| 35 |
Chorale |
F
{{about|the Christmas Oratorio by J.S. Bach|Christmas Oratorios by other composers|Christmas Oratorio (disambiguation)}}
The Christmas Oratorio ({{Lang-de|Weihnachts-Oratorium|nolink=y}}) BWV 248, is an oratorioAn oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
by Johann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
intended for performance in church during the Christmas seasonThe Twelve Days of Christmas are the festive days beginning Christmas Day . This period is also known as Christmastide and Twelvetide. The Twelfth Night of Christmas is always on the evening of 5 January, but the Twelfth Day can either precede or follow the Twelfth Night according to which...
. It was written for the ChristmasChristmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
season of 1734-Events:*March 29 – Louis-Gabriel Guillemain becomes first violinist at the Royal Academy in Dijon.*Foundation of the Imperial Ballet School at Saint Petersburg....
incorporating music from earlier compositions, including three secular cantataA cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
s written during 1733 and 1734 and a now lost church cantata, BWV 248a. The date is confirmed in Bach's autograph manuscript. The next performance was not until 17 December 1857 by the Sing-Akademie zu BerlinThe Sing-Akademie zu Berlin is a musical society founded in Berlin in 1791 by Carl Friedrich Christian Fasch, harpsichordist to the court of Prussia, on the model of the 18th century London Academy of Ancient Music.-Early history:...
under Eduard Grell. The Christmas Oratorio is a particularly sophisticated example of parody musicParody music, or musical parody, involves changing or recycling existing musical ideas or lyrics — or copying the peculiar style of a composer or artist, or even a general style of music. Although the result is often funny, and this is the usual intent — the term "parody" in musical terms also...
. The author of the text is unknown, although a likely collaborator was Christian Friedrich Henrici (PicanderPicander was the pseudonym of Christian Friedrich Henrici , a German poet and librettist for many of Johann Sebastian Bach's Leipzig cantatas...
).
The work belongs to a group of three oratorios written towards the end of Bach's career in 1734 and 1735 for major feasts, the others being the Ascension Oratorio (BWV 11) and the Easter OratorioThe Easter Oratorio , BWV 249, is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, Kommt, eilet und laufet , first performed in Leipzig in 1725.- History :...
(BWV 249). All parody earlier compositions, although the Christmas Oratorio is by far the longest and most complex work.
The oratorio is in six parts, each part being intended for performance on one of the major feast days of the Christmas period. The piece is often presented as a whole or split into two equal parts. The total running time for the entire work is nearly three hours.
The first part (for Christmas Day) describes the Birth of JesusJesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, the second (for December 26) the annunciation to the shepherds, the third (for December 27) the adoration of the shepherds, the fourth (for New Year's DayNew Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
) the circumcision and naming of Jesus, the fifth (for the first Sunday after New Year) the journey of the MagiMagi is a term, used since at least the 4th century BC, to denote a follower of Zoroaster, or rather, a follower of what the Hellenistic world associated Zoroaster with, which...
, and the sixth (for Epiphany) the adoration of the Magi.
Narrative structure
The structure of the story is defined to a large extent by the particular requirements of the church calendar for Christmas 1734/35. Bach abandoned his usual practice when writing church cantatas of basing the content upon the Gospel reading for that day in order to achieve a coherent narrative structure. Were he to have followed the calendar, the story would have unfolded as follows:
- Birth and Annunciation to the Shepherds
- The Adoration of the Shepherds
- Prologue to the Gospel of John
The Gospel According to John , commonly referred to as the Gospel of John or simply John, and often referred to in New Testament scholarship as the Fourth Gospel, is an account of the public ministry of Jesus...
- Circumcision and Naming of Jesus
- The Flight into Egypt
The flight into Egypt is a biblical event described in the Gospel of Matthew , in which Joseph fled to Egypt with his wife Mary and infant son Jesus after a visit by Magi because they learn that King Herod intends to kill the infants of that area...
- The Coming and Adoration of the Magi
This would have resulted in the Holy Family fleeing before the Magi had arrived, which was unsuitable for an oratorio evidently planned as a coherent whole. Bach removed the content for the Third Day of Christmas (December 27), John's Gospel, and split the story of the two groups of visitors—Shepherds and Magi—into two. This resulted in a more understandable exposition of the Christmas story:
- The Birth
- The Annunciation to the Shepherds
- The Adoration of the Shepherds
- The Circumcision and Naming of Jesus
- The Journey of the Magi
- The Adoration of the Magi
The fifth part finishes with the Flight into Egypt.
That Bach saw the six parts as comprising a greater, unified whole is evident both from the surviving printed text and from the structure of the music itself. The edition has not only a title—Weihnachtsoratorium—connecting together the six sections, but these sections are also numbered consecutively. As John Butt has mentioned, this points, as in the Mass in B minor, to a unity beyond the performance constraints of the church year.
Performance
The oratorio was written for performance on six feast days of Christmas during the winter of 1734 and 1735. The original score also contains details of when each part was performed. It was incorporated within services of the two most important churches in LeipzigLeipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, St. Thomas and St. Nicholas. As can be seen below, the work was only performed in its entirety at the St. Nicholas Church.
{{Double image|right|Leipzig Nikolaikirche.jpg|150|Leipzig - Thomaskirche.jpg|180|St. Nicholas Church|St. Thomas Church}}
First performances:
- 25 December 1734: Part I – 'early in the morning' at St. Nicholas; 'in the afternoon' at St. Thomas
- 26 December 1734: Part II – morning at St. Thomas; afternoon at St. Nicholas
- 27 December 1734: Part III – morning at St. Nicholas
- 1 January 1735: Part IV – morning at St. Thomas; afternoon at St. Nicholas
- 2 January 1735: Part V – morning at St Nicholas
- 6 January 1735: Part VI – morning at St. Thomas; afternoon at St. Nicholas
Music
Bach expresses the unity of the whole work within the music itself, in part through his use of key signatureIn musical notation, a key signature is a series of sharp or flat symbols placed on the staff, designating notes that are to be consistently played one semitone higher or lower than the equivalent natural notes unless otherwise altered with an accidental...
s. Parts I and III are written in the keys of D majorD major is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature consists of two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor....
, part II in its subdominantIn music, the subdominant is the technical name for the fourth tonal degree of the diatonic scale. It is so called because it is the same distance "below" the tonic as the dominant is above the tonic - in other words, the tonic is the dominant of the subdominant. It is also the note immediately...
key G majorG major is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp, F; in treble-clef key signatures, the sharp-symbol for F is usually placed on the first line from the top, though in some Baroque music it is placed on the first space from the bottom...
. Parts I and III are similarly scored for exuberant trumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, while the Pastoral Part II (referring to the Shepherds) is, by contrast, scored for woodwind instrumentA woodwind instrument is a musical instrument which produces sound when the player blows air against a sharp edge or through a reed, causing the air within its resonator to vibrate...
s and does not include an opening chorus. Part IV is written in F majorF major is a musical major scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat . It is by far the oldest key signature with an accidental, predating the others by hundreds of years...
(the relative keyIn music, relative keys are the major and minor scales that have the same key signatures. A major and minor scale sharing the same key signature are said to be in a relative relationship...
to D minorD minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. In the harmonic minor, the C is raised to C. Its key signature has one flat ....
) and marks the furthest musical point away from the oratorio's opening key, scored for horns. Bach then embarks upon a journey back to the opening key, via the dominantIn music, the dominant is the fifth scale degree of the diatonic scale, called "dominant" because it is next in importance to the tonic,and a dominant chord is any chord built upon that pitch, using the notes of the same diatonic scale...
A majorA major is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps.Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor...
of Part V to the jubilant re-assertion of D major in the final part, lending an overall arc to the piece. To reinforce this connection, between the beginning and the end of the work, Bach re-uses the choraleA chorale was originally a hymn sung by a Christian congregation. In certain modern usage, this term may also include classical settings of such hymns and works of a similar character....
melody of Part I's Wie soll ich dich empfangen? in the final chorus of Part VI, Nun seid ihr wohl gerochen; this choral melody is the same as of O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden, which Bach used five times in his St Matthew Passion.
The music represents a particularly sophisticated expression of the parody technique, by which existing music is adapted to a new purpose. Bach took the majority of the choruses and arias from works which had been written some time earlier. Most of this music was 'secular', that is written in praise of royalty or notable local figures, outside the tradition of performance within the church.
These secular cantatas which provide the basis for the Christmas Oratorio, are:
- BWV 213 – Laßt uns sorgen, laßt uns wachen (Hercules at the Crossroads)
- Performed on 5 September 1733 for the eleventh birthday of Prince Friedrich Christian of Saxony
Frederick Christian, Elector of Saxony was the Prince-Elector of Saxony for less than three months in 1763...
.
- BWV 214 – Tönet, ihr Pauken! Erschallet, Trompeten!
- Performed on 8 December 1733 for the birthday of Maria Josepha
Maria Josepha of Austria was born an Archduchess of Austria, and from 1711 to 1713 was heiress presumptive to the Habsburg Empire...
, Queen of Poland and Electress of Saxony.
- BWV 215 – Preise dein Glücke, gesegnetes Sachsen
- Performed on 5 October 1734 for the coronation of the Elector of Saxony August III
Augustus III, known as the Saxon ; ; also Prince-elector Friedrich August II was the Elector of Saxony in 1733-1763, as Frederick Augustus II , King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania in 1734-1763.-Biography:Augustus was the only legitimate son of Augustus II the Strong, Imperial Prince-Elector...
as King of Poland.
