Bach for more: Santa Fe Pro Musica celebrates the Baroque composer

Do not balk at Johann Sebastian Bach. 

The music of the German composer and organist will be at the forefront of “Bach and Beyond,” the finale of Santa Fe Pro Musica’s Bach Festival.

Colin Jacobsen, artistic director and violin lead, said “Bach and Beyond,” which runs Sunday, Dec. 28, through Tuesday, Dec. 30, explores the music of the Baroque master, along with more modern works, creating a juxtaposition of different artists.

“I’m very invested in the music of our time, and seeing these traditions as living traditions, and seeing Bach and others’ legacy come to life in different voices of today,” Jacobsen said.

“Bach and Beyond” will include music by Arvo Pärt, an Estonian modern-day composer who turned 90 this year. Jacobsen describes his compositions as transfixing.

“His music, in a way, it’s a great counterpart to Bach,” Jacobsen said.

Jacobsen said he finds Bach’s music more “chewy and earthy,” while Pärt creates a feeling of the air leaving the room as the music begins.

“Going back and forth between these two composers, I think, will be a very powerful experience for the audience,” Jacobsen said.

Jacobsen grew up around classical music, starting to play violin when he was 4, following in the footsteps of his father, who was a violinist at the Metropolitan Opera and played in the Santa Fe Opera in the ’60s.

“One thing I love about classical music is that it really is a multigenerational affair,” Jacobsen said.

Over the years, “Bach and Beyond” has given Jacobsen a chance to revisit Bach’s compositions, and he said he feels more connected to the music than he did when he was young.

He first learned Violin Concerto in E Major, one of the songs in this year’s program, at age 10.

“It’s always weird coming back to something that goes that deep, because there’s physical memory of how it felt to be that age and play it,” Jacobsen said. “But I guess I just feel much more aware of the totality of the music.”

What Jacobsen loves about Bach “is the balance between the head and the heart and the spirit, mass and emotion coming together in the most beautiful way,” he said. 

“And it dances.”

While playing, Jacobsen said he feels very alive, and though it’s rehearsed, the music can feel improvisational and freeing, especially when playing together as a group for an audience.

“I feel like to experience his music in community, in this focused listening space of a concert hall, is something that we can take forward with us through the next year,” Jacobsen said. “And I always draw energy from that.”