Symphony brings Bach to Palm Sunday service

On Sunday, members of the Bremerton WestSound Symphony and friends will perform four of the most beautiful works of Johann Sebastian Bach as part of the Palm Sunday service at Bremerton United Methodist Church.

"Sheep May Safely Graze" from Cantata 208 is one of the best known melodies by Bach, but it is seldom heard in live performance. This is a soothing melody for soprano Dr. Emerald Lessley, with the pastoral accompaniment of two flutes, performed by Deliana Broussard and Anna Schroeder.

A second much more sprightly aria from this same cantata, "The Wooly Flocks," features a fabulous and furious cello solo with Arlayne Eseman.

"How They Quiver and Waver, the Thoughts of Sinners," from Cantata 105 is a tour de force for soprano and oboist Kristin Guy. In this brilliant musical description of the text, Bach intentionally uses no Bass or Cello as if to say, "there is no solid basis for these thoughts." Bach scholar Ulrich Leisinger described this as "one of the most impressive arias ever composed by Bach."

The final choral work is from Cantata 140 "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme" ("Awake calls the Voice Unto Us"). This is a wonderful flowing melody in Eb. The Bremerton United Methodist Church choir, under Music Director Earl Rice, will join members of the symphony to sing the words of the hymn just as the congregation would have joined in singing with the orchestra in Bach’s time.

To celebrate the beginning of spring, Principal Trumpet Shelly Devlin and organist Chris Eisenberg will perform "The Prince of Denmark's March," better known as the "Trumpet Voluntary," composed circa 1700 by the English composer Jeremiah Clarke.

Palm Sunday service with J. S. Bach and Jeremiah Clarke

Who: Members of Bremerton WestSound Symphony

Where: Bremerton United Methodist Church, 1150 Marine Drive, Bremerton

When: April 2, 10:30 a.m.

Tickets: Free admission

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Symphony brings Bach to Palm Sunday service