Kansas City’s Bach Aria Soloists is filling new season with an inviting repertoire

Led by its founder, violinist Elizabeth Suh Lane, Bach Aria Soloists can always be counted on for some of Kansas City’s most unique and high quality concerts. The group has announced its 2023-2024 season, and it features the kind of interesting and inviting repertoire we’ve come to expect from this fine ensemble.

In addition to Lane, Bach Aria Soloists includes cellist Hannah Collins, soprano Sarah Tannehill Anderson and Elisa Bickers, organist at Village Presbyterian Church who also plays harpsichord and piano.

The new season includes the popular “BAS at the Park” and “Annual Holiday Concert,” as well as music inspired by Shakespeare and a collaboration with Te Deum, the excellent choral ensemble led by Matthew Christopher Shepard.

There’s no better way to celebrate the end of summer and the beginning of fall than “BAS at the Park” Sept. 23 at the Loose Park rose garden.

“We’ll include some favorites, like Vivaldi’s ‘Summer,’” Lane said. We’re also doing some Fritz Kreisler. He wrote so many beautiful gems. We think it’s a nice gift to the community to share this free open-air performance to start our season. It’s a chance for people who don’t normally come to our concerts to hear us because it’s free.”

“Dialogue” on Nov. 11 will take place at Greenwood Social Hall, artist Peregrine Honig’s home, which also serves as an art gallery and performing arts space.

“She loves opening it up for certain select events,” Lane said. “We’re calling it ‘Dialogue’ because we’re doing musical dialogues, including Narong Prangcharoen’s ‘Dialogue’ that he wrote for us.”

Prangcharoen also wrote another piece for Bach Aria Soloists which is on the program, “Reticence” for soprano, violin, cello and harpsichord. The group debuted the work when they toured Thailand last year. There will also be music by Monteverdi, Bach, Handel and Holst.

“Holst’s Four Songs is so lovely and charming,” Lane said. “It’s a sacred text for violin and soprano. You hear it, and it sounds like Holst, very pastoral. It’s sort of like a meditation.”

Honig is creating a limited edition poster for the event, a copy of which will be given to each person who attends. Lane says the tickets are limited, too, so it’s best to buy yours soon.

On Dec. 9, the group will present its popular “Annual Holiday Concert” at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. This is a concert for those who want a more intimate and spiritual holiday experience. Soprano Lindsey Lang will be the guest soloist.

“We love working with Lindsey,” Lane said “The timbre of her voice is so different from Sarah’s and so beautiful. And they’re very good friends, so they make a wonderful partnership. We’ll do our classic chamber music arrangements of some traditional Christmas favorites, but also the German carol ‘Maria dutch sin Dornwald sing’ (Maria walks amid the thorns). We’ve never done that before.”

On Jan. 13, it’s “Women of Note” at the Midwest Trust Center. Bach Aria Soloists has made a point of regularly programming wonderful music by female composers.This particular program will also celebrate the strong female characters in Shakespeare’s plays.

A local choral group as creative and enterprising as Bach Aria Soloists is Te Deum. Both groups will join forces for “Salve Mundi Salutare” Feb. 17 at Village Presbyterian Church. In addition to Benjamin Britten’s “Festival Te Deum,” the program will include a cantata by Bach and “Membra Jesu Nostril” by Bach’s idol, Dietrich Buxtehude.

“‘Membra Jesu Nostri’ means ‘The limbs of our Jesus,” Lane said. “It’s based on a 13th century poem. Our title, ‘Salve Mundi Salutare,’ ‘Hail, Salvation of the World,’ is a line from the text. Each of the movements depicts a different part of Jesus’ body, the heart, the hands, the feet. So that’s really unique and special for us.”

Wrapping up the season is a “Spring Concert” April 20 at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. Remarkably, this will be the first time Bach Aria Soloists have ever performed Beethoven in concert.

“We’re doing a lot of sonatas that are evocative of spring by Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms and a few arias, including Purcell’s ‘If Music Be the Food of Love,’” Lane said. “Just happy, springlike music. Elisa will play the piano in this concert. She considers herself more of an organist, but the woman can really play anything.”

The schedule:

Sept. 23 at 12:30 p.m. BAS at the Park. Loose Park Rose Garden, 5200 Wornall Road.

Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. Dialogue. Greenwood Social Hall, 1750 Belleview Ave., second floor.

Dec. 9 at 7:30 p.m. Annual Holiday Concert. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 11 E. 40th St.

Jan. 13 at 8 p.m. Women of Note in Words and Song. Midwest Trust Center, Johnson County Community College, 12345 College Blvd., Overland Park.

Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m. Salve Mundi Salutare. Village Presbyterian Church, 6641 Mission Road, Prairie Village. Also Feb. 18 at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral, 415 W. 13th St.

April 20 at 7:30 p.m. BAS’ Spring Concert. St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 6401 Wornall Terrace.

PATRICK NEAS, Kansas City Star

July 21, 2023