After two and a half weeks in celebration of some of the finest orchestral compositions the world has ever known, the 39th installment of the Oregon Bach Festival will end this weekend.
The festival will draw to a close with a rousing crescendo that features the rhythmic movements of Bach-inspired Argentinean tango, a demonstrative interpretation of a classic childhood tale, and a performance of one of Bach’s most powerful choral and orchestral pieces.
The festival is, as the name suggests, focused and inspired by the life and work of Johann Sebastian Bach, but it does not limit itself to this.
Bach’s technique and styling have given influence to music all around the world and of every generation. While classical composition wouldn’t typically seem to bear connection to hot dance and rhythmic pulsations, the Tango Nuevo movement in Argentina has taken the tradition of the South American dance and incorporated a strong influence of classical music to create a genre that is both modern and timeless.
Pioneered by tango master Astor Piazzolla, the Tango Nuevo style is formed by its inclusion of less traditional tango instruments like the saxophone and the electric guitar, and its fusion with classical technique. Piazzolla is widely considered to have brought the Argentine tango to a higher art form with the fugue technique that stacks slightly different musical lines, and works them against each other in a manner similar to call-and-response.
Eugene’s homegrown tango outfit Mood Area 52 will be paying its tribute to Piazzolla with a noon set in the Hult Center for Performing Arts lobby on Friday. George Evano, the Oregon Bach Festival’s communication director, said, “After three weeks of classical music, by the end it’s nice to take a breather for something more rhythmic like a refreshing cocktail before the main course.”
Pablo Ziegler, the music director for Piazzolla for more than 10 years, will present his interpretation of the tango that will fill the Jaqua Concert Hall on Saturday with musical vibrations that will have feet tapping and minds moving.
Saturday will also play host to the wildly popular group Dance Theatre of Oregon with its version of the classic childhood saga of Mowgli and his friend Baloo in “The Jungle Book.”
After a quick initial sellout, the festival recently announced a second performance later in the day at the Soreng Theater. The performance is true to Rudyard Kipling’s story as Mowgli learns the law of the jungle and how to fight off his enemies in scenes that are both riveting and intense. The costumes and sets will be vibrant and decadent, and the Indian dance music will be exotic and energized.
The Oregon Bach Festival concludes on Sunday with a final rousing rendition of Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion” by world-acclaimed Bach scholar and the Festival’s artistic director Helmuth Rilling at the Silva Concert Hall. One of his more encompassing works, “St. Matthew” chronicles the last days of Jesus Christ before his crucifixion.
As the dramatic tension of the program builds and grows increasingly expansive, the audience is cast into a saga, made up by the choral and orchestral members. The choir soon turns into the characters of the world wholly fabricated by the programmatic tones of the music, and the soloist singers play the primary roles of Jesus Christ and Pontius Pilate in this gripping interpretation of the martyrdom of the messiah of the Christian faith.
For more information, visit www.oregonbachfestival.com.