Cantare Super Orchestram Presents “Lenten Reflections”: An Evening of Baroque and Renaissance Masterworks
As the Lenten season approaches, Cantare Super Orchestram invites audiences to a profound musical journey through grief, longing, and spiritual transcendence. The ensemble proudly presents “Lenten Reflections,” a concert series featuring choral and orchestral masterpieces by Bach, Pergolesi, Lotti, Steffani, and Byrd.
Performances will take place on Friday, March 13, 2026, at St. Dunstan’s in Aldergrove, and Saturday, March 14, 2026, at the Holy Rosary Cathedral in Vancouver.
This carefully curated program explores the emotional landscape of Lent—from the sorrow of the Crucifixion to the hopeful longing for divine peace. The repertoire spans the intricate polyphony of the Renaissance to the expressive depths of the Baroque era.
Program Highlights:
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The Sorrow of Mary: The concert features two distinct settings of the Stabat Mater, the hymn portraying Mary’s suffering at the foot of the cross. Audiences will hear the celebrated duet by Pergolesi, known for its heart-rending beauty, alongside the rich, expressive setting by Agostino Steffani.
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Bach’s Sacred Longing: The ensemble will perform J.S. Bach’s early cantata, Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich (BWV 150), a work of deep yearning and chromatic intensity, as well as the double-choir motet Komm, Jesu, Komm (BWV 229), a breathtaking meditation on the weariness of life and the peace of the afterlife.
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Polyphonic Splendour: The program includes Antonio Lotti’s Crucifixus (10v), a masterpiece of dissonance and resolution written for ten distinct voice parts, creating a sonic texture that is truly numinous. Rounding out the evening is William Byrd’s Ne Irascaris Domine, a jewel of the English Renaissance that pleads for mercy amidst desolation.
“These pieces were written to move the soul,” says a representative for Cantare Super Orchestram. “From the dense, ten-part harmonies of Lotti to the intimate pleading of Bach, this music captures the solemn beauty of the season. It is a program that demands to be heard in the glorious acoustics of St. Dunstan’s and Holy Rosary Cathedral.”
Event Details:
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Aldergrove Performance:
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Date: Friday, March 13, 2026
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Time: 7:30 PM
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Location: St. Dunstan’s Catholic Church, Aldergrove
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Vancouver Performance:
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Date: Saturday, March 14, 2026
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Time: 2:00 PM
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Location: Holy Rosary Cathedral, Vancouver
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Tickets and Information:
Tickets will also be available at the door.
About Cantare Super Orchestram:
Living up to their name (“To sing above the orchestra”), Cantare Super Orchestram is dedicated to the preservation and spirited performance of sacred choral and orchestral literature. Through high-caliber musicianship, they aim to bring the historical depths of the classical repertoire to modern audiences.
Special Meditative Lenten Reflections
Friday March 13, 2025 | 7:30 p.m.
St Dunstan’s Aldergrove
Special Meditative Lenten Reflections
Programme
What you will hear:
Pergolesi | Stabat Mater duet
Bach | Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich
Bach | Komm, Jesu Komm
Steffani | Stabat Mater
Lotti | Crucifixus 10v
Byrd | Ne Irascaris domine
Ne Irascaris Domine
William Byrd’s Ne irascaris Domine is one of the crown jewels of the English Renaissance. A devout Catholic living under Protestant rule, Byrd chose a text from Isaiah that held a double meaning: a biblical plea for God’s mercy, and a personal lament for the “desolation” of his own faith community. The motet begins with a sombre, low-register plea—”Be not angry, O Lord”—before blossoming into a rich tapestry of polyphony. Its aching beauty captures the very essence of Lenten introspection: a cry from the wilderness, waiting for restoration.
Komm, Jesu, komm, BWV 229 is a double-choir funeral motet that nevertheless reveals a distinctly approachable side of Bach. With less contrapuntal virtuosity and more expressive word-painting, it displays a huge variety of styles and metres within it, from an extended meditation in triple time “du bist der rechte Weg, die Wahrheit und das Leben” (you are the true path, truth and life), to the closing homophonic chorale.
