksandra is active in the world of oratorio, singing under the direction of Herreweghe, van Veldhoven, MacLeod, Corboz, Duxbury, Luks, Reuss, Antonini, Sempé, Parrott, Weimann, Spering, Neumann and Fischer, and frequently works with Gli Angeli Genève, Collegium Vocale Gent, Collegium 1704, Arte dei Suonatori, the Polish Radio Orchestra and the Wrocław Baroque Orchestra.
She has performed at numerous European and international festivals, including Musikfest Bremen, Bachwoche Stuttgart, Festival de Saintes, Oude Muziek Utrecht, Thüringer Bachwochen, Lumine Voice Festival of Lofoten, Vratislavia Cantans, Chopin and his Europe and Early Music Vancouver.
Zoë Brookshaw, soprano
British soprano Zoë Brookshaw read Theology at Cambridge University where she was a choral Scholar at Trinity College. Beginning her career as a member of the Monteverdi Choir Apprentice Scheme, she is now an established soloist and was a Rising Star of the Enlightenment for the 2019-21 season. Her opera engagements include Euridice and La Musica L’Orfeo with I Fagiolini; Aerial Spirit TheIndian Queen with Le Concert d’Astrée / Emmanuelle Haïm, roles in The Fairy Queen and King Arthurwith GabrieliConsort / Paul McCreesh and Rameau Pygmalion with The Dunedin Consort / John Butt. On the concert platform Zoë has appeared with Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (Aci in Handel Aci, Galatea ePolifemo, Israel in Egypt at the BBC Proms, Bach the universe and Everything cantata series, PergolesiStabat Mater, Monteverdi Ballo dell’ingrate); Noord Nederlands Orkest (Mozart Exsultate,jubilate); Dubai Opera (Handel Messiah); the Monteverdi Choir (Bach and Handel); Gabrieli Consort (Handel, Purcell); Arcangelo (Monteverdi, Schütz, Vivaldi); Britten Sinfonia (Bach, St John Passion); Gli Angeli de Genève (CPE Bach DieIsraelitenin derWüste), Collegium Vocale Gent (Handel and Vivaldi) and Messiah with English Chamber Orchestra / Nicholas Kraemer. She is a member of the baroque ensemble Solomon’s Knot with whom she performs and records widely. Amongst her musical collaborators are conductors William Christie, Jonathan Cohen, Christian Curnyn, Steven Devine, Eamonn Dougan and Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Zoë has recorded Bach, Blow, Lennox & Michael Berkeley, Charpentier and Telemann on the Delphian, Hyperion, Resonus Classics, Signum Classics, Soli Deo Gloria, Sony and CPO labels. Soon to be released on OAEPlayer is the video of Zoë singing Strozzi Chesi puòfare.
Zoë’s Monteverdi Vespers with Finnish Baroque Orchestra and Solomon’s Knot, and Schützwith Jonathan Cohen and Arcangelo.
Alex Potter, alto
Praised by The Times for his “ethereal tone and beautiful control”, Alex Potter is one of the leading countertenors on the European musical scene. Alongside numerous performances of works by Bach, Handel and other established composers, he takes particular interest in seeking out and singing lesser known repertoire in concerts and recordings under his own direction. He performs performs with prominent conductors including Philippe Herreweghe, Hans Christoph Rademann, John Butt, Lars Ulrik Mortensen, Jordi Savall, Jos van Veldhoven, and Stephen Layton.
Recent performances of note include Bach’s B-Minor Mass with the Concertgebouw Orchestra/Philippe Herreweghe, concerts and a recording of works for solo countertenor by Vivaldi, Lotti and Caldara with the orchestra La Festa Musicale, a performance of works by Bach and Telemann with Arcangelo/Jonathan Cohen at the Wigmore Hall, and Benjamin Britten’s Abraham and Isaac with the tenor Thomas Hobbs in Vancouver, Canada. Most recently, together with Soprano Marta Mathéu and the orchestra Vespres d’Arnadí, he performed Handel – friends and foes at the Palau de la Musica in Barcelona, based on his own programme-concept of works by Handel and lesser-known contemporaries.