In addition to these sources, the sixth cantata is thought to have been taken almost entirely from a now-lost church cantata, BWV 248a. The trio aria in Part V Ach, wenn wird die Zeit erscheinen? is believed to be from a similarly lost source, and the chorus from the same section Wo ist der neugeborne König is from the 1731 St Mark PassionThe St Mark Passion , BWV 247, is a lost Passion setting by Johann Sebastian Bach, first performed in Leipzig on Good Friday, 23 March 1731 and again on Good Friday 1744 in a revised version...
(BWV 247).
Instrumentation
The scoring below refers to parts, rather than necessarily to individual players. Adherents of theories specifying small numbers of performers (even to 'One Voice Per Part'One Voice Per Part - this musical term and neologism and its abbreviation refers to the practice of performing Baroque choral music, and Bach's works in particular, with single voices on each vocal line...
) may however choose to use numbers approaching one instrument per named part.
Part I: 3 trumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, timpaniTimpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, 2 transverse fluteThe Western concert flute is a transverse woodwind instrument made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist, flutist, or flute player....
s, 2 oboeThe oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s, 2 oboes d'amoreThe oboe d'amore , less commonly oboe d'amour, is a double reed woodwind musical instrument in the oboe family. Slightly larger than the oboe, it has a less assertive and more tranquil and serene tone, and is considered the mezzo-soprano of the oboe family, between the oboe itself and the cor...
, 2 violinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
s, violaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
, continuo groupFigured bass, or thoroughbass, is a kind of integer musical notation used to indicate intervals, chords, and non-chord tones, in relation to a bass note...
{{#tag:ref|The continuo part is open to interpretation in matters of scoring. Examples: for his 1973 recording, Nikolaus HarnoncourtNikolaus Harnoncourt is an Austrian conductor, particularly known for his historically informed performances of music from the Classical era and earlier. Starting out as a classical cellist, he founded his own period instrument ensemble in the 1950s, and became a pioneer of the Early Music movement...
employed bassoon, violoncelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
, violoneThe term violone can refer to several distinct large, bowed musical instruments which belong to either the viol or violin family. The violone is sometimes a fretted instrument, and may have six, five, four, or even only three strings. The violone is also not always a contrabass instrument...
(double bass) and organ; Peter SchreierPeter Schreier is a German tenor and conductor.-Early life:Schreier was born in Meissen, Saxony, and spent his first years in the small village of Gauernitz, near Meissen, where his father was a teacher, cantor and organist...
(1987) used violoncello, double bass, bassoon, organ and harpsichord; René Jacobs in 1997 chose violoncello, double bass, lute, bassoon, organ and harpsichord; and Jos van VeldhovenJos van Veldhoven is a Dutch choral conductor. He studied musicology at the Rijksuniversiteit of Utrecht, and choral and orchestral conducting at the Royal Conservatory, the Hague. He has been artistic director of De Nederlandse Bachvereniging since 1983...
in 2003 opted for violoncello, double bass, bassoon, organ, harpsichord and theorboA theorbo is a plucked string instrument. As a name, theorbo signifies a number of long-necked lutes with second pegboxes, such as the liuto attiorbato, the French théorbe des pièces, the English theorbo, the archlute, the German baroque lute, the angélique or angelica. The etymology of the name...
.|group=I}}{{#tag:ref|The different types of oboes referred to above are mostly called for at different points in each section. However, numbers 10, 12, 14, 17, 18, 19 and 21 in Part II call for 2 oboes d'amore and 2 oboes da caccia. This scoring was intended to symbolise the shepherds who are the subject of the second part. It is a reference to the pastoral music tradition of shepherds playing shawmThe shawm was a medieval and Renaissance musical instrument of the woodwind family made in Europe from the 12th century until the 17th century. It was developed from the oriental zurna and is the predecessor of the modern oboe. The body of the shawm was usually turned from a single piece of wood,...
-like instruments at Christmas. Similarly, the pastoral sinfony in Handel's MessiahMessiah is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel, with a scriptural text compiled by Charles Jennens from the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer. It was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742, and received its London premiere nearly a year later...
(1741) is known as the 'Pifa' after the Italian piffero or piffaroThe piffero or piffaro is a double reed musical instrument with a conical bore, of the oboe family.It is used to play music in the tradition of the quattro province, an area of mountains and valleys in the north-west Italian Apennines which includes parts of the four provinces of Alessandria,...
, similar to the shawm and an ancestor of the oboe.|group=I}}
Part II: 2 flutes, 2 oboes d'amore, 2 oboes da cacciaThe oboe da caccia is a double reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family, pitched a fifth below the oboe and used primarily in the Baroque period of European classical music...
, 2 violins, viola, continuo
Part III: 3 trumpets, timpani, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 oboes d'amore, 2 violins, viola, continuo
Part IV: 2 hornsThe horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
, 2 oboes, 2 violins, viola, continuo
Part V: 2 oboes d'amore, 2 violins, viola, continuo
Part VI: 3 trumpets, timpani, 2 oboes, 2 oboes d'amore, 2 violins, viola, continuo
Notes
Text
The ease with which the new text fits the existing music is one of the indications of how successful a parody the Christmas Oratorio is of its sources. Musicologist Alfred DürrAlfred Dürr was a German musicologist. He was a principal editor of the Neue Bach-Ausgabe, the second edition of the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach.- Professional career :...
and others, such as Christoph WolffChristoph Wolff is a German-born musicologist, presently on the faculty of Harvard University. Born and educated in Germany, Wolff studied organ and historical keyboard instruments, musicology and art history at the Universities of Berlin, Erlangen, and the Music Academy of Freiburg, receiving a...
have suggested that Bach's sometime collaborator Picander (the pen name of Christian Friedrich Henrici) wrote the new text, working closely with Bach to ensure a perfect fit with the re-used music. It may have even been the case that the Christmas Oratorio was already planned when Bach wrote the secular cantatas BWV 213, 214 and 215, given that the original works were written fairly close to the oratorio and the seamless way with which the new words fit the existing music.
Nevertheless, on two occasions Bach abandoned the original plan and was compelled to write new music for the Christmas Oratorio. The altoAlto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,...
aria in Part III, Schließe, mein Herze was originally to have been set to the music for the aria Durch die von Eifer entflammten Waffen from BWV 215. On this occasion, however, the parody technique proved to be unsuccessful and Bach composed the aria afresh. Instead, he used the model from BWV 215 for the bassA bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...
aria Erleucht' auch meine finstre Sinnnen in Part V. Similarly, the opening chorus to Part V, Ehre sei dir Gott! was almost certainly intended to be set to the music of the chorus Lust der Völker, Lust der Deinen from BWV 213, given the close correspondence between the texts of the two pieces. The third major new piece of writing (with the notable exception of the recitativeRecitative , also known by its Italian name "recitativo" , is a style of delivery in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms of ordinary speech...
s), the sublime pastoral Sinfonia which opens Part II, was composed from scratch for the new work.
In addition to the new compositions listed above, special mention must go to the recitatives, which knit together the oratorio into a coherent whole. In particular, Bach made particularly effective use of recitative when combining it with chorales in no. 7 of part I (Er ist auf Erden kommen arm) and even more ingeniously in the recitatives nos. 38 and 40 which frame the "Echo Aria" (Flößt, mein Heiland), no. 39 in part IV.
Parts and numbers
Each section combines choruses (a pastoralFor Beethoven's Pastoral symphony, see Symphony No. 6 Pastorale refers to something of a pastoral nature in music, whether in form or in mood....
Sinfonia opens Part II instead of a chorus), chorales and from the soloists recitatives, ariosos and arias.
The tables below do not show a key signature or a time signature for recitatives because they are all (nominally) in the key of that part and in common time. The exceptions are No. 18 which starts in C majorC major is a musical major scale based on C, with pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature has no flats/sharps.Its relative minor is A minor, and its parallel minor is C minor....
and then modulatesIn music, modulation is most commonly the act or process of changing from one key to another. This may or may not be accompanied by a change in key signature. Modulations articulate or create the structure or form of many pieces, as well as add interest...
to G major, and No. 27 which continues in the A major of the previous movement. In any case, a key and time signatures for a recitative are merely musical notationMusic notation or musical notation is any system that represents aurally perceived music, through the use of written symbols.-History:...
.
Part I
Part I: For the First Day of Christmas
| No. | | KeyIn musical notation, a key signature is a series of sharp or flat symbols placed on the staff, designating notes that are to be consistently played one semitone higher or lower than the equivalent natural notes unless otherwise altered with an accidental...
| TimeThe time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
| First line | Scoring | Source |
| 1 |
Chorus |
D majorD major is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature consists of two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor....
|
3/8Triple metre is a musical metre characterized by a primary division of 3 beats to the bar, usually indicated by 3 or 9 in the upper figure of the time signature, with 3/4, 3/2, and 3/8 being the most common examples...
|
Jauchzet, frohlocket, auf, preiset die Tage |
3 trumpets, timpani, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, strings (violin I, II, viola) and continuo (cello, violone, organ and bassoon) |
BWV 214: Chorus, Tönet, ihr Pauken! |
| 2 |
Recitative (Evangelist The Evangelist in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach is the tenor part in his oratorios and Passions who narrates the exact words of the Bible, translated by Martin Luther, in recitative, namely in the works St John Passion, St Matthew Passion, and the Christmas Oratorio, also in the St Mark...
, tenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
) |
Es begab sich aber zu der Zeit |
Continuo |
{{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Luke|chapter=2|verse=1|range=-6}} |
| 3 |
Recitative (alto Alto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,...
) |
Nun wird mein liebster Bräutigam |
2 oboe d'amore, continuo |
|
| 4 |
Aria (alto) |
A min A minor is a minor scale based on A, consisting of the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. The harmonic minor scale raises the G to G...
