Events Calendar

During the early 19^th century, Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) dominated the world of Italian opera and is widely recognized as the greatest Italian composer of his time.  After a string of opera hits (some forty operatic successes in under twenty years!), Rossini retired from penning operas and shifted to other musical works. Choral music lovers can be eternally thankful for the Petite Messe Solennelle.

Compelling and full of drama, the Petite Messe was not written for a church, but for a small audience at a Parisian Countess’ town home. Rossini was very aware of the long tradition and legacy of religious music by predecessors like Bach, Haydn, and Mozart, and drew upon the traits typically found in their symphonic liturgical music. With great virtuosity, he combined the religious musical tradition with an innate humanity, writing with operatic drama and expression.

While the mass is neither Petite (small) nor Solennelle (solemn), it is pious and reverent in its conviction to the sacred mass text, with a light and operatic flair. Vancouver audiences are sure to delight in this charming choral work, perfect for a spring evening.

Johann Sebastian Bach’s Mass in B Minor is the composer’s epic summation of a lifetime of creating music. Written the year before he died, it is a massive amalgamation of pieces Bach wrote throughout his lifetime. The Mass in B Minor showcases Bach’s full range of musical expression – from misery and gloom to joyful exultations of hope and happiness. Music lovers around the globe widely consider Bach’s Mass in B Minor to be one of the most extraordinary accomplishments of any composer from any era, and the jewel of the Baroque era in particular.

Our annual fundraising gala concert is back! Join us as Maestro Leslie Dala performs at the piano, alongside soprano and pianist Rachel Fenlon.

This cabaret style intimate concert features an exciting programme including Debussy, Messiaen and Canadian composer Samy Moussa.

The Vancouver Bach Choir returns to the stage with a fan and singer favourite, Mozart’s Requiem in d minor. A masterpiece cloaked in mystery, the work is beloved for its mesmerizing, captivating and emotionally stirring qualities. A gravely solemn and transcendent piece, Mozart’s Requiem was unfinished at the time of his death. The piece was written as a mass for the dead, and, given that he had been seriously ill for some time, some believe that Mozart wrote the Requiem for his own funeral. Though there was confusion and uncertainty as to who indeed finished the piece following Mozart’s death, it is now commonly believed that it was finished by Franz Xaver Süssmayr, a student of Mozart’s. Let’s give the final word on the matter to Beethoven: “If Mozart did not write the music, then the man who wrote it was a Mozart.”