Bach Aria Soloists Concert Abounds with Seasonal Cheer
Seasonal cheer abounded Friday night, December 5, as the Bach Aria Soloists presented their Annual Holiday Concert at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in midtown Kansas City.
The Bach Aria Soloists have served as a musical fixture in Kansas City for decades. The ensemble features violinist and founder Elizabeth Suh Lane, soprano Sarah Tannehill Anderson and harpsichordist/organist/pianist Elisa Williams Bickers. In addition, the trio regularly includes other performers. This concert featured tenor JW Keckley and violinist Can Balcik-Moretti.
The program opened with two movements from J. S. Bach’s Trio Sonata in C Major for Two Violins, BWV 1037, played by Suh Lane, Balcik-Moretti and Bickers on the harpsichord. The violinists performed with a beautiful, warm tone, very light vibrato, and tasteful ornamentation. The slow opening movement was lush and lyrical, and the dancelike second movement featured rapid passages deftly delivered.
If there is one genre the audience should expect from the Bach Aria Soloists, it is, well…Bach arias. This program certainly did not disappoint those in attendance. In fact, Suh Lane announced that the program contained “two of the greatest tenor arias in the Bach cantata canon.”
Photo credit: Aaron Freeman, AFree Photography, LLC
The first of these was “Ich traue in seiner Gnaden” (“I trust in His dear mercy”) from Bach’s cantata BWV 97. Tenor Keckley displayed a light but attractive voice and the ability to negotiate the complex Bach melodic lines with grace and agility. The real star in the aria, however, was Suh Lane with her opulent and expressive playing. The joyful “Hallelujah” from cantata BWV 29 was enjoyable but featured a few intonation slips.
Another Bach aria stood out for me—this time from the Christmas Oratorio—”Ich will nur dir zu Ehren leben” (“I will live only in your honor.”) The two violinists, Suh Lane and Balcik-Moretti, were both impressive and expressive with their melodic interplay. Keckley again displayed admirable flexibility and agility, delivering virtuosic rapid passages. Occasionally, however, he could not be heard well over the instruments.
Photo credit: Aaron Freeman, AFree Photography, LLC
In some ways, the busiest performer of the evening was Bickers, who helped meet her steps goal for the day travelling the distance between the harpsichord, organ and Steinway piano. She played a beautiful French baroque organ carol by Louis-Claude Daquin: À la venuë de Noël (At the Coming of Christmas). While basically a simple and graceful tune, the beautifully chosen contrasting registrations enriched the melodic variations. The elegant ornamentation Bickers employed also enhanced the effect of the music. In the “Largo” from Vivaldi’s Winter concerto from The Four Seasons, Bickers delivered a steady accompaniment to Suh Lane’s warm violin part and occasionally echoed the violin ornaments.
Soprano Sarah Tannehill Anderson is known as one of the region’s premier vocalists, and with good reason. The lovely color of her voice and her clear tone were on display in the Bach aria “Vergnügen und Lust” (“Amusement and Mirth”) from cantata BWV 197. She also sang two rarely heard works: “St. Ita’s Vision” from Samuel Barber’s Hermit Songs, and Claude Debussy’s “Noël des enfants qui n’ont plus de maisons” (“A carol for homeless children”). Debussy’s haunting piece from World War I was disturbing, touching, and successfully performed by Tannehill Anderson and Bickers.
Photo credit: Aaron Freeman, AFree Photography, LLC
Only a few selections on the program featured all five performers, and the most stirring was a beautiful arrangement of Adolphe Adam’s classic “O Holy Night,” sung in both French and English. It opened with a full verse played by violins and organ with a rich and luxuriant tone. Subsequent verses were sung in a beautiful arrangement. At the end of the composition, Tannehill Anderson’s soaring vocals, and the ensemble’s relaxed tempo at the work’s climax were superb.
Bickers and Tannehill Anderson presented three very different versions of the classic carol “In Dulci Jubilo.” The first, by French organist Marcel Dupré, was played by Bickers on the organ with a gentle rocking effect. By contrast, the second organ setting by American Norman Dello Joio, featured crisp rhythms and slightly acerbic harmonies, making it both rollicking and joyful. The final version by Englishman John Rutter for piano and soprano, featured the mixed Latin and English text with a sparkling piano accompaniment. It was simply delightful.
The evening ended with three carols played by the ensemble with the audience singing along. Clearly there were many choir members in the audience, since the music was nicely harmonized.
The acoustics in the beautiful century-old St. Paul’s Episcopal Church were outstanding, with all the stone and wooden surfaces.
For more information on the remainder of the Bach Aria Soloist’s season, visit www.bachariasoloists.com
Reviewed Friday, December 5, 2025 Originally posted on KC Studio https://kcstudio.org/bach-aria-soloists-concert-abounds-with-seasonal-cheer/
