# New Century Chamber Orchestra & Anne Sofie von Otter at First Congregational Church, December 20, 2019

[New Century Chamber Orchestra](https://www.ncco.org/) presents [Christmas with Anne Sofie von Otter](https://www.ncco.org/201920-season/set-iii-christmas-with-anne-sofie-von-otter)  
[First Congregational Church](http://fccb.org/)  
[2345 Channing Way, Berkeley, CA 94704-2201 USA](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=2345+Channing+Way,+Berkeley,+CA+94704-2201+USA&hl=en)  
7:30 PM, Friday, December 20, 2019

[[2019-12-15|Back to the previous event!]] ☸ [[:#section2019|Up to the 2019 yearbox!]] ☸ [[:2019#December_events|Up to the 2019 event list!]] ☸ [[2019-12-26|On to the next event!]]

## Tentative Program

* Johann Sebastian Bach: _Schliesse, mein Herze, dies selige Wunder_ from The Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248
* George Frideric Handel: _As with rosy steps the morn_ from _Theodora_, HWV 68
* Handel: _Cara sposa_ from _Rinaldo_, HWV 7
* Thad Jones: _A Child is Born_
* Irving Berlin: _White Christmas_
* Robert Wells: _The Christmas Song_
* Traditional: _O Tannenbaum_
* Antonio Vivaldi: _Winter_ from _The Four Seasons_
* Handel: Concerto Grosso in D minor, Op. 6 No. 10, HWV 328
* Arcangelo Corelli: Concerto Grosso in G minor, Op. 6 No. 8 "Christmas Concerto"

## Set One

[7:33 PM; lights down; NCCO marches down the aisle]  
[7:35 PM opening remarks from DH]

### Handel: Concerto Grosso in D minor, Op. 6 No. 10

George Frideric Handel (1685–1759): Concerto Grosso in D minor, Op. 6 No. 10, HWV 328 (composed 1739-10-22)

01. [7:37 PM] Ouverture
02. [7:40 PM] Air
03. [7:43 PM] Allegro
04. [7:45 PM] Allegro
05. [7:48 PM] Allegro moderato  
[work ends 7:49 PM; all off but DH & DT; DH introduces ASVO]

### Bach: “Bereite dich”

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750): “Bereite dich, Zion, mit zärtlichen Trieben”, Part 1, No. 4, from _Weihnachtsoratorium (The Christmas Oratorio)_, BWV 248 (1734-35)

01. [7:50 PM] “Bereite dich”  
[work ends 7:52 PM; others return]

### Vivaldi: “Vedrò con mio diletto”

Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741): “Vedrò con mio diletto” from _Giustino_, RV717 (1724)

01. [7:58 PM] “Vedrò con mio diletto”  
[work ends 7:58 PM; ASVO departs]

### Vivaldi: Winter

[8:00 PM DH reads Vivaldi's poetry for _Winter_; Text of the sonnets meant to accompany this work are posted at [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Four_Seasons_\(Vivaldi\))

Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741): Concerto No. 4 in F minor, Op. 8, RV 297, _L'inverno (Winter)_ from _Le quattro stagioni (The Four Seasons)_, (1716-1717); Excerpted from _Il cimento dell’armonia e dell’inventione_ (‟_The Contest of Harmony and Invention_”) (1725)

01. [8:03 PM] Allegro non molto
02. [8:07 PM] Largo
03. [8:11 PM] Allegro  
[set ends 8:12 PM; applause awhile and then the band retires for break]

## Set Two

[8:36 PM; lights down; NCCO marches down the aisle; opening remarks from DH]

### Corelli: Christmas Concerto

Arcangelo Corelli (1653–1713): Concerto Grosso in G minor, Op. 6, No. 8 “Christmas Concerto” (1690?)

01. [8:39 PM] Vivace – Grave. Arcate, sostenuto e come stà
02. [8:42 PM] Allegro
03. [8:45 PM] Adagio – Allegro – Adagio
04. [8:46 PM] Vivace
05. [8:49 PM] Allegro
06. [8:50 PM] Largo. Pastorale ad libitum  
[work ends 8:52 PM]

### Holiday Selections

[8:53 PM add ASVO, who introduces the next work]

06. [8:53 PM] Per-Erik ‹Perra› Moraeus (b.1950): _Koppången_
07. [8:55 PM] Thaddeus Joseph Jones (1923–1986): _A Child is Born_
08. [9:02 PM] Irving Berlin (1888–1989): _White Christmas_
09. [9:07 PM] Robert Wells (1922–1998): _The Christmas Song_
10. [9:12 PM] Traditional: _O Tannenbaum_  
[set ends 9:17 PM; bows & applause]  
   
