Jubilant choirs in high church halls, hardly anything reminds us more vividly of the deeper meaning of Christmas: the birth of a child and the promise of a happy future. And so the NDR Vokalensemble groups its Christmas concert around Johann Sebastian Bach’s motto »Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied«. Bach has two choirs compete with each other in the praise of God. And the magnificent final fugue »Alles was Odem hat, lobe den Herrn« with its virtuoso colouratura really hardly gives the singers a chance to catch their breath.
Under the direction of Heide Müller, an up-and-coming young conductor who has already conducted leading ensembles such as The Norwegian Soloists Choir and Cappella Amsterdam, the NDR Vokalensemble presents works by Bach as well as compositions by Francois Poulenc. Connoisseurs claim that it is not his operas but his sacred works that are the best that this devout Catholic ever wrote. After all, the French composer often modelled his rich harmonic modulations on Bach. Poulenc had studied Bach’s vocal works as a young man and emphasised: »This work made me passionate and had a decisive influence on me.«
PERFORMERS
NDR Vokalensemble choir
Sono Tokuda violin
Michael Stürzinger violin
Gabriel Uhde viola
Johannes Dworatzek violoncello
Volker Donandt double bass
Christian Schmitt organ
Heide Müller conductor
PROGRAM
Johann Sebastian Bach
Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 225
Adrianna Kubica-Cypek
L’hiver
Francis Poulenc
Un soir de neige FP 126
Johann Sebastian Bach
Mass in B minor, BWV 232
Francis Poulenc
O magnum mysterium
Johann Sebastian Bach
Jesus bleibet meine Freude
- Interval -
Johann Sebastian Bach
Ich steh an deiner Krippen hier
Michael Praetorius
Es ist ein Ros entsprungen
Gustaf Nordqvist (Text: Edvard Evers)
Jul, jul, strålande jul
Anonymus
Maria durch ein Dornwald ging
Ørjan Matre
Eit barn er født i Betlehem
David Willcocks
The Infant King
Antonio Vivaldi
Concerto in A major RV 159 for strings and basso continuo
Johann Sebastian Bach
Sicut locutus est
Johann Sebastian Bach
Magnificat in D major, BWV 243
John Francis Wade
Adeste fideles
