One for the peasants and more at 86th Bach Festival (Orlando Sentinel)
ORLANDO SENTINEL ARTS CRITIC | FEB 22, 2021 AT 5:00 AM
The Bach Festival Society of Winter Park put Nora Lee Garcia to work for the second weekend of its annual celebration of classical music. The flutist soloed on Mozart’s Concerto No. 1 during Saturday night’s soothing “Concertos by Candlelight” and then returned Sunday afternoon as a featured player on a more lively program of Bach’s “Farewell” and “Peasant” cantatas.
There was a parade of soloists as festival artistic director John Sinclair devised programs without the organization’s signature large choir — a COVID-19 prevention that took a traditional Bach Mass off the table.
Instead, for the event’s 86th year, we were treated to the two aforementioned cantatas, which — rather shockingly — have never been part of a festival program, Sinclair told the audience in Knowles Memorial Chapel at Rollins College. Well, it’s about time — especially considering how delightful both pieces are.