Alex Potter has a large discography with numerous ensembles and several solo recordings. Amongst others, he appears as on the recently released recording of Bach Cantatas with Philippe Herreweghe/Collegium Vocale Gent. A new disc with two of Bach’s solo-cantatas with Il Gardellino has just been released on the Pasacaille label.
After beginning his musical career as a chorister at Southwark Cathedral, Alex Potter was a Choral Scholar and read Music at New College, Oxford. He then went on to pursue further study in singing and baroque performance practice at the Schola Cantorum in Basel with Gerd Türk, taking additional classes with Evelyn Tubb.
Thomas Hobbs, tenor
Key engagements in recent seasons have included two tours across Europe with the prestigious Netherlands Bach Society as the tenor soloist in Bach Magnificat and as the Evangelist in Bach St Matthew Passion. Hobbs also continues his long running relationships with Gli Angeli Geneve, Le Banquet Céleste, Alia Mens, Tafelmusik and Ensembles Masques. Other recent engagements include a European tour of Handel Messiah with the RIAS Kammerchor, Evangelist in St Matthew Passion with the Bach Collegium Japan and Dutch Bach Society, the 25th birthday concert with the Dunedin Consort, Vivaldi Vespers with Musikpodium Stuttgart, Bach Christmas Oratorio with Concerto Copenhagen, Handel Messiah with Wrocław Baroque Orchestra, Early Music Vancouver, Sinfonietta Riga, Tafelmusik Toronto, RIAS Kammerchor and Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Vivaldi Venetian Vespers with Kammerchor Stuttgart and various projects with Collegium Vocale Ghent under the baton of Philippe Herreweghe and Gli Angeli Geneve under Stephan McLeod, Bach Mass in B minor on a European tour and at the Salzburg Festival with Collegium Vocale Gent and Herreweghe, Haydn Creation with Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla and the CBSO, Schumann Requiem with Richard Egarr and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Evangelist in St Matthew Passion on tour with the Netherlands Bach Society, and Messiah with the Academy of Ancient Music at the Barbican. He also sang Bach cantatas with Les Violons du Roy, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, and travelled to Australia to sing the Christmas Oratoriowith the Choir of London and Australian Chamber Orchestra. Hobbs performed Bach, Britten and Haydn with the Israel Camerata, sang Handel Alexander’s Feast with Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, as well as Bach programmes with Gli Angeli Geneve, La Chapelle Harmonique, Dunedin Consort at Wigmore Hall, and with the Milan Symphony Orchestra.
On the opera stage, Hobbs performed a critically acclaimed Telemachus in Monteverdi The Return of Ulysses in a new production for English National Opera conducted by Jonathan Cohen, Apollo and Shepherd in Monteverdi Orfeo in semi-staged performances with Richard Egarr and the AAM and the title role in Britten Albert Herringand Ferrando in Mozart Così fan tutte.
Hobbs’ ever-expanding discography includes Bach Trinitas with Le Banquet Céleste, Mass in B Minor with both CVG and Dunedin Consort, Bach Motets, Leipzig cantatas and Christmas Oratorio with CVG, Christmas Oratorio with Dunedin Consort, Bach Weimar Cantatas with Alia Mens, Handel Acis et Galatea and Esther with Dunedin Consort and Beethoven Mass in C with Stuttgart Kammerchor. His recordings of Handel Chandos Anthems with Stephen Layton and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Mozart Requiem with John Butt and the Dunedin Consort have been universally praised, with the latter receiving the 2014 Gramophone Award for best Choral recording.