**Encore**
11. [9:20 PM] Ron Sexsmith (b.1964): _Maybe This Christmas_  
[show ends 9:21 PM; applause all around]

## Performers

### NCCO

[NCCO](http://ncco.org/)

* Stephanie Bibbo: violin II;
* Robin Bonnell: cello;
* [Michelle Djokic](https://www.facebook.com/michelle.djokic): cello;
* Jenny Douglass: viola;
* [Candace Guirao](https://www.facebook.com/people/Candace-Guirao/100011271488928): principal violin II;
* [Dawn Harms](http://dawnharms.com/): violin I;
* [Daniel Hope](http://danielhope.com/): violin I, music director, concertmaster;
* [Anna Kruger](http://www.csus.edu/music/faculty/kruger.html): principal viola;
* [Anthony Manzo](http://www.chambermusicsociety.org/artists/artist/anthony_manzo): principal contrabass;
* Isaac Melamed: cello;
* [Deborah Tien Price](https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborah-tien-price-3651294): violin I;
* [Elizabeth Prior](http://www.lizpriorviola.com/): viola;
* [Cassandra Lynne Richburg](http://cassandralynnerichburg.com/): viola;
* Nicole Sauder: violin II;
* [Karen Shinozaki Sor](https://www.facebook.com/karen.s.sor): violin II;
* Iris Stone: violin II;
* [Derek Tam](http://www.dereksaihotam.com/): harpsichord;
* Zhou Yi: guest principal cello;
* [Michael Yokas](https://www.facebook.com/michael.yokas): violin I, associate concertmaster.

### Anne Sofie von Otter

* [Anne Sofie von Otter](http://www.annesofievonotter.com/): mezzo-soprano vox.

## Notes

Well tonight certainly satisfied the "obligatory holiday concert" program for 2019, and as much as I'm *not* a fan of that sort of thing, I have to admit that enjoyed the show quite a bit.

The opening work from Handel was stately and grand -- just the thing for opening an elegant evening's program.

I was a bit confused during the follow-up from Bach, as the program notes indicated that I should expect a joyful oboe d'amore solo. I suspect that Daniel Hope covered that part, but nothing was said about it: odd! Anyway, the piece was really a vehicle for the sublime singing of tonight's guest, Anne Sofie von Otter.

I didn't recall hearing about the sonnets written to accompany the Four Seasons before, but my notes tell me that Daniel Hope made a similar introduction when I saw NCCO do the full Four Season suite [two and a half years ago](http://www.funfolks.net/dw/doku.php?id=2017:2017-05:2017-05-18). I guess my memory doesn't work as well as it should! Anyway, this time around, I thought the torrid tempos for the opening and closing sections were just a bit too fast. Maybe the group needed more rehearsal time to get closer to some common mark? I dunno. Folks that I talked to during set break seemed pretty impressed, maybe I'm just being churlish.

Corelli's concerto was a nice opener for the second half; I'm happy to report that it seemed entirely lacking in saccharine holiday spirit.

After hearing her sing without a microphone during the first set, I was surprised that ASVO retained the mic after her introduction of the modern Swedish folk tune _Koppången_. The blend was a little too strong at first, but the mix was quickly corrected.

I suffered through the traditional Christmas tunes like a good boy who eats his ham and potatoes while dreaming of the pudding-pie to come, and I was rewarded with a pleasant surprise, an unexpected Encore of a season-specific tune by Ron Sexsmith. Good show!

{{tag>music NCCO Anne_Sofie_von_Otter First_Congregational_Church Stephanie_Bibbo Robin_Bonnell Michelle_Djokic Jenny_Douglass Candace_Guirao Dawn_Harms Daniel_Hope Anna_Kruger Anthony_Manzo Isaac_Melamed Deborah_Tien_Price Elizabeth_Prior Cassandra_Lynne_Richburg Nicole_Sauder Karen_Shinozaki_Sor Iris_Stone Derek_Tam Zhou_Yi Michael_Yokas }}

[[2019-12-15|Back to the previous event!]] ☸ [[:#section2019|Up to the 2019 yearbox!]] ☸ [[:2019#December_events|Up to the 2019 event list!]] ☸ [[2019-12-26|On to the next event!]]