William Baker Festival Singers on theme of Christ’s passion; Atalante on early music

The story sounds like a myth, but it’s true.

In 1705, Johann Sebastian Bach, then 20, walked 250 miles from Arnstadt to Lübeck, Germany, just to hear the 70-year-old Dietrich Buxtehude play his own organ compositions.

If Bach should have such reverence for Buxtehude, perhaps it would behoove the rest of us to give this pioneering baroque composer some attention.

The William Baker Festival Singers will provide an opportunity to hear one of Buxtehude’s sublime spiritual masterworks, “Membra Jesu Nostri,” April 7 at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral.

Composed in 1680 and considered the first Lutheran oratorio, “Membra Jesu Nostri” comprises seven meditations on the various body parts of Christ: his feet, knees, hands, sides, breast, heart and face.

William Baker said he first became familiar with “Membra Jesu Nostri” after hearing Arnold Epley’s Musica Vocale perform the work several years ago. Baker says he’s copying Epley’s idea of interspersing works by other composers between Buxtehude’s seven meditations. Epley chose composers of the Renaissance. Baker is going with mostly American music, such as folk hymns from the Sacred Harp tradition.

Buxtehude’s oratorio is drenched in spirituality, and, with its theme of Christ’s passion, it’s a very appropriate work for the Lenten season. But Baker says that “Membra Jesu Nostri” can also touch the hearts of non-Christians and the non-religious.

“The story shows such a deep love, that one would sacrifice his life and freely give of himself,” Baker said. “Even if you don’t believe it really happened, you can at least be inspired by the story of suffering and dying for one’s friends, as the scriptures say.”

“Membra Jesu Nostri” is part of what has thus far been an extraordinary year for the William Baker Festival Singers. Already this season, the group has performed at the Washington National Cathedral and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

Still to come are performances at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in June and a gala performance with the William Jewell College Concert Choir in Helzberg Hall in March 2020.

The William Baker Choral Foundation is also on a roll. Its Institute for Healthy Singing is going through an expansion and will be offering summer seminars in Kansas City, Atlanta, Lee’s Summit and Lawrence.

And after recent acquisitions, the Choral Foundation’s Jane Sullivan Choral Library now has over 10,000 choral works and hundreds of orchestral parts that can be checked out by musicians around the world.

Baker also recently started a podcast, Choral Conversations, which features interviews with local choral directors. Full disclosure: I co-host the podcast with Baker.

“I have often said that no man walks the face of this Earth showered with more blessing than I,” Baker said. “More than ever before we are seeing support, opportunity and talent showered on the Choral Foundation. In over 40 years of leading choirs I have never seen more talent, dedication and love than I do in the Festival Singers of today.”

2 p.m. April 7. Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral, 415 W. 13th. $5-$20. Tickets available at the door or at www.FestivalSingers.org/concerts.

Early music with Atalante

Atalante knows how to bring early music to life. These fantastic musicians are led by Erin Headley, who plays the lirone, an elaborate instrument held between the legs like a cello.

Headley and her colleagues are also scholars of the highest order, researching obscure composers and unearthing musical gems to create intriguing programs like “Tales from the Eternal City,” which Atalante will perform April 5 at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral.

Atalante is not concerned exclusively with authenticity. This is an early music group that knows how to inject some entertainment into all that research. Atalante’s flouncy costumes and choreography add a touch of romance, fantasy and charm, turning a performance of obscure 17th-century music into a great night at the theater.

“Tales from the Eternal City” will feature the sort of music the English poet John Milton would have heard when he visited Rome around 1640. Atalante will perform works commissioned by the highly cultured and music-loving Barberini family, which included Pope Urban VIII and his nephews. Works of ecstasy and eroticism by composers like Luigi Rossi and Claudio Monteverdi will be featured.

7:30 p.m. April 5. Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral. $15-$35. 816-561-9999 or www.chambermusic.org.

Correction: This story has been updated with a correct date on first reference to the William Baker Festival concert and the correct name of the William Jewell College Concert Choir.

You can reach Patrick Neas at patrickneas@kcartsbeat.com and follow his Facebook page, KC Arts Beat, at www.facebook.com/kcartsbeat.

This story was originally published March 30, 2019 at 7:00 AM.