/{{Nowrap|C majC major is a musical major scale based on C, with pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature has no flats/sharps.Its relative minor is A minor, and its parallel minor is C minor....
}} |
3/8 |
Bereite dich, Zion, mit zärtlichen Trieben |
Oboe d'amore I, violin I, continuo |
BWV 213: Aria, Ich will dich nicht hören |
| 5 |
Chorale |
A minor |
Common |
Wie soll ich dich empfangen |
2 flutes, 2 oboes, strings and continuo |
Words: Paul Gerhardt Paul Gerhardt was a German hymn writer.-Biography:Gerhardt was born into a middle-class family at Gräfenhainichen, a small town between Halle and Wittenberg. At the age of fifteen, he entered the Fürstenschule in Grimma. The school was known for its pious atmosphere and stern discipline...
(1607–1676) |
| 6 |
Recitative (Evangelist, tenor) |
Und sie gebar ihren ersten Sohn |
Continuo |
{{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Luke|chapter=2|verse=7}} |
| 7 |
Chorale (soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
s)
Recitative (bassA bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...
) |
D major |
3/4
Common |
Er ist auf Erden kommen arm
Wer will die Liebe recht erhöhn |
2 oboe d'amore, continuo |
Words (Chorale Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ is a Lutheran chorale of 1524, with words written by Martin Luther. For centuries the chorale has been the prominent hymn for Christmas Day in German speaking Lutheranism, but has also been used in different translations internationally...
): Martin LutherMartin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
, 1524 |
| 8 |
Aria (bass) |
D major |
2/4 |
Großer Herr und starker König |
Trumpet I, flute I, strings, continuo |
BWV 214: Aria, Kron und Preis gekrönter Damen |
| 9 |
Chorale |
D major |
Common |
Ach mein herzliebes Jesulein! |
3 trumpets, timpani, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, strings and continuo (cello, violone, organ and bassoon) |
Words: Martin Luther, 1535 |
Part II
Part II: For the Second Day of Christmas
| No. | | Key | Time | First line | Scoring | Source |
| 10 |
Sinfonia |
G majorG major is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp, F; in treble-clef key signatures, the sharp-symbol for F is usually placed on the first line from the top, though in some Baroque music it is placed on the first space from the bottom...
|
12/8 |
— |
2 flutes, 2 oboe d'amore, 2 oboe da caccia, strings, continuo |
|
| 11 |
Recitative (Evangelist, tenor) |
Und es waren Hirten in derselben Gegend |
Continuo |
{{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Luke|chapter=2|verse=8|range=-9}} |
| 12 |
Chorale |
G major |
Common |
Brich an, o schönes Morgenlicht |
2 flutes, 2 oboe d'amore, 2 oboe da caccia, strings, continuo |
Words: Johann von Rist Johann von Rist was a German poet and dramatist best known for the hymns he wrote.-Life:He was born at Ottensen in Holstein on 8 March 1607; the son of the Lutheran pastor of that place, Caspar Rist...
, 1641 |
| 13 |
Recitative (Evangelist, tenor; Angel, soprano) |
Und der Engel sprach zu ihnen
Fürchtet euch nicht |
Strings, continuo |
{{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Luke|chapter=2|verse=10|range=-11}} |
| 14 |
Recitative (bass) |
Was Gott dem Abraham verheißen |
2 oboe d'amore, 2 oboe da caccia, strings, continuo |
|
| 15 |
Aria (tenor) |
G major |
3/8 |
Frohe Hirten, eilt, ach eilet |
Flute I, continuo |
BWV 214: Aria, Fromme Musen! meine Glieder |
| 16 |
Recitative (Evangelist, tenor)[In some performances sung by the Angel (soprano).] |
Und das habt zum Zeichen |
Continuo |
{{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Luke|chapter=2|verse=12}} |
| 17 |
Chorale |
C major |
Common |
Schaut hin! dort liegt im finstern Stall |
2 flutes, 2 oboe d'amore, 2 oboe da caccia, strings, continuo |
Words: Paul Gerhardt Paul Gerhardt was a German hymn writer.-Biography:Gerhardt was born into a middle-class family at Gräfenhainichen, a small town between Halle and Wittenberg. At the age of fifteen, he entered the Fürstenschule in Grimma. The school was known for its pious atmosphere and stern discipline...
, 1667 |
| 18 |
Recitative (bass) |
C maj/{{Nowrap|G maj}} |
|
So geht denn hin! |
2 oboe d'amore, 2 oboe da caccia, strings, continuo |
|
| 19 |
Aria (alto) |
G maj/{{Nowrap|E min E minor is a minor scale based on the note E. The E natural minor scale consists of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. The E harmonic minor scale contains the natural 7, D, rather than the flatted 7, D – to align with the major dominant chord, B7 .Its key signature has one sharp, F .Its...
}} |
2/4 |
Schlafe, mein Liebster, genieße der Ruh |
Flute I (colla parte an octave above the alto soloist throughout), 2 oboe d'amore, 2 oboe da caccia, strings, continuo |
BWV 213: Aria, Schlafe, mein Liebster, und pflege der Ruh |
| 20 |
Recitative (Evangelist, tenor) |
Und alsobald war da bei dem Engel |
Continuo |
{{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Luke|chapter=2|verse=13}} |
| 21 |
Chorus |
G major |
Split Common (2/2) |
Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe |
2 flutes, 2 oboe d'amore, 2 oboe da caccia, strings, continuo |
{{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Luke|chapter=2|verse=14}} |
| 22 |
Recitative (bass) |
So recht, ihr Engel, jauchzt und singet |
Continuo |
|
| 23 |
Chorale |
G major |
12/8 |
Wir singen dir in deinem Heer |
2 flutes, 2 oboe d'amore, 2 oboe da caccia, strings, continuo |
Words: Paul Gerhardt, 1656 |
Part III
Part III: For the Third Day of Christmas
| No. | | Key | Time | First line | Scoring | Source |
| 24 |
Chorus |
D major |
3/8 |
Herrscher des Himmels, erhöre das Lallen |
Trumpet I, II, III, timpani, flute I, II, oboe I, II, strings, continuo |
BWV 214: Chorus, Blühet, ihr Linden in Sachsen, wie Zedern |
| 25 |
Recitative (Evangelist, tenor) |
Und da die Engel von ihnen gen Himmel fuhren |
Continuo |
{{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Luke|chapter=2|verse=15}} |
| 26 |
Chorus |
A majorA major is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps.Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor...
|
3/4 |
Lasset uns nun gehen gen Bethlehem |
Flute I, II, oboe d'amore I, II, strings, continuo |
|
| 27 |
Recitative (bass) |
A major |
|
Er hat sein Volk getröst't |
Flute I, II, continuo |
|
| 28 |
Chorale |
D major |
Common |
Dies hat er alles uns getan |
Flute I, II, oboe I, II, strings, continuo |
Chorale Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ is a Lutheran chorale of 1524, with words written by Martin Luther. For centuries the chorale has been the prominent hymn for Christmas Day in German speaking Lutheranism, but has also been used in different translations internationally...
: Martin Luther, 1524 |
| 29 |
DuetA duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...
(soprano, bass) |
A major |
3/8 |
Herr, dein Mitleid, dein Erbarmen |
Oboe d'amore I, II, continuo |
BWV 213: Aria, Ich bin deine, du bist meine |
| 30 |
Recitative (Evangelist, tenor) |
Und sie kamen eilend |
Continuo |
{{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Luke|chapter=2|verse=16|range=-19}} |
| 31 |
Aria (alto) |
D maj/{{Nowrap|B minB minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. The harmonic minor raises the A to A. Its key signature has two sharps .Its relative major is D major, and its parallel major is B major....
}} |
2/4 |
Schließe, mein Herze, dies selige Wunder |
Violin solo, continuo |
|
| 32 |
Recitative (alto) |
Ja, ja! mein Herz soll es bewahren |
Flute I, II, continuo |
|
| 33 |
Chorale |
G major |
Common |
Ich will dich mit Fleiß bewahren |
Flute I, II, oboe I, II, strings, continuo |
Words: Paul Gerhardt, 1653 |
| 34 |
Recitative (Evangelist, tenor) |
Und die Hirten kehren wieder um |
Continuo |
{{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Luke|chapter=2|verse=20}} |
| 35 |
Chorale |
F
{{about|the Christmas Oratorio by J.S. Bach|Christmas Oratorios by other composers|Christmas Oratorio (disambiguation)}}
The Christmas Oratorio ({{Lang-de|Weihnachts-Oratorium|nolink=y}}) BWV 248, is an oratorioAn oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
by Johann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
intended for performance in church during the Christmas seasonThe Twelve Days of Christmas are the festive days beginning Christmas Day . This period is also known as Christmastide and Twelvetide. The Twelfth Night of Christmas is always on the evening of 5 January, but the Twelfth Day can either precede or follow the Twelfth Night according to which...
. It was written for the ChristmasChristmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
season of 1734-Events:*March 29 – Louis-Gabriel Guillemain becomes first violinist at the Royal Academy in Dijon.*Foundation of the Imperial Ballet School at Saint Petersburg....
incorporating music from earlier compositions, including three secular cantataA cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
s written during 1733 and 1734 and a now lost church cantata, BWV 248a. The date is confirmed in Bach's autograph manuscript. The next performance was not until 17 December 1857 by the Sing-Akademie zu BerlinThe Sing-Akademie zu Berlin is a musical society founded in Berlin in 1791 by Carl Friedrich Christian Fasch, harpsichordist to the court of Prussia, on the model of the 18th century London Academy of Ancient Music.-Early history:...
under Eduard Grell. The Christmas Oratorio is a particularly sophisticated example of parody musicParody music, or musical parody, involves changing or recycling existing musical ideas or lyrics — or copying the peculiar style of a composer or artist, or even a general style of music. Although the result is often funny, and this is the usual intent — the term "parody" in musical terms also...
