 Announcing
The entire catalogue of ABS' critically acclaimed recordings of Cantatas, Bach's Mass in B Minor, Transcriptions of Italian Music, Haydn Masses, and other works is now available for purchase or download [more...]
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Celebrating our Twentieth Anniversary Season
We are delighted to announce our wonderful 20th Anniversary Season, and we invite you to join others who enjoy the perks, prestige, and privileges that come along with subscriptions to ABS concerts.
Our annual performances of Handel’s Messiah—in the spectacular setting of Grace Cathedral—continue to be an immensely popular, “must-see” Bay Area holiday tradition. And our 2009 Subscription Concerts will begin with performances of the work that earned these splendid accolades from the San Francisco Chronicle: “The American Bach Soloists’ performance of the Mass in B Minor was a model of what the early music movement can offer at its best: a thoughtful, passionate rendition of great music, attuned both to the stylistic characteristics of the past and to the artistic requirements of our own time.” Then, enjoy some of ABS’ finest musicians in solo and ensemble performances that Gramophone Magazine has called “Superbly musical…wonderfully suave…fresh, different.” Wrap it up with a spectacular Handel’s Fireworks Celebration in May, and it’s a season like no other!
We are honored and proud to have been an important part of Northern California’s rich cultural ecology for twenty years, and we thank the patrons, grantors, and especially the hundreds of ABS musicians that have brought us to this milestone. They are the spirit of American Bach Soloists! Recognizing our opportunities to embrace, inform, and enlighten the aesthetic interests of our community, we are excited to announce a number of new musical offerings including:
You can read more about these and other new initiatives inside, where you’ll find all the details of our 20th Anniversary Season!
We thank you for your interest in the programs and artists of American Bach Soloists. Please join our list of treasured subscribers and receive the greatest available discounts in the process, and help us celebrate two decades of being “the best American specialists in early music.” (The Washington Post) [more…]
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With warmest wishes,
Jeffrey Thomas,
Music Director |
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Praise for Music Director Jeffrey Thomas
"Thomas' direction seems just right, capturing the humanity of the music…there is no higher praise for Bach performance."
Fanfare Magazine
"Thomas cast the music in winningly immediate terms…a performance marked by crisp rhythmic focus and tender lyricism."
San Francisco Chronicle
"Thomas united enlightened historical performance practice with native musical intelligence."
San Francisco Examiner
"Under the dexterous leadership of Music Director Jeffrey Thomas, the choir produced sounds of remarkable transparency and body."
San Francisco Chronicle
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About the American Bach Soloists
Named "the best American specialists in early music" by The Washington Post, the American Bach Soloists ("ABS") were founded in 1989 with the mission of introducing contemporary audiences to the cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach through historically informed performances, recordings and educational programs. Since then, the ensemble's repertoire has expanded to include the entire Baroque, as well as masterpieces from the Classical and Romantic eras and beyond. Under the leadership of Music Director Jeffrey Thomas, the ensemble has achieved its vision of assembling the world's leading vocalists and period-instrument stylists to perform the finest music with the finest interpretation. [more…]
Recent Reviews:
- Music Director Jeffrey Thomas and ABS' terrific string band transmitted…the piece's emotional core…The dissonances marking "lacrimarum valle" (this vale of tears) and the broad cadence before the "Amen" section were gorgeously played. (Scarlatti: Salve Regina)
- Thomas, who is unsurpassable as a Bach interpreter… was in charge, with a hefty assist from Corey Jamason's obbligato organ playing. Thomas built the ritornellos perfectly, and Jamason's nimble fingers provided the rhythmic thrust and crispness. (Bach: Vergnügte Ruh, BWV 170)
- The orchestra played brilliantly, as it did also in a concerto grosso by Charles Avison, based on themes by Scarlatti. (Handel: Arias)
— Michael Zwiebach
San Francisco Classical Voice |
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About our new recording of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony
This recently released recording, made at the 1994 Berkeley Festival and Exhibition by the American Bach Soloists under the direction of Jeffrey Thomas, takes the work on its own terms, chipping away at the monolith and giving us something quite refreshing.
This isn't a performance for the faint of heart; Thomas and company pull out all the stops right from the start. The opening "Allegro ma non troppo, un poco" roars with primordial power, while the second movement scherzo is raucous and a prescient reminder of Bruckner's great scherzos that are yet to come. There's poetry but not torpor in the adagio. And the finale—well, the choral finale fairly blows the roof off. Timpani pound, brass snarl, and bass David Thomas proclaims the "An die Freude" like an Old Testament prophet. The rest of the vocal quartet is fine, as are the choral forces, and the sound quality, even 14 years later (why was this recording in the can for so long?), is a typical Peter Nothnagle production: outstanding.
— Craig Zeichner
Early Music America |
[more information]
"tremendous sound"
San Francisco Examiner
"inspiring singing from the chorus and the soloists"
Historical Performance |
