Key Chorale's Opus 1700 is a weekend escape for chamber music lovers

Key Chorale’s Opus 1700 is a weekend escape for chamber music lovers

Calling all Baroque music fans! We know you’re out there, whether you came to your love of Bach and Handel through secular or ecclesiastical channels.

In Sarasota, churches often provide the venues for classical music concerts, but you don’t have to subscribe to the host church’s doctrine to attend and enjoy the performance.

Agnostics shouldn’t be put off by the sacred setting for Key Chorale’s Opus 1700 weekend, which takes place at Church of the Redeemer. One of the reasons why churches are the venues for Baroque concerts is that they usually have organs, which come in handy for such period music.

Photo by Cliff Role

As he has for events like Bachtoberfest in 2023 and the hurricane-canceled Baroquetoberfest in 2024, Key Chorale Artistic Director is teaming up with Sam Nelson, organist and choirmaster of Church of the Redeemer, for Opus 1700.

The mini-festival kicks off on Friday, Jan. 23, with a performance of the rarely heard Parts 2 and 3 of Handel’s “Messiah.” Many music lovers are familiar with Part 1 because it is a holiday tradition in many communities.

On the second day of Opus 1700, Saturday, Jan. 24, the focus turns to Bach and his Mass in B Minor, which was composed over two decades and completed near the end of his life.

During his lifetime, Bach never heard the Mass performed in its entirety. It wasn’t until more than a century after the composer’s death that Mass in B Minor was performed in full.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Sam Nelson and Church of the Redeemer to present two of the most iconic masterpieces in the repertoire,” said Maestro Caulkins in a statement. 

“Sam Nelson will be conducting the lesser heard Parts 2 and 3 of Handel’s moving ‘Messiah’ and I will conduct Bach’s Mass in B Minor, a true tour de force for singers and players alike,” Caulkins continued.

The Mass contains nine distinct arias and duets, 14 ensemble movements for four, five, six and even eight voices, and “Et incarnatus est,” Bach’s final pages of vocal music.

“This is Bach’s most towering achievement,” Caulkins added. “His Mass in B Minor is the glorious summation of an extraordinary musical life — demonstrating Bach’s unparalleled skill, ingenuity, symbolism and dramatic power.”

Among the performers who will be singing in the Opus 1700 concerts are soprano Adelaide Boedecker, tenor Corey Shotwell, mezzo-soprano Amanda Crider, tenor David Tayloe, mezzo-soprano Thea Lobo, baritone Stephen Mumbert, soprano Nicole Estimo and baritone Edmund Willy.