. The author of the text is unknown, although a likely collaborator was Christian Friedrich Henrici (PicanderPicander was the pseudonym of Christian Friedrich Henrici , a German poet and librettist for many of Johann Sebastian Bach's Leipzig cantatas...
).
The work belongs to a group of three oratorios written towards the end of Bach's career in 1734 and 1735 for major feasts, the others being the Ascension Oratorio (BWV 11) and the Easter OratorioThe Easter Oratorio , BWV 249, is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, Kommt, eilet und laufet , first performed in Leipzig in 1725.- History :...
(BWV 249). All parody earlier compositions, although the Christmas Oratorio is by far the longest and most complex work.
The oratorio is in six parts, each part being intended for performance on one of the major feast days of the Christmas period. The piece is often presented as a whole or split into two equal parts. The total running time for the entire work is nearly three hours.
The first part (for Christmas Day) describes the Birth of JesusJesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, the second (for December 26) the annunciation to the shepherds, the third (for December 27) the adoration of the shepherds, the fourth (for New Year's DayNew Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
) the circumcision and naming of Jesus, the fifth (for the first Sunday after New Year) the journey of the MagiMagi is a term, used since at least the 4th century BC, to denote a follower of Zoroaster, or rather, a follower of what the Hellenistic world associated Zoroaster with, which...
, and the sixth (for Epiphany) the adoration of the Magi.
Narrative structure
The structure of the story is defined to a large extent by the particular requirements of the church calendar for Christmas 1734/35. Bach abandoned his usual practice when writing church cantatas of basing the content upon the Gospel reading for that day in order to achieve a coherent narrative structure. Were he to have followed the calendar, the story would have unfolded as follows:
- Birth and Annunciation to the Shepherds
- The Adoration of the Shepherds
- Prologue to the Gospel of John
The Gospel According to John , commonly referred to as the Gospel of John or simply John, and often referred to in New Testament scholarship as the Fourth Gospel, is an account of the public ministry of Jesus...
- Circumcision and Naming of Jesus
- The Flight into Egypt
The flight into Egypt is a biblical event described in the Gospel of Matthew , in which Joseph fled to Egypt with his wife Mary and infant son Jesus after a visit by Magi because they learn that King Herod intends to kill the infants of that area...
- The Coming and Adoration of the Magi
This would have resulted in the Holy Family fleeing before the Magi had arrived, which was unsuitable for an oratorio evidently planned as a coherent whole. Bach removed the content for the Third Day of Christmas (December 27), John's Gospel, and split the story of the two groups of visitors—Shepherds and Magi—into two. This resulted in a more understandable exposition of the Christmas story:
- The Birth
- The Annunciation to the Shepherds
- The Adoration of the Shepherds
- The Circumcision and Naming of Jesus
- The Journey of the Magi
- The Adoration of the Magi
The fifth part finishes with the Flight into Egypt.
That Bach saw the six parts as comprising a greater, unified whole is evident both from the surviving printed text and from the structure of the music itself. The edition has not only a title—Weihnachtsoratorium—connecting together the six sections, but these sections are also numbered consecutively. As John Butt has mentioned, this points, as in the Mass in B minor, to a unity beyond the performance constraints of the church year.
Performance
The oratorio was written for performance on six feast days of Christmas during the winter of 1734 and 1735. The original score also contains details of when each part was performed. It was incorporated within services of the two most important churches in LeipzigLeipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, St. Thomas and St. Nicholas. As can be seen below, the work was only performed in its entirety at the St. Nicholas Church.
{{Double image|right|Leipzig Nikolaikirche.jpg|150|Leipzig - Thomaskirche.jpg|180|St. Nicholas Church|St. Thomas Church}}
First performances:
- 25 December 1734: Part I – 'early in the morning' at St. Nicholas; 'in the afternoon' at St. Thomas
- 26 December 1734: Part II – morning at St. Thomas; afternoon at St. Nicholas
- 27 December 1734: Part III – morning at St. Nicholas
- 1 January 1735: Part IV – morning at St. Thomas; afternoon at St. Nicholas
- 2 January 1735: Part V – morning at St Nicholas
- 6 January 1735: Part VI – morning at St. Thomas; afternoon at St. Nicholas
Music
Bach expresses the unity of the whole work within the music itself, in part through his use of key signatureIn musical notation, a key signature is a series of sharp or flat symbols placed on the staff, designating notes that are to be consistently played one semitone higher or lower than the equivalent natural notes unless otherwise altered with an accidental...
s. Parts I and III are written in the keys of D majorD major is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature consists of two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor....
, part II in its subdominantIn music, the subdominant is the technical name for the fourth tonal degree of the diatonic scale. It is so called because it is the same distance "below" the tonic as the dominant is above the tonic - in other words, the tonic is the dominant of the subdominant. It is also the note immediately...
key G majorG major is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp, F; in treble-clef key signatures, the sharp-symbol for F is usually placed on the first line from the top, though in some Baroque music it is placed on the first space from the bottom...
. Parts I and III are similarly scored for exuberant trumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, while the Pastoral Part II (referring to the Shepherds) is, by contrast, scored for woodwind instrumentA woodwind instrument is a musical instrument which produces sound when the player blows air against a sharp edge or through a reed, causing the air within its resonator to vibrate...
s and does not include an opening chorus. Part IV is written in F majorF major is a musical major scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat . It is by far the oldest key signature with an accidental, predating the others by hundreds of years...
(the relative keyIn music, relative keys are the major and minor scales that have the same key signatures. A major and minor scale sharing the same key signature are said to be in a relative relationship...
to D minorD minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. In the harmonic minor, the C is raised to C. Its key signature has one flat ....
) and marks the furthest musical point away from the oratorio's opening key, scored for horns. Bach then embarks upon a journey back to the opening key, via the dominantIn music, the dominant is the fifth scale degree of the diatonic scale, called "dominant" because it is next in importance to the tonic,and a dominant chord is any chord built upon that pitch, using the notes of the same diatonic scale...
A majorA major is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps.Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor...
of Part V to the jubilant re-assertion of D major in the final part, lending an overall arc to the piece. To reinforce this connection, between the beginning and the end of the work, Bach re-uses the choraleA chorale was originally a hymn sung by a Christian congregation. In certain modern usage, this term may also include classical settings of such hymns and works of a similar character....
melody of Part I's Wie soll ich dich empfangen? in the final chorus of Part VI, Nun seid ihr wohl gerochen; this choral melody is the same as of O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden, which Bach used five times in his St Matthew Passion.
The music represents a particularly sophisticated expression of the parody technique, by which existing music is adapted to a new purpose. Bach took the majority of the choruses and arias from works which had been written some time earlier. Most of this music was 'secular', that is written in praise of royalty or notable local figures, outside the tradition of performance within the church.
These secular cantatas which provide the basis for the Christmas Oratorio, are:
- BWV 213 – Laßt uns sorgen, laßt uns wachen (Hercules at the Crossroads)
- Performed on 5 September 1733 for the eleventh birthday of Prince Friedrich Christian of Saxony
Frederick Christian, Elector of Saxony was the Prince-Elector of Saxony for less than three months in 1763...
.
- BWV 214 – Tönet, ihr Pauken! Erschallet, Trompeten!
- Performed on 8 December 1733 for the birthday of Maria Josepha
Maria Josepha of Austria was born an Archduchess of Austria, and from 1711 to 1713 was heiress presumptive to the Habsburg Empire...
, Queen of Poland and Electress of Saxony.
- BWV 215 – Preise dein Glücke, gesegnetes Sachsen
- Performed on 5 October 1734 for the coronation of the Elector of Saxony August III
Augustus III, known as the Saxon ; ; also Prince-elector Friedrich August II was the Elector of Saxony in 1733-1763, as Frederick Augustus II , King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania in 1734-1763.-Biography:Augustus was the only legitimate son of Augustus II the Strong, Imperial Prince-Elector...
as King of Poland.
In addition to these sources, the sixth cantata is thought to have been taken almost entirely from a now-lost church cantata, BWV 248a. The trio aria in Part V Ach, wenn wird die Zeit erscheinen? is believed to be from a similarly lost source, and the chorus from the same section Wo ist der neugeborne König is from the 1731 St Mark PassionThe St Mark Passion , BWV 247, is a lost Passion setting by Johann Sebastian Bach, first performed in Leipzig on Good Friday, 23 March 1731 and again on Good Friday 1744 in a revised version...
(BWV 247).
Instrumentation
The scoring below refers to parts, rather than necessarily to individual players. Adherents of theories specifying small numbers of performers (even to 'One Voice Per Part'One Voice Per Part - this musical term and neologism and its abbreviation refers to the practice of performing Baroque choral music, and Bach's works in particular, with single voices on each vocal line...
) may however choose to use numbers approaching one instrument per named part.
Part I: 3 trumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, timpaniTimpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, 2 transverse fluteThe Western concert flute is a transverse woodwind instrument made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist, flutist, or flute player....
s, 2 oboeThe oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s, 2 oboes d'amoreThe oboe d'amore , less commonly oboe d'amour, is a double reed woodwind musical instrument in the oboe family. Slightly larger than the oboe, it has a less assertive and more tranquil and serene tone, and is considered the mezzo-soprano of the oboe family, between the oboe itself and the cor...
, 2 violinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
s, violaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
, continuo groupFigured bass, or thoroughbass, is a kind of integer musical notation used to indicate intervals, chords, and non-chord tones, in relation to a bass note...
