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Arts & Entertainment

Bach Cantata & Choral Evensong

J.S. Bach's beautiful and timeless cantata "Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit" (God's time is the very best time) will be presented as the prelude recital to the Sunday, November 7 Choral Evensong at Trinity Episcopal Church, 81 Elm Street in Concord, MA.  Trinity's organist and music director Robert Barney directs the Trinity Parish Choir with soloists Cinda Nimmer, soprano; Laura Gouillart, alto; John McLaughlin, tenor and John LaBella, bass; and instrumentalists Sheila Beardslee and Heloise Degrugillier, recorders; and Colleen McGary-Smith and Zoe Weiss, violas da gamba.  The cantata is presented at 5 PM in Trinity's main sanctuary; this is a FREE program, and the public is invited to attend.

Possibly written in Mühlhausen in 1707 for the funeral of Bach's uncle, this cantata has a intimate and passionate quality unique in the great master's output. The arias and choruses blend together into a seamless arc.  The text, taken from the Old and New Testaments, consoles the bereaved, and highlights the soul's reunion with the Creator and Redeemer.

Following the Bach cantata performance, The Trinity Parish Choir, will sing Choral Evensong for the Feast of All Saints in the intimate beauty of Trinity's main sanctuary. The Choir will sing the "Magnificat" and "Nunc dimittis" by Henry Purcell, the "Responses" by Richard Ayleward, and "Justorum animae" by William Byrd.

 All in the Greater Concord community are invited to attend this contemplative service of music and prayer; this event is FREE. For information on this and other Trinity music events, please call 978/369-3715 or visit us on line  at http://www.trinityconcord.org.

Evensong — the service of Evening Prayer sung by a choir — dates back to 1549 and is still sung daily in cathedrals in England and other countries within the Anglican Communion. For centuries, this service has inspired the creation of magnificent choral music specifically for it. At Trinity, Evensong is held one Sunday each month, sung by the Trinity Parish Choir (adults) or visiting choirs, and one choral evensong is sung annually by the Trinity Youth Choir.

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