BRUNSWICK — The Oratorio Chorale will present music of the Baroque era, featuring Bach’s “Lutheran Mass,” Handel’s “Foundling Hospital Anthem” and Vivaldi’s “Gloria.”

The Maine Chamber Ensemble will accompany the Chorale.

Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 17,  at Studzinski Recital Hall, Bowdoin College, Brunswick; and 3 p.m. Sunday, March 18, at Falmouth Congregational Church, Falmouth.

Soloists for this program are Jennifer Hansen, mezzo-soprano; Timothy Neill Johnson, tenor; John D. Adams, bass; and sopranos Aaron Dustin and Dana Hinchliffe.

Hansen has performed as soloist throughout northern New England with the Manchester Choral Society, Handel Society of Dartmouth College, Concord Community Chorus and Oratorio Chorale. She has a particular interest in the works of Bach.

Johnson has performed and recorded chamber and concert music with the Los Angeles Baroque Ensemble, La Petite Bande, Collegium Vocale, Le Concert Spirituel de Paris and many other ensembles in the United States and abroad. He is on the faculties at Bowdoin College and the University of Maine in Augusta.

Adams is acclaimed as a concert soloist, as well as for diverse opera and stage roles. His concert repertoire ranges from cantatas and oratorios by Bach, Handel and Haydn to premieres of new works with symphonies and orchestras. His musical stage credits range from “Cosi fan Tutte” to “Sweeney Todd” in productions by Boston Opera, Granite State Opera, San Francisco Lyric Opera, Port Opera and Maine State Music Theater.

Dustin and Hinchliffe, both 12, will perform with the Oratorio Chorale in Vivaldi’s “Gloria” and Handel’s “Foundling Hospital Anthem.”

Dustin studies tenor saxophone and plays in Mt. Ararat Middle School’s jazz and concert bands. He is in his second year with the Boy Singers of Maine in its Concert Choir, the group’s principal performing treble choir.

Hinchliffe has sung in choirs at Hall School King Middle School, where he also sang solos. He also performed solos while a member of Boy Singers of Maine. He studies saxophone, and plays cello and piano.

In his notes, Oratorio Chorale Director Peter Frewen points out that human suffering and concern for the poor are common themes of the three featured works.

The tone of Bach’s Mass in G-Minor is one of deep tribulation. The works by Vivaldi and Handel share familiarity with the plight of orphans and children. Vivaldi’s “Gloria” was written during his tenure at the Ospedale della Pieta in Venice, one of four orphanages for orphans and children whose parents were unable to care for them.

Handel’s “Foundling Hospital Anthem,” also known as “Blessed are they that considereth the poor,” continues this theme. It was written to raise crucial funds for London’s first home for abandoned children.

In keeping with this sentiment, representatives of Free the Kids (Proje Espwa) in Haiti will have a table at the concert and seek donations. Dr. Marc Boisvert, founder of Free the Kids, is a Lewiston native. The project includes an orphanage, a clinic and school with K-12 classes, as well as a vocational program.

Concert tickets are $20 in advance/$25 at the door; half-price for students; free for children under 12. Call 798-7985. Tickets may be purchased from members of the Chorale and at Gulf of Maine Books in Brunswick, Now You’re Cooking and Etc. Finery in Bath, Book Review in Falmouth, Sherman’s Books and Stationery in Freeport, Clayton’s in Yarmouth and Starbird Music and Longfellow Books in Portland.

For more information about this and other concerts in the Oratorio Chorale’s 2011-2012 season, visit www.oratoriochorale.org.