{{#tag:ref|The continuo part is open to interpretation in matters of scoring. Examples: for his 1973 recording, Nikolaus HarnoncourtNikolaus Harnoncourt is an Austrian conductor, particularly known for his historically informed performances of music from the Classical era and earlier. Starting out as a classical cellist, he founded his own period instrument ensemble in the 1950s, and became a pioneer of the Early Music movement...
employed bassoon, violoncelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
, violoneThe term violone can refer to several distinct large, bowed musical instruments which belong to either the viol or violin family. The violone is sometimes a fretted instrument, and may have six, five, four, or even only three strings. The violone is also not always a contrabass instrument...
(double bass) and organ; Peter SchreierPeter Schreier is a German tenor and conductor.-Early life:Schreier was born in Meissen, Saxony, and spent his first years in the small village of Gauernitz, near Meissen, where his father was a teacher, cantor and organist...
(1987) used violoncello, double bass, bassoon, organ and harpsichord; René Jacobs in 1997 chose violoncello, double bass, lute, bassoon, organ and harpsichord; and Jos van VeldhovenJos van Veldhoven is a Dutch choral conductor. He studied musicology at the Rijksuniversiteit of Utrecht, and choral and orchestral conducting at the Royal Conservatory, the Hague. He has been artistic director of De Nederlandse Bachvereniging since 1983...
in 2003 opted for violoncello, double bass, bassoon, organ, harpsichord and theorboA theorbo is a plucked string instrument. As a name, theorbo signifies a number of long-necked lutes with second pegboxes, such as the liuto attiorbato, the French théorbe des pièces, the English theorbo, the archlute, the German baroque lute, the angélique or angelica. The etymology of the name...
.|group=I}}{{#tag:ref|The different types of oboes referred to above are mostly called for at different points in each section. However, numbers 10, 12, 14, 17, 18, 19 and 21 in Part II call for 2 oboes d'amore and 2 oboes da caccia. This scoring was intended to symbolise the shepherds who are the subject of the second part. It is a reference to the pastoral music tradition of shepherds playing shawmThe shawm was a medieval and Renaissance musical instrument of the woodwind family made in Europe from the 12th century until the 17th century. It was developed from the oriental zurna and is the predecessor of the modern oboe. The body of the shawm was usually turned from a single piece of wood,...
-like instruments at Christmas. Similarly, the pastoral sinfony in Handel's MessiahMessiah is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel, with a scriptural text compiled by Charles Jennens from the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer. It was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742, and received its London premiere nearly a year later...
(1741) is known as the 'Pifa' after the Italian piffero or piffaroThe piffero or piffaro is a double reed musical instrument with a conical bore, of the oboe family.It is used to play music in the tradition of the quattro province, an area of mountains and valleys in the north-west Italian Apennines which includes parts of the four provinces of Alessandria,...
, similar to the shawm and an ancestor of the oboe.|group=I}}
Part II: 2 flutes, 2 oboes d'amore, 2 oboes da cacciaThe oboe da caccia is a double reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family, pitched a fifth below the oboe and used primarily in the Baroque period of European classical music...
, 2 violins, viola, continuo
Part III: 3 trumpets, timpani, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 oboes d'amore, 2 violins, viola, continuo
Part IV: 2 hornsThe horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
, 2 oboes, 2 violins, viola, continuo
Part V: 2 oboes d'amore, 2 violins, viola, continuo
Part VI: 3 trumpets, timpani, 2 oboes, 2 oboes d'amore, 2 violins, viola, continuo
Notes
Text
The ease with which the new text fits the existing music is one of the indications of how successful a parody the Christmas Oratorio is of its sources. Musicologist Alfred DürrAlfred Dürr was a German musicologist. He was a principal editor of the Neue Bach-Ausgabe, the second edition of the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach.- Professional career :...
and others, such as Christoph WolffChristoph Wolff is a German-born musicologist, presently on the faculty of Harvard University. Born and educated in Germany, Wolff studied organ and historical keyboard instruments, musicology and art history at the Universities of Berlin, Erlangen, and the Music Academy of Freiburg, receiving a...
have suggested that Bach's sometime collaborator Picander (the pen name of Christian Friedrich Henrici) wrote the new text, working closely with Bach to ensure a perfect fit with the re-used music. It may have even been the case that the Christmas Oratorio was already planned when Bach wrote the secular cantatas BWV 213, 214 and 215, given that the original works were written fairly close to the oratorio and the seamless way with which the new words fit the existing music.
Nevertheless, on two occasions Bach abandoned the original plan and was compelled to write new music for the Christmas Oratorio. The altoAlto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,...
aria in Part III, Schließe, mein Herze was originally to have been set to the music for the aria Durch die von Eifer entflammten Waffen from BWV 215. On this occasion, however, the parody technique proved to be unsuccessful and Bach composed the aria afresh. Instead, he used the model from BWV 215 for the bassA bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...
aria Erleucht' auch meine finstre Sinnnen in Part V. Similarly, the opening chorus to Part V, Ehre sei dir Gott! was almost certainly intended to be set to the music of the chorus Lust der Völker, Lust der Deinen from BWV 213, given the close correspondence between the texts of the two pieces. The third major new piece of writing (with the notable exception of the recitativeRecitative , also known by its Italian name "recitativo" , is a style of delivery in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms of ordinary speech...
s), the sublime pastoral Sinfonia which opens Part II, was composed from scratch for the new work.
In addition to the new compositions listed above, special mention must go to the recitatives, which knit together the oratorio into a coherent whole. In particular, Bach made particularly effective use of recitative when combining it with chorales in no. 7 of part I (Er ist auf Erden kommen arm) and even more ingeniously in the recitatives nos. 38 and 40 which frame the "Echo Aria" (Flößt, mein Heiland), no. 39 in part IV.
Parts and numbers
Each section combines choruses (a pastoralFor Beethoven's Pastoral symphony, see Symphony No. 6 Pastorale refers to something of a pastoral nature in music, whether in form or in mood....
Sinfonia opens Part II instead of a chorus), chorales and from the soloists recitatives, ariosos and arias.
The tables below do not show a key signature or a time signature for recitatives because they are all (nominally) in the key of that part and in common time. The exceptions are No. 18 which starts in C majorC major is a musical major scale based on C, with pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature has no flats/sharps.Its relative minor is A minor, and its parallel minor is C minor....
and then modulatesIn music, modulation is most commonly the act or process of changing from one key to another. This may or may not be accompanied by a change in key signature. Modulations articulate or create the structure or form of many pieces, as well as add interest...
to G major, and No. 27 which continues in the A major of the previous movement. In any case, a key and time signatures for a recitative are merely musical notationMusic notation or musical notation is any system that represents aurally perceived music, through the use of written symbols.-History:...
.
Part I
Part I: For the First Day of Christmas
| No. | | KeyIn musical notation, a key signature is a series of sharp or flat symbols placed on the staff, designating notes that are to be consistently played one semitone higher or lower than the equivalent natural notes unless otherwise altered with an accidental...
| TimeThe time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
| First line | Scoring | Source |
| 1 |
Chorus |
D majorD major is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature consists of two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor....
|
3/8Triple metre is a musical metre characterized by a primary division of 3 beats to the bar, usually indicated by 3 or 9 in the upper figure of the time signature, with 3/4, 3/2, and 3/8 being the most common examples...
|
Jauchzet, frohlocket, auf, preiset die Tage |
3 trumpets, timpani, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, strings (violin I, II, viola) and continuo (cello, violone, organ and bassoon) |
BWV 214: Chorus, Tönet, ihr Pauken! |
| 2 |
Recitative (Evangelist The Evangelist in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach is the tenor part in his oratorios and Passions who narrates the exact words of the Bible, translated by Martin Luther, in recitative, namely in the works St John Passion, St Matthew Passion, and the Christmas Oratorio, also in the St Mark...
, tenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
) |
Es begab sich aber zu der Zeit |
Continuo |
{{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Luke|chapter=2|verse=1|range=-6}} |
| 3 |
Recitative (alto Alto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,...
) |
Nun wird mein liebster Bräutigam |
2 oboe d'amore, continuo |
|
| 4 |
Aria (alto) |
A min A minor is a minor scale based on A, consisting of the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. The harmonic minor scale raises the G to G...
/{{Nowrap|C majC major is a musical major scale based on C, with pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature has no flats/sharps.Its relative minor is A minor, and its parallel minor is C minor....
}} |
3/8 |
Bereite dich, Zion, mit zärtlichen Trieben |
Oboe d'amore I, violin I, continuo |
BWV 213: Aria, Ich will dich nicht hören |
| 5 |
Chorale |
A minor |
Common |
Wie soll ich dich empfangen |
2 flutes, 2 oboes, strings and continuo |
Words: Paul Gerhardt Paul Gerhardt was a German hymn writer.-Biography:Gerhardt was born into a middle-class family at Gräfenhainichen, a small town between Halle and Wittenberg. At the age of fifteen, he entered the Fürstenschule in Grimma. The school was known for its pious atmosphere and stern discipline...
(1607–1676) |
| 6 |
Recitative (Evangelist, tenor) |
Und sie gebar ihren ersten Sohn |
Continuo |
{{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Luke|chapter=2|verse=7}} |
| 7 |
Chorale (soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
s)
Recitative (bassA bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...
) |
D major |
3/4
Common |
Er ist auf Erden kommen arm
Wer will die Liebe recht erhöhn |
2 oboe d'amore, continuo |
Words (Chorale Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ is a Lutheran chorale of 1524, with words written by Martin Luther. For centuries the chorale has been the prominent hymn for Christmas Day in German speaking Lutheranism, but has also been used in different translations internationally...