Stephan MacLeod, bass-baritone and conductor
Stephan MacLeod was born in Geneva and studied singing in his native city, in Cologne and then in Lausanne. His concert career began during his studies in Germany with a fruitful collaboration with Reinhard Goebel and Musica Antiqua Köln. Since then, he has sung regularly with conductors such as Leonhardt, Herreweghe, Savall, Suzuki, Kuijken, Corboz, Brüggen, Kossenko, Pierlot, Luks, Mortensen, Harding, Junghänel, Rademann, Pichon, Van Immerseel, Coin, Rilling, Van Nevel and Bernius. He is founder and conductor of the Ensemble Gli Angeli Genève, which gives around thirty concerts a year throughout the world, and is regularly invited to conduct other ensembles (OSR, Philharmonie Zuidnerderland, Nederlandse Bachvereniging, etc.). More than 100 CDs, many of them critically acclaimed, document his work. He was singing teacher at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Lausanne from 2013 to 2023, and teaches at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Genève since September 2023.
GLI ANGELI GENÈVE
Gli Angeli Genève was founded in 2005 by Stephan MacLeod. A variable-geometry ensemble playing on period instruments (or copies of instruments), the ensemble is made up of musicians with careers in the field of Baroque music, but who have the particularity of not only playing early music. This eclecticism guarantees the vitality of their enthusiasm. It is also a driving force behind their curiosity.
Right from the beginning of a musical adventure that for several years concentrated solely on live performances of the complete Bach Cantatas in Geneva, with three concerts per season, Gli Angeli Genève has been the setting for encounters between some of the most famous singers and instrumentalists of the international baroque scene and young graduates of the High Schools of Music of Basel, Lyon, Lausanne and Geneva.
Internationally acclaimed since its first two recordings in 2009 and 2010, the ensemble now gives more than fifteen concerts a season in Geneva, as part of its Bach Cantatas, a series of annual concerts at Victoria Hall, the annual Haydn-Mozart festival created by the ensemble in 2021, and finally the Chambre des Anges, a new concert series inaugurated in 2022 and dedicated to chamber music.
The ensemble is equally in demand in Switzerland and abroad for performances not only of Bach, but also Tallis, Josquin, Schein, Schütz, Johann Christoph Bach, Weckmann, Buxtehude, Rosenmüller, Haydn, Mozart and others. In recent seasons, Gli Angeli Genève has been in residence at the Utrecht Festival and the Thuringer Bachwochen, and has performed in Basel, Zurich, Lucerne, Barcelona, Nürnberg, Bremen, Stuttgart, Brussels, Milan, Wroclaw, Paris, Ottawa, Vancouver, Amsterdam and The Hague. Gli Angeli Genève is a regular guest at the Saintes and Utrecht Festivals, the Bremen Musikfest and the Vancouver Bach Festival. The ensemble made its debut in 2019 at Lucerne’s KKL, and was invited in 2023 to the MA Festival in Bruges, the BesançonFestival and Vézelay. On the occasion of the Haydn-Mozart Festival, Gli Angeli Genève collaborates with guest conductors and artists: Michel Corboz in 2021, Kristian Bezuidenhout in 2022, Philippe Herreweghe in 2023, and Leonardo García Alarcón in 2024.
Gli Angeli Genève’s first recording for Claves Records, MusiquessacréesduXVIIesiècle à Wroclaw, won the 2019 ICMA award for best Baroque vocal recording of the year, and Johann Sebastian Bach’s St Matthew Passion has been enthusiastically received by audiences and critics alike, in Switzerland and around the world.
The ensemble’s discography also includes Bach’s Mass in B, nominated at ICMA 2022, Bach’s Cantatas for Bass, and Antoine Reicha’s rare Symphonies Concertantes, with soloists Christophe Coin, Davit Melkonyan, Chouchane Siranossianand Alexis Kossenko. Released in October 2022, Mozart’s Concertos for flute and orchestra, with Alexis Kossenko (flute) and Valeria Kafelnikov (harp) have been nominated for an ICMA 2023 award in the “Concerto” category. Johann Sebastian Bach’s St John Passion, released in April 2023, Josquin Desprez’s Malheur me bat, and Mezzo Mozartwith Marina Viotti, published by Aparté respectively in September 2023 and June 2024, have already won rave reviews from the press and public alike.