Komm, Jesu, komm was written in the early 1730s (1731 or 1732) and has become one of Bach’s best known and most performed motets.
Nach dir Herr, Verlanget Mich
SHORT AND SWEET
This delicate and small-scale cantata is one of Bach’s earliest cantatas.
In barely fourteen minutes, the atmosphere in this cantata changes countless times. This kind of variation in tempo and character is typical of Bach’s early cantatas – and After you, Lord, longs for me certainly belongs to that category. It is even referred to sometimes as his earliest cantata. This appears, among other things, from the acrostic that is incorporated in the odd parts of the cantata: the initial letters of the lines of these parts together form the name of the municipal councilor of Mühlhausen who had an important vote in the appointment of Bach as organist there in the year 1707.
Following a melancholy instrumental sinfonia, the singers enter with the first verse of Psalm 25. Bach illustrates the text very precisely. Long chromatic lines illustrate ‘Lord desires of you’, while ‘to be put to shame’ is combined with a sort of downwards fall and the word ‘rejoice’ is accompanied by quick laughing notes. Over the course of the piece, the impressive moments succeed one another, including the unusual terzetto ‘Cedern muss von den Winden’, in which the bass seems to represent the rustling trees while the singers stand firm. There is a wonderful rising scale by the vocal and violin parts in ‘Leite mich’. And the string parts in ‘My Eyes’ are also impressive. The cantata ends with an incredible final chorus in the form of a chaconne, whose bass line inspired Brahms for the final section of his Symphony no. 4 .
Experience the profound beauty of Agostino Steffani’s Stabat Mater – a rarely heard Baroque masterpiece of deep emotion and radiant harmony.
Composed in the final years of Steffani’s remarkable life—as a diplomat, bishop, and celebrated musician—this poignant setting of the medieval hymn captures the raw sorrow of the Virgin Mary at the foot of the cross with exquisite tenderness and dramatic intensity. Steffani himself considered it his greatest work, blending rich six-part choral writing, luminous strings, and moments of heart-stopping intimacy that have moved audiences for centuries (and earned modern acclaim through recordings with artists like Cecilia Bartoli).
Join Belle Voci as we bring this hidden gem to life in a performance that promises both spiritual depth and breathtaking vocal artistry. Whether you seek solace, reflection, or simply the thrill of discovering an under-performed treasure from the Baroque era, this is an evening of sacred music that will linger long after the final “Amen.”
Don’t miss this special opportunity to hear Steffani’s Stabat Mater performed live—secure your tickets today and let the music move you
Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater
One of the most poignant moments in our “Lenten Reflections” program is the opening Duetto from Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater.
Written in 1736 during the final weeks of the composer’s short life, this movement is a masterclass in musical “sighing.” You will hear soprano Sonja Strimbei and countertenor Erik Kallo navigate a series of haunting, interlocking dissonances. These are known as suspensions—where one voice holds a note while the other moves, creating a momentary, beautiful tension that only finds relief when the voices resolve together.
It is a literal sonic representation of a heart breaking in slow motion. We are thrilled to have Sonja and Erik bring this intimate, grief-stricken dialogue to life, and we can’t wait for you to experience the stillness it creates in the room.
As we enter the reflective season of Lent, our program turns to music that invites quiet contemplation. Among the works we’ll perform is Balletti Lamentabili by the remarkable Baroque composer Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber.
Structured as a sequence of dances—Sonata, Allemanda, Sarabande, and Gavotte—the piece unfolds like a meditation in motion. Though rooted in courtly dance forms, Biber infuses them with a poignant, searching character. Gentle suspensions, expressive harmonies, and moments of stillness create a sound world that resonates deeply with the introspective spirit of Lent.
Rather than dramatic sorrow, Balletti Lamentabili offers something quieter: a space for reflection, humility, and inward prayer. We invite you to experience this luminous music with us as part of our Lenten journey.