): Martin LutherMartin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
, 1524 |
| 8 |
Aria (bass) |
D major |
2/4 |
Großer Herr und starker König |
Trumpet I, flute I, strings, continuo |
BWV 214: Aria, Kron und Preis gekrönter Damen |
| 9 |
Chorale |
D major |
Common |
Ach mein herzliebes Jesulein! |
3 trumpets, timpani, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, strings and continuo (cello, violone, organ and bassoon) |
Words: Martin Luther, 1535 |
Part II
Part II: For the Second Day of Christmas
| No. | | Key | Time | First line | Scoring | Source |
| 10 |
Sinfonia |
G majorG major is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp, F; in treble-clef key signatures, the sharp-symbol for F is usually placed on the first line from the top, though in some Baroque music it is placed on the first space from the bottom...
|
12/8 |
— |
2 flutes, 2 oboe d'amore, 2 oboe da caccia, strings, continuo |
|
| 11 |
Recitative (Evangelist, tenor) |
Und es waren Hirten in derselben Gegend |
Continuo |
{{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Luke|chapter=2|verse=8|range=-9}} |
| 12 |
Chorale |
G major |
Common |
Brich an, o schönes Morgenlicht |
2 flutes, 2 oboe d'amore, 2 oboe da caccia, strings, continuo |
Words: Johann von Rist Johann von Rist was a German poet and dramatist best known for the hymns he wrote.-Life:He was born at Ottensen in Holstein on 8 March 1607; the son of the Lutheran pastor of that place, Caspar Rist...
, 1641 |
| 13 |
Recitative (Evangelist, tenor; Angel, soprano) |
Und der Engel sprach zu ihnen
Fürchtet euch nicht |
Strings, continuo |
{{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Luke|chapter=2|verse=10|range=-11}} |
| 14 |
Recitative (bass) |
Was Gott dem Abraham verheißen |
2 oboe d'amore, 2 oboe da caccia, strings, continuo |
|
| 15 |
Aria (tenor) |
G major |
3/8 |
Frohe Hirten, eilt, ach eilet |
Flute I, continuo |
BWV 214: Aria, Fromme Musen! meine Glieder |
| 16 |
Recitative (Evangelist, tenor)[In some performances sung by the Angel (soprano).] |
Und das habt zum Zeichen |
Continuo |
{{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Luke|chapter=2|verse=12}} |
| 17 |
Chorale |
C major |
Common |
Schaut hin! dort liegt im finstern Stall |
2 flutes, 2 oboe d'amore, 2 oboe da caccia, strings, continuo |
Words: Paul Gerhardt Paul Gerhardt was a German hymn writer.-Biography:Gerhardt was born into a middle-class family at Gräfenhainichen, a small town between Halle and Wittenberg. At the age of fifteen, he entered the Fürstenschule in Grimma. The school was known for its pious atmosphere and stern discipline...
, 1667 |
| 18 |
Recitative (bass) |
C maj/{{Nowrap|G maj}} |
|
So geht denn hin! |
2 oboe d'amore, 2 oboe da caccia, strings, continuo |
|
| 19 |
Aria (alto) |
G maj/{{Nowrap|E min E minor is a minor scale based on the note E. The E natural minor scale consists of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. The E harmonic minor scale contains the natural 7, D, rather than the flatted 7, D – to align with the major dominant chord, B7 .Its key signature has one sharp, F .Its...
}} |
2/4 |
Schlafe, mein Liebster, genieße der Ruh |
Flute I (colla parte an octave above the alto soloist throughout), 2 oboe d'amore, 2 oboe da caccia, strings, continuo |
BWV 213: Aria, Schlafe, mein Liebster, und pflege der Ruh |
| 20 |
Recitative (Evangelist, tenor) |
Und alsobald war da bei dem Engel |
Continuo |
{{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Luke|chapter=2|verse=13}} |
| 21 |
Chorus |
G major |
Split Common (2/2) |
Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe |
2 flutes, 2 oboe d'amore, 2 oboe da caccia, strings, continuo |
{{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Luke|chapter=2|verse=14}} |
| 22 |
Recitative (bass) |
So recht, ihr Engel, jauchzt und singet |
Continuo |
|
| 23 |
Chorale |
G major |
12/8 |
Wir singen dir in deinem Heer |
2 flutes, 2 oboe d'amore, 2 oboe da caccia, strings, continuo |
Words: Paul Gerhardt, 1656 |
Part III
Part III: For the Third Day of Christmas
| No. | | Key | Time | First line | Scoring | Source |
| 24 |
Chorus |
D major |
3/8 |
Herrscher des Himmels, erhöre das Lallen |
Trumpet I, II, III, timpani, flute I, II, oboe I, II, strings, continuo |
BWV 214: Chorus, Blühet, ihr Linden in Sachsen, wie Zedern |
| 25 |
Recitative (Evangelist, tenor) |
Und da die Engel von ihnen gen Himmel fuhren |
Continuo |
{{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Luke|chapter=2|verse=15}} |
| 26 |
Chorus |
A majorA major is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps.Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor...
|
3/4 |
Lasset uns nun gehen gen Bethlehem |
Flute I, II, oboe d'amore I, II, strings, continuo |
|
| 27 |
Recitative (bass) |
A major |
|
Er hat sein Volk getröst't |
Flute I, II, continuo |
|
| 28 |
Chorale |
D major |
Common |
Dies hat er alles uns getan |
Flute I, II, oboe I, II, strings, continuo |
Chorale Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ is a Lutheran chorale of 1524, with words written by Martin Luther. For centuries the chorale has been the prominent hymn for Christmas Day in German speaking Lutheranism, but has also been used in different translations internationally...
: Martin Luther, 1524 |
| 29 |
DuetA duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...
(soprano, bass) |
A major |
3/8 |
Herr, dein Mitleid, dein Erbarmen |
Oboe d'amore I, II, continuo |
BWV 213: Aria, Ich bin deine, du bist meine |
| 30 |
Recitative (Evangelist, tenor) |
Und sie kamen eilend |
Continuo |
{{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Luke|chapter=2|verse=16|range=-19}} |
| 31 |
Aria (alto) |
D maj/{{Nowrap|B minB minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. The harmonic minor raises the A to A. Its key signature has two sharps .Its relative major is D major, and its parallel major is B major....
}} |
2/4 |
Schließe, mein Herze, dies selige Wunder |
Violin solo, continuo |
|
| 32 |
Recitative (alto) |
Ja, ja! mein Herz soll es bewahren |
Flute I, II, continuo |
|
| 33 |
Chorale |
G major |
Common |
Ich will dich mit Fleiß bewahren |
Flute I, II, oboe I, II, strings, continuo |
Words: Paul Gerhardt, 1653 |
| 34 |
Recitative (Evangelist, tenor) |
Und die Hirten kehren wieder um |
Continuo |
{{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Luke|chapter=2|verse=20}} |
| 35 |
Chorale |
F{{Music |
Common |
Seid froh, dieweil |
Flute I, II, oboe I, II, strings, continuo |
Words: Christoph Runge, 1653 |
| 24 |
Chorus da capo |
D major |
3/8 |
Herrscher des Himmels, erhöre das Lallen |
Trumpet I, II, III, timpani, flute I, II, oboe I, II, strings, continuo |
BWV 214: Chorus, Blühet, ihr Linden in Sachsen, wie Zedern |
Part IV
Part IV: For New Year's DayNew Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
(Feast of the Circumcision)
No. | | Key | Time | First line | Scoring | Source |
| 36 |
Chorus |
{{Nowrap|F majorF major is a musical major scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat . It is by far the oldest key signature with an accidental, predating the others by hundreds of years...
}} |
3/8 |
Fallt mit Danken, fallt mit Loben |
Horns I, II, oboe I, II, strings, continuo |
BWV 213: Chorus, Lasst uns sorgen, lasst uns wachen |
| 37 |
Recitative (Evangelist, tenor) |
Und da acht Tage um waren |
Continuo |
{{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Luke|chapter=2|verse=21}} |
| 38 |
Recitative (bass)
Arioso (sopr./bass) |
Immanuel, o süßes Wort
{{Nowrap|Jesu, du mein liebstes Leben}} |
Strings, continuo |
|
| 39 |
Aria (soprano & 'Echo' soprano) |
C major |
6/8 |
Flößt, mein Heiland, flößt dein Namen |
Oboe I solo, continuo |
BWV 213: Aria, Treues Echo dieser Orten |
| 40 |
Recitative (bass)
Arioso (soprano) |
Wohlan! dein Name soll allein
Jesu, meine Freud' und Wonne |
Strings, continuo |
|
| 41 |
Aria (tenor) |
D minorD minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. In the harmonic minor, the C is raised to C. Its key signature has one flat ....
|
Common |
Ich will nur dir zu Ehren leben |
Violin I, II, continuo |
BWV 213: Aria, Auf meinen Flügeln sollst du schweben |
| 42 |
Chorale |
F major |
3/4 |
Jesus richte mein Beginnen |
Horns I, II, oboe I, II, strings, continuo |
Words: Johann von Rist, 1642 |
Part V
Part V: For the First Sunday in the New Year[Part V is meant to be performed on the first Sunday in the New Year, but before the feast of Epiphany on 6 January. In some years, there is no such day, e.g in 2007/2008.]
