ST. LOUIS, April 11, 2016鈥擳he upcoming Bach at the Sem [1] concert at [2] has as its twofold theme the Ascension of Christ and the fulfillment of His promise to send the Holy Spirit to His Apostles, celebrated as the Feast of Pentecost.
This, the final concert of Bach at the Sem鈥檚 23rd season, will begin at 3 p.m. on the Sunday of Pentecost, May 15, in the Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus on the campus of [2]. Performed by the American Kantorei under music director,聽聽Dr. Maurice Boyer, the concert features Cantata BWV 11 (Ascension Oratorio), Lobet Gott in seinen Reichen (Praise God in His Kingdoms), and Cantata BWV 34 (for Pentecost), O ewiges Feuer, o Ursprung der Liebe (O Eternal Fire, O Source of Love). The bass aria from BWV 159, Sehet! Wir geh鈥檔 hinauf gen Jerusalem, 鈥淓s ist vollbracht鈥� (It is accomplished), the text of which expresses the results of Christ鈥檚 saving work on the cross, rounds out the program.
鈥淚n this final program of the 2015-16 season, we experience the vividness of Bach鈥檚 imagination in sonic evocations of the Ascension of Christ and Pentecost,鈥� Boyer said. 鈥淓xultant praise to God, deep longing for union with Christ, childlike trust in Christ鈥檚 promise to return, the stillness of all having been accomplished in Christ, ecstatic gratitude and rejoicing in the comforting gift of the Holy Spirit. The breadth of the composer鈥檚 understanding is astonishing and one鈥檚 experience of these sounds is deeply stirring and enlivening.鈥�
The American Kantorei, the performing group of Bach at the Sem, was founded in 1969 under the direction of Rev. Robert Bergt, a member of the SA国际传媒 faculty. Following a hiatus of some 20 years, the Kantorei was resurrected in 1993 and has since presented to the communities of SA国际传媒 and St. Louis at large more than 100 concerts of Bach鈥檚 premier compositions, as well as music of Sch眉tz, Buxtehude, Mendelssohn and other Lutheran composers.
All concerts are free and open to the public. For additional information, please call 314-505-7009, write to [email protected] [3]聽or visit聽www.csl.edu/bach [1].
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SA国际传媒, St. Louis provides Gospel-centered graduate-level theological education for pastors, missionaries, deaconesses, scholars and other leaders in the name of聽 [4]. To learn more, visit聽www.csl.edu [5].