![\"Bach](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/far-beyond-the-skies.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThere\u2019s something rare about a concert that asks you to sit with big emotions \u2013 grief, joy, the space between the two \u2013 and actually delivers. Bach Collegium San Diego\u2019s latest program, \u201cFar Beyond the Skies,\u201d does exactly that.<\/p>\n
It weaves together 18th-century German Lutheran cantatas and the triumphant spirit of the Gospel tradition into something genuinely moving.<\/p>\n
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Two Traditions, One Stage<\/p>\n
The program centers on two funeral cantatas \u2013 G.P. Telemann\u2019s Du aber Daniel gehe hin and J.S. Bach\u2019s Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit (known as the Actus Tragicus) \u2013 both composed around 1707 to 1708, likely for actual funeral services.<\/p>\n
What makes these works so striking isn\u2019t their solemnity but their sense of release. Black funeral rites have long understood that death can be framed as homecoming, as victory, and both traditions arrive at something similar from very different directions.<\/p>\n
Hearing them in conversation with each other reframes what you thought you knew about each.<\/p>\n
The Sound is Intentional<\/p>\n
One thing to know going in: the instrumentation here is deliberately quiet and unusual. Violas da gamba and recorders take center stage, while violins \u2013 the workhorses of the baroque ensemble \u2013 are notably absent.<\/p>\n
This was a specific choice composers made for funeral music, and BCSD honors it fully. The result is an intimate, somewhat otherworldly sonic palette that draws you in rather than washing over you.<\/p>\n
The People on Stage<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t a program that can coast on repertoire alone \u2013 it needs singers who can carry real emotional weight. BCSD has assembled a strong quartet: soprano Margaret Carpenter Haigh<\/a>, countertenor Reginald Mobley<\/a>, tenor Gene Stenger<\/a>, and bass David Tinervia.<\/p>\n Mobley in particular has been making waves in the early music world. If you haven\u2019t heard him live yet, this is a good reason to fix that.<\/p>\n About the Ensemble<\/p>\n Founded in 2003 by Music Director Ruben Valenzuela<\/a>, Bach Collegium San Diego has spent over two decades making historically informed performances feel accessible \u2013 not like a museum visit, but like a living connection to music that still has something to say.<\/p>\n They perform this program at two different venues, so there\u2019s a good chance one of them is close to you.<\/p>\n See you there!<\/p>\n Whether you\u2019re a baroque devotee or just curious what happens when two musical traditions this powerful find common ground, this one is worth the evening.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udcc6 Saturday, May 2, 7 PM | Sunday, May 3, 4 PM See you there, San Diego!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There\u2019s something rare about a concert that asks you to sit with big emotions \u2013 grief, joy, the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":770977,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,1582,276,11878,24652,975,3549,7264,8736,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,189412],"class_list":["post-770976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-america","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-live-music","tag-live-performance","tag-music","tag-san-diego","tag-sandiego","tag-things-to-see-in-san-diego","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-what-to-see-in-san-diego"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116512198751428806","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/770976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=770976"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/770976\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/770977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=770976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=770976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=770976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Bach](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/far-beyond-the-skies-2.jpg\")
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\ud83d\udccd 7600 Faye Avenue, La Jolla (May 2) | 1475 Catalina Blvd, San Diego (May 3)
\ud83c\udf9f\ufe0f Grab your tickets here<\/a>
\u2139\ufe0f Find more details here<\/a><\/p>\n