No. | | Key | Time | First line | Scoring | Source |
| 43 |
Chorus |
A maj/{{Nowrap|F{{Music|#}} min}} |
3/4 |
Ehre sei dir, Gott, gesungen |
Oboe d'amore I, II, strings, continuo |
|
| 44 |
Recitative (Evangelist, tenor) |
Da Jesus geboren war zu Bethlehem |
Continuo |
{{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Matthew|chapter=2|verse=1}} |
| 45 |
Chorus
Recitative (alto)
Chorus |
D major |
Common |
Wo ist der neugeborne König der Juden[{{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Matthew|chapter=2|verse=2}}]
Sucht ihn in meiner Brust
Wir haben seinen Stern gesehen |
Oboe d'amore I, II, strings, continuo |
BWV 247: St Mark Passion, Chorus,
Pfui dich, wie fein zerbrichst du den Tempel |
| 46 |
Chorale |
A major |
Common |
Dein Glanz all' Finsternis verzehrt |
Oboe d'amore I, II, strings, continuo |
Words: Georg Weissel, 1642 |
| 47 |
Aria (bass) |
F{{Music|#}} minor |
2/4 |
Erleucht' auch meine finstre Sinnen |
Oboe d'amore I solo, organ senza continuo |
BWV 215: Aria, Durch die von Eifer entflammeten Waffen |
| 48 |
Recitative (Evangelist, tenor) |
Da das der König Herodes hörte |
Continuo |
{{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Matthew|chapter=2|verse=3}} |
| 49 |
Recitative (alto) |
Warum wollt ihr erschrecken |
Strings, continuo |
|
| 50 |
Recitative (Evangelist, tenor) |
Und ließ versammeln alle Hohenpriester |
Continuo |
{{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Matthew|chapter=2|verse=4|range=-6}} |
| 51 |
Trio (sopr., alto, ten.) |
D major |
2/4 |
Ach! wann wird die Zeit erscheinen? |
Violin I solo, continuo |
unknown |
| 52 |
Recitative (alto) |
Mein Liebster herrschet schon |
Continuo |
|
| 53 |
Chorale |
A major |
Common |
Zwar ist solche Herzensstube |
Oboe d'amore I, II, strings, continuo |
Words: Johann Franck Johann Frank was a German lyric poet and hymnist.-Life:Franck was born in Guben, Margraviate of Brandenburg. After visiting the Latin school in Guben, he attended schools in Cottbus and Stettin, as well as the gymnasium in Thorn...
, 1655 |
Part VI
Part VI: For the Feast of Epiphany
| No. | | Key | Time | First line | Scoring | Source |
| 54 |
Chorus |
D major |
3/8 |
Herr, wenn die stolzen Feinde schnauben |
Trumpet I, II, III, timpani, oboe I, II, strings, continuo |
BWV 248a (lost church cantata) |
| 55 |
Recitative (Evangelist, tenor; HerodHerod , also known as Herod the Great , was a Roman client king of Judea. His epithet of "the Great" is widely disputed as he is described as "a madman who murdered his own family and a great many rabbis." He is also known for his colossal building projects in Jerusalem and elsewhere, including his...
, bass) |
Da berief Herodes die Weisen heimlich
Ziehet hin und forschet fleißig |
Continuo |
{{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Matthew|chapter=2|verse=7|range=-8}} |
| 56 |
Recitative (soprano) |
Du Falscher, suchet nur den Herrn zu fällen |
Strings, continuo |
BWV 248a (lost church cantata) |
| 57 |
Aria (soprano) |
A maj/{{Nowrap|F{{Music|#}} min/}}{{Nowrap|A maj}} |
3/4 |
Nur ein Wink von seinen Händen |
Oboe d'amore I, strings, continuo |
BWV 248a (lost church cantata) |
| 58 |
Recitative (Evangelist, tenor) |
Als sie nun den König gehöret hatten |
Continuo |
{{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Matthew|chapter=2|verse=9|range=-11}} |
| 59 |
Chorale |
G major |
Common |
Ich steh an deiner Krippen hier |
Oboe I, II, strings, continuo |
Words: Paul Gerhardt, 1656 |
| 60 |
Recitative (Evangelist, tenor) |
Und Gott befahl ihnen im Traum |
Continuo |
{{Sourcetext|source=Bible|version=King James|book=Matthew|chapter=2|verse=12}} |
| 61 |
Recitative (tenor) |
So geht! Genug, mein Schatz geht nicht von hier |
Oboe d'amore I, II, continuo |
BWV 248a (lost church cantata) |
| 62 |
Aria (tenor) |
B minor |
2/4 |
Nun mögt ihr stolzen Feinde schrecken |
Oboe d'amore I, II, continuo |
BWV 248a (lost church cantata) |
| 63 |
Recitative (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) |
Was will der Höllen Schrecken nun |
Continuo |
BWV 248a (lost church cantata) |
| 64 |
Chorale |
D major |
Common |
Nun seid ihr wohl gerochen |
Trumpet I, II, III, timpani, oboe I, II, strings, continuo |
BWV 248a (lost church cantata); Words: Georg Werner, 1648 |
{{H:title|Sola Dei Gloria|S. D. Gl.}}
Recordings
- 1955: Fritz Lehmann
Fritz Lehmann was a noted German conductor, whose career was cut short by his early death at the age of 51. His repertoire ranged from the Baroque through to contemporary works, in both the concert hall and the opera house. He was an early advocate of period performance practice. and founded the...
, Helmut KrebsHelmut Krebs was a distinguished German tenor in opera and concert, who sang a wide range of roles from Baroque to contemporary works.-Professional career:...
(tenor), Sieglinde WagnerSieglinde Wagner was an Austrian operatic contralto, who could also sing mezzo-soprano roles....
(alto), Heinz RehfussHeinz Julius Rehfuss was a Swiss operatic bass-baritone, who later became an American citizen. He was particularly associated with the title roles in Don Giovanni and Boris Godunov, and Golaud in Pelléas et Mélisande....
(bass), Gunthild Weber (soprano), Berliner Motettenchor, RIAS KammerchorThe RIAS Kammerchor is a professional chamber choir of the RIAS in Berlin, founded originally for contemporary music, with an international reputation.-History:...
, Berlin Philharmonic, Archiv ProduktionDeutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
- 1958: Kurt Thomas
Kurt Thomas was a German composer, conductor and music educator.He was born in Tönning and died in Bad Oeynhausen....
, Josef TraxelJosef Traxel was a German operatic tenor, particularly associated with Mozart roles and the German repertory....
(tenor), Marga Höffgen (alto), Dietrich Fischer-DieskauDietrich Fischer-Dieskau is a retired German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music, one of the most famous lieder performers of the post-war period and "one of the supreme vocal artists of the 20th century"...
(baritone), Agnes GiebelAgnes Giebel is a German soprano. She was born in Heerlen, in the Netherlands, where she lived the first years of her life. She studied at the Folkwang Hochschule in Essen and made her first public appearance as a singer in 1947. Her career lasted until the 1990s during which she established a...
(soprano), ThomanerchorThe Thomanerchor is a boys' choir in Leipzig, Germany. The choir was founded in 1212. At present, the choir consists of 92 boys from 9 to 18 years of age...
, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. Leipzig Classics/Seraphim RecordsSeraphim Records is the sister label of Angel Records.-History:During the 1960s through the 1980s, it was Angel's low-price label; recordings that had originally been released on the Angel label were re-released at a bargain price on the Seraphim label...
. Recorded in St. Thomas Church, Leipzig.
- 1963: Fritz Werner
Fritz Werner was a German choral conductor, church music director, conductor, organist and composer...
, Helmut KrebsHelmut Krebs was a distinguished German tenor in opera and concert, who sang a wide range of roles from Baroque to contemporary works.-Professional career:...
, Claudia HellmannClaudia Hellmann is a German contralto singer in opera and concert.- Biography :Claudia Hellmann studied voice in Berlin with Erika Garski....
, Barry McDanielBarry McDaniel is an American operatic baritone who spent his career almost exclusively in Germany. He was also a celebrated concert singer and recitalist.- Biography and development :...
, Agnes GiebelAgnes Giebel is a German soprano. She was born in Heerlen, in the Netherlands, where she lived the first years of her life. She studied at the Folkwang Hochschule in Essen and made her first public appearance as a singer in 1947. Her career lasted until the 1990s during which she established a...
, Heinrich-Schütz-Chor Heilbronn, Pforzheim Chamber OrchestraPforzheim Chamber Orchestra, full German name: Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim, full English name South West German Chamber Orchestra Pforzheim, is an internationally known German chamber orchestra based in Pforzheim.- History :...
, EratoErato Records is a record label founded in 1953 to promote French classical music. In 1992 it became part of Warner Bros. Records. In 1999 Erato launched a subsidiary Detour Records....
.
- 1965: Karl Richter, Fritz Wunderlich
Friedrich "Fritz" Karl Otto Wunderlich was a German lyric tenor, famed for his singing of the Mozart repertory and Italian and German opera and lieder. He died in an accident when he was only 35...
(tenor), Christa LudwigChrista Ludwig is a retired German mezzo-soprano, distinguished for her performances of opera, Lieder, oratorio and other major religious works like masses and passions, and solos contained in symphonic literature...
(alto), Franz CrassFranz Crass is a German bass.A native of Wipperfürth, Crass studied with Gerda Heuer in Wiesbaden and with Professor Clemens Glettenberg at the Hochschule für Musik in Köln. He won numerous competitions throughout Germany in the 1950s...
(bass), Gundula JanowitzGundula Janowitz is an Austrian lyric soprano singer of operas, oratorios and concerts. She is one of the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century and was pre-eminent in the 1960s and 1970s.-Career:...
(soprano), Münchener Bach-ChorMünchener Bach-Chor is a mixed choir for concert and oratorio in Munich. Performances, international tours and recordings with Karl Richter and the Münchener Bach-Orchester made the choir internationally known.- Heinrich-Schütz-Kreis :...
