“Our ‘Spring Concert’ takes you with us on our trip to Leipzig as we perform repertoire we will bring to our European audiences,” says Christopher Jackson, Artistic Director and Conductor of the Bach Choir of Bethlehem.

The Bach Choir of Bethlehem “Spring Concert,” 4 p.m. March 17, First Presbyterian Church, Bethlehem, opens with two cantatas of Dietrich Buxtehude’s “Membra Jesu nostril,” BuxWV 75, translated as “Limbs Most Holy of Our Suffering Jesus.”

Composed in 1680, the work comprises seven cantatas, each addressing a part of Jesus’ crucified body. The Bach Choir performs Cantata III. “Ad manus” (“To the Hands”) and Cantata IV. “Ad latus” (“To the Side”).

Contemporary composer Caroline Shaw’s “To the Hands” aptly follows on the program.

The six-movement piece is in reply to Buxtehude’s third cantata, “Ad manus.” Shaw states it “is also reflective of contemporary issues, of the suffering around the world seeking refuges, and of our role and responsibility in these global and local crises.”

Shaw references the engraving at the base of the Statue of Liberty, “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” as well as the statue’s “beacon hand,” which presents a very different image of a hand: one that is open, beckoning and strong.

The program continues with William Hawley’s arrangement of the Shaker hymn, “Recessional (Not One Sparrow Is Forgotten).” The song’s text is derived from the “Canterbury Shakers Hymnal” (1908), as well as composer Carol Barnett’s arrangement of “McKay” (S.M. Denton, 1908), one of three hymns whose original settings are found in the “Sacred Harp” collection.

The concert closes with Johann Sebastian Bach’s popular Cantata “Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott,” BWV 80, composed for the “Feast of the Reformation,” celebrated Oct. 31, the date in 1517 when Martin Luther published his document, “Disputation on the Power of Indulgences.”

The Cantata was published in 1821. A handwritten score was penned in 1823 by the organist of Bethlehem’s Central Moravian Church. A performance of the work was scheduled for 1824, likely the first performance of this Cantata in the “New World.”

The concert’s guest vocalists include Nola Richardson, soprano; Janna Critz, mezzo-soprano; Lawrence Jones, tenor, and Edmund Milly, bass-baritone.

Australian-American soprano Nola Richardson’s repertoire ranges from medieval to contemporary works. She is particularly noted for her performances of Bach, Handel and Mozart. She won first prize in all three major American competitions focused on the music of J.S. Bach.

Her performance credits include appearances with the Boston Early Music Festival, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and American Bach Soloists. Richardson is the first and only soprano to receive the prestigious DMA degree in Early Music Voice from Yale University.

Mezzo-soprano Janna Critz is a rising artist in the early music, operatic and concert arena. One of four recipients of the 2015 Carmel Bach Festival Virginia Best Adams Fellowship and winner of the 2014 biennial Bethlehem Bach Vocal Competition, she has begun to establish her skill in Baroque performance practice.

For two consecutive years, Critz has been a featured soloist with the American Bach Soloists Festival and Academy, performing works of J.S. Bach, Alessandro Scarlatti, Heinrich Biber, Antonio Vivaldi, Henry Purcell and Claudio Monteverdi.

Tenor Lawrence Jones achievements as soloist include performances with the New York City Opera, Utah Symphony, Musica Sacra, Boston Baroque and Tanglewood.

He received recognition for his portrayal of Tom Rakewell in Stravinsky’s “The Rake’s Progress” at the Princeton and Aldeburgh Festivals. He is a frequent performer of cantatas and vocal works by J.S. Bach, including the “Saint John Passion,” “Saint Matthew Passion,” “Christmas Oratorio” and “Mass in B Minor.”

Bass-baritone Edmund Milly has been featured by The Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Washington Bach Consort, the Oregon Bach Festival, the Baltimore Choral Arts Society, the Thirteen and the American Pops Orchestra. He received degrees from McGill University and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music.

His performance credits include a Lincoln Center debut with Yale Schola Cantorum where he portrayed Jesus in Bach’s “Saint John Passion.” Milly is a veteran of the Army Band Pershing’s Own and has been a soloist at the White House, The Pentagon and the United States Supreme Court.

“You’ll enjoy the renowned Cantata 80 ‘Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott,’ which received its first U.S. performance 200 years ago right here in Bethlehem, combined with music by Buxtehude and Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer Caroline Shaw,” says Jackson of the spring concert.

The Bach Choir European tour, June 6-16, includes a performance of Bach cantatas in St. Thomas Church (German: Thomaskirche), Leipzig, where Bach was cantor 1723-1750.

Additional activities include a tour of Germany and Austria with performances in Herrnhut, birthplace of the Moravian Church; Potsdam, and Schwäbisch-Gmünd, Bethlehem’s Sister City. Tour information: https://bach.org/eurotour/

“Spring Concert,” Bach Choir of Bethlehem, 4 p.m. March 17, First Presbyterian Church, 2344 Center St., Bethlehem; tickets: Bach Choir office, 440 Heckewelder Place, Bethlehem; office@bach.org; 610-866-4382 ext. 110 or 115; https://bach.org/tickets/

“Classical View” is a column about classical music concerts, conductors and performers. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com