Carmel Bach Festival

July 17 – 31, 2010

America's most important Bach festival, the Carmel Bach Festival, returns in 2010 with 16 days of performances, talks and educational events. As in previous years, the focus is not only on Bach, but also on the many artists he influenced, such as Handel, Hayden, Mozart, Schubert, Boccherini, Beethoven, Brahms, and more.

Music Director and Conductor Bruno Weil has developed an exciting schedule, which will include multiple concerts every day. Gala dinners give guests the opportunity to enjoy fine food and magical performances. In the days leading up to the official start of the festival, visitors will even have the opportunity to attend several open rehearsals. View the full schedule at the Carmel Bach Festival website.

Main Concerts

Carmel Bach Festival attendees will have the opportunity to see several main concert programs. While some programs have a particular piece at their center, others use many works to give insight into an artist or the evolution of a musical form.

This year's all-Bach main concert is a full performance of his sacred masterpiece, St Matthew Passion. Bach is also featured in a tribute to Concertmaster Elizabeth Wallfisch titled "From One Heart to Many," as well as pieces by Locatelli and Telemann.

Bach's musical celebration of the human spirit is complemented by works by Barber, Beethoven and Brahms in "The Spirit Triumphant." Another multi-composer concert, "Music of Destiny," features works that focus on the concept of destiny, including Haydn's Symphony No. 22, Brahms' Shhiksalslied, and Beethoven's famous Symphony No. 5 in C Minor.

The audience will also have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the music of Bach's inheritors and one of his greatest influences. "Aha! Beethoven" features a number of excerpts from both his well-known and more obscure works to highlight themes in his music. "Endless Melody" features the tenor arias from Messiah as well as several of his works for harpsichord, organ and strings. Bach's predecessor Monteverdi, meanwhile, is highlighted in an unmissable concert, "Monteverdi Vespers of 1610." Monteverdi's landmark Vespers for the Blessed Virgin was, until Bach, the most ambitious work of religious music ever composed. This monumental work will be performed at the historic Carmel Mission.

Pre-Concert Talks

Preceding most main concerts is a pre-concert talk that provides insight into the works to be performed. David Gordon will explore the hidden meanings of Bach's St Matthew Passion in his talk "The Anxious Conscience," disclose the deeply personal reasons for Concertmaster Elizabeth Wallfisch's musical selections in "From One Heart to Many," and illuminate the philosophies behind the works in the concert "The Spirit Triumphant" in his talk "The Triumph of Goodness." He'll discuss the evolution he and Bruno Weil have seen "Aha! Beethoven" go through over the years tell the story of Handel's life in "Endless Melody," and discuss the origin of the works performed at the "Music of Destiny" concert. Andrew Megill, meanwhile, will explain the history behind Monteverdi's Vespers for the Blessed Virgin in his talk "Hear, O Heaven."

Dinners and Receptions

Dinners before three main concerts will feature cuisine evocative of the era of the works performed. Dinner at the Carmel Mission Basilica before Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610 features Italian cuisine by Chef Rima Crow. The Bittersweet Gala Dinner is an 18th century Viennese-style dinner by Cal Stamenov, executive chef and culinary director of Bernardus Lodge, and includes a private after-party with the musicians as well as Bruno Weil. There is also a free opening night reception before "The Spirit Triumphant."

Chamber Concerts

25 chamber concerts expose the breadth of Bach and those he influenced. See performances of Bach's organ works, his cello suites, and his sonatas for viola da gamba and harpsichord. You'll also have the chance to see works from Bach's contemporaries and inheritors, including Dunstable, Marais, Monteverdi, Palestrina, Boccherini, Corelli, Ferrandini, Handel, Mossi, Purcell, Mozart and more.

Free Community Concerts

Three free community concerts will give all music lovers the opportunity to take in classical works. Two of the concerts, Youth Chorus and the Young Musicians Showcase, spotlight young talents. The Festival Musicians concert, meanwhile, features concert musicians in an informal setting, performing everything from Bach to Broadway.

Free Tower Music Concerts

The ever-popular Tower Music concert series returns this year. Each of these free short concerts features the Festival Brass and heralds the beginning of a main concert. Tower Music concerts are held either in the Sunset Center terrace or in the Carmel Mission Basilica.

Films

The Carmel Bach Festival features two documentaries on classical music. El Sistema: Music to Change Life shows how Venezuela's musical education system has powerfully changed the lives of poverty-stricken children. Bach and Friends exposes the influence Bach has had on contemporary musicians as diverse as Philip Glass, Bobby McFerrin, Béla Fleck, Joshua Bell and more.

Free Behind the Scenes Talks

Learn about the lives of today's classical musicians, along with their tools and techniques at five free "Behind The Scenes" talks at the Sunset Center. Two talks, "The Singer Prepares" and "Vox Humana," reveal the lives and careers of contemporary classical vocalists. The three talks in the "You Take the Stage" series demonstrate the evolution of musical instruments over the centuries as well as "continuo," which uses intensive math to create the fundamental harmonic structure of baroque music.