, Münchener Bach-Orchester, ARCHIV ProduktionDeutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
- 1967: Karl Münchinger
Karl Münchinger was a German conductor of European classical music. He helped to revive the now-ubiquitous Canon in D by Johann Pachelbel, through recording it with his Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra in 1960...
, Peter PearsSir Peter Neville Luard Pears CBE was an English tenor who was knighted in 1978. His career was closely associated with the composer Edward Benjamin Britten....
(tenor), Helen WattsHelen Watts CBE was a Welsh contralto. She was born at Wales in Milford Haven and educated at the School of S. Mary and S. Anne, Abbots Bromley and the Royal Academy of Music. She began her career with the Glyndebourne Festival Chorus, and was a regular broadcaster on the Welsh Home Service...
(alto), Tom KrauseTom Krause is a Finnish operatic baritone particularly associated with Mozart roles.Born in Helsinki, he first studied medicine, while singing and...
(bass), Elly AmelingElisabeth Sara "Elly" Ameling is a Dutch soprano.-Career:Ameling was born in Rotterdam. She studied with Bodi Rapp, Jo Bollekamp, Sem Dresden and Jacoba Dresden-Dhont and later French art song with Pierre Bernac...
(soprano), Lübecker Knaben-Kantorei, Stuttgarter Kammerorchester. DeccaDecca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
. Recorded in Schloss LudwigsburgLudwigsburg Palace is a historical building in the city of Ludwigsburg , Germany. It is one of the country's largest Baroque palaces and features an enormous garden in that style....
.
- 1973: Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden, Theo Altmeyer
Theo Altmeyer was a German classical tenor. Although he was a successful opera singer, he is chiefly remembered for his work as an oratorio soloist...
(tenor), Andreas Stein (alto), Barry McDanielBarry McDaniel is an American operatic baritone who spent his career almost exclusively in Germany. He was also a celebrated concert singer and recitalist.- Biography and development :...
(baritone), Hans Buchhierl (soprano), Tölzer KnabenchorThe Tölzer Knabenchor is a boys' choir with roots in the Bavarian town of Bad Tölz.The choir group is still led by director and singing master Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden, who founded the choir in 1956 when he was only nineteen years old. The founder was once a student of Carl Orff's and worked with him...
, Collegium Aureum. Deutsche Harmonia Mundi GD77046. This recording uses a tuning where the pitchPitch is an auditory perceptual property that allows the ordering of sounds on a frequency-related scale.Pitches are compared as "higher" and "lower" in the sense associated with musical melodies,...
of the note ALa or A is the sixth note of the solfège. "A" is generally used as a standard for tuning. When the orchestra tunes, the oboe plays an "A" and the rest of the instruments tune to match that pitch. Every string instrument in the orchestra has an A string, from which each player can tune the rest of...
is set to a semitoneA semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically....
below today's standard of A=440 HzThe hertz is the SI unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon. One of its most common uses is the description of the sine wave, particularly those used in radio and audio applications....
.
- 1973: Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Nikolaus Harnoncourt is an Austrian conductor, particularly known for his historically informed performances of music from the Classical era and earlier. Starting out as a classical cellist, he founded his own period instrument ensemble in the 1950s, and became a pioneer of the Early Music movement...
, Kurt EquiluzKurt Equiluz is an Austrian classical tenor in opera and concert, known for recording works of Johann Sebastian Bach with Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Helmuth Rilling, a member of the Vienna State Opera as a tenor buffo from 1957 until 1983.- Professional career :Kurt Equiluz was an alto soloist of...
(tenor), Paul EsswoodPaul Esswood is an English countertenor. He is best known for his singing in Bach cantatas and the operas of Handel and Monteverdi. Along with his countrymen Alfred Deller and James Bowman, he led the revival of countertenor singing in modern times.Esswood was born in West Bridgford, England. He...
(countertenor), Siegmund NimsgernSiegmund Nimsgern is a German bass-baritone, born in Sankt Wendel, Saarland, Germany.After leaving school in 1960 he studied singing and musical education at the Hochschule für Musik Saar with Sibylle Fuchs, Jakob Stämpfli and Paul Lohmann.He made his debut at the Saarländisches Staatstheater in...
(bass), Wiener SängerknabenThe Vienna Boys' Choir is a choir of trebles and altos based in Vienna. It is one of the best known boys' choirs in the world. The boys are selected mainly from Austria, but also from many other countries....
, Concentus Musicus WienConcentus Musicus Wien is a baroque music ensemble founded by Nikolaus and Alice Harnoncourt in 1953. It generated the now well-established movement in performance and recordings to play early music on period instruments....
. TeldecThe Teldec is a German record label in Hamburg, Germany. Today the label is a property of Warner Music Group.-History:...
– Das Alte Werk 9031-77610-2
- 1974: Martin Flämig
Martin Flämig was a German church musician, cantor of the Dresdner Kreuzchor from 1971 to 1991.- Biography :...
, Peter SchreierPeter Schreier is a German tenor and conductor.-Early life:Schreier was born in Meissen, Saxony, and spent his first years in the small village of Gauernitz, near Meissen, where his father was a teacher, cantor and organist...
(tenor), Annelies Burmeister (alto), Arleen AugérJoyce Arleen Auger was an American soprano singer, admired for her coloratura voice and interpretations of works by Bach, Handel, Haydn, Monteverdi, Gluck, and Mozart.-Biography:...
(soprano), Theo AdamTheo Adam is a distinguished German classical bass-baritone who had an active international career in operas, concerts, and recitals from the 1940s through the 1990s. He particularly excelled in portraying roles from the operas of Richard Wagner...
(bass), Dresdner KreuzchorThe Dresdner Kreuzchor is the boys' choir of the Kreuzkirche in Dresden. It has a seven century history. Today the choir has about 150 members from the age of 9-19 from Dresden and the surrounding region. Most of the boys live in a boarding school. The Choir Boys are also called "Kruzianer". The...
, Dresden Philharmonic. Berlin Classics BER 183892
- 1987: John Eliot Gardiner
Sir John Eliot Gardiner CBE FKC is an English conductor. He founded the Monteverdi Choir , the English Baroque Soloists and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique...
, Anthony Rolfe JohnsonAnthony Rolfe Johnson, CBE was an English operatic tenor.-Life and career:Born in Tackley in Oxfordshire, Rolfe Johnson studied with Ellis Keeler and Vera Rosza at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He first appeared in opera in the chorus and in small roles at the Glyndebourne Festival...
(tenor, Evangelist), Anne Sofie von Otter (alto), Olaf BärOlaf Bär is a German operatic baritone.- Life :Bär received his musical training in his home city of Dresden, studying at the city's Hochschule für Musik. His career has concentrated on lieder and on the lyric baritone roles of the operatic repertoire...
(bass), Hans Peter Blochwitz (tenor), Nancy ArgentaNancy Maureen Argenta is a Canadian soprano singer, best known for performing music from the pre-classical era. She has won international acclaim, and is considered by many as the leading Handel soprano of her time.She was born in Nelson, British Columbia, Canada...
(soprano), Monteverdi ChoirThe Monteverdi Choir was founded in 1964 by Sir John Eliot Gardiner for a performance of the Monteverdi Vespers in King's College Chapel, Cambridge. A specialist Baroque ensemble, the Choir has become famous for its stylistic conviction and extensive repertoire, encompassing music from the early...
, English Baroque SoloistsThe English Baroque Soloists is a chamber orchestra playing on period instruments, formed in 1978 by English conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Its repertoire comprises music from the early Baroque period to the Classical period...
. Archiv ProduktionDeutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
4232322
- 1989: Philippe Herreweghe
Philippe Herreweghe is a Flemish conductor.In his school years at the University of Ghent, Herreweghe combined studies in medical science and psychiatry with a musical education at the Ghent Conservatory, where Marcel Gazelle, Yehudi Menuhin's accompanist, was his piano teacher...
, Howard CrookHoward Crook is an American lyric tenor who has lived and worked in the Netherlands and France since the early 1980s.He was born in Rutherford, New Jersey, and educated at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio and then University of Illinois, where he received a master's degree in music,...
(tenor), Michael ChanceMichael Chance CBE is an English countertenor.Chance was born in Penn, Buckinghamshire, into a musical family. After growing up as a chorister he attended Eton College, Berkshire, and later King's College, Cambridge...
(alto), Peter Kooy (bass), Barbara SchlickBarbara Schlick is a German soprano who is particularly admired for interpretations of the concert literature of the baroque era.-Career:...
(soprano), Collegium Vocale Gent. Virgin Classics VeritasVirgin Veritas is an imprint of Virgin Records's classical label Virgin Classics dedicated to early music and historically informed performance....
90781 or 0777 7595302 2
- 1993: Harry Christophers
Harry Christophers is an English conductor. He attended the King's School, Canterbury and was a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral under choirmaster Allan Wicks and played clarinet in the school orchestra alongside Andrew Marriner...
, Michael George (bass), Lynda Russell (soprano), Catherine Wyn-Rogers (contralto), Mark PadmoreMark Padmore is a British tenor appearing in concerts, recitals, and opera.Born in London 8 March 1961, and raised in Canterbury, Kent in England. Padmore studied clarinet and piano prior to his gaining a choral scholarship to King's College, Cambridge...
(tenor), Libby Crabtree (soprano Angel, Echo), The SixteenThe Sixteen are a choir and period instrument orchestra; founded by Harry Christophers in 1979.The group's special reputation for performing early English polyphony, masterpieces of the Renaissance, bringing fresh insights into Baroque and early Classical music and a diversity of 20th century...
. Collins ClassicsCollins Classics was a record label which specialised in classical music. It was founded in 1989.Artists who recorded for the label included Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, the Duke Quartet, choral group the Sixteