VISUAL ARTS + MUSEUMS

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents their March Artful Thursday: Bach and the Passion,  March 10, 2011 at 6:30 PM, at the Caroline Wiess Law Building. 

Presented by Dr. Matthew Dirst, Associate Professor, Moores School of Music, University of Houston; Founder, Ars Lyrica Houston, a group that specializes in the Baroque chamber repertoire and dramatic works from this era.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) never wrote an opera, but his two settings of the passion narrative (from the New Testament Gospels of John and Matthew) are sacred dramas of the highest order. Until the time of Bach, passions were sung fairly simply, as chants with occasional choral responses. But Bach gave his passions operatic intensity and scope, with majestic choruses, impassioned recitative, and some of the most poignant arias in the Baroque literature. Scenery and costumes are hardly necessary when the music is this vivid and gripping.

In this lecture, Dr. Matthew Dirst traces the parallels between Bach’s passion settings and visual depictions of the passion from the Baroque period, using paintings from the MFAH collection.

This program serves as a prelude to Ars Lyrica Houston’s performances of Bach’s St. John Passion on Friday, March 25 (at The Centrum at the Cypress Creek Community Center; for tickets, call 281-440-4850), and Sunday, March 27 (at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts; for tickets, call 713-315-2525). For more information about Ars Lyrica Houston, visit www.arslyricahouston.org.

Artful Thursday programs receive generous funding from the Rockwell Fund. Promotional support is generously provided by KUHF 88.7 FM, Houston Public Radio. Refreshments generously provided by the Buffalo Speedway Starbucks (corner of Buffalo Speedway and Westpark), Carla Everett, manager, and the Rice Village Starbucks, Jenna Ortiz, manager.

Admission is free and open to the public. A reception follows the program. Register to win great giveaways from KUHF 88.7 FM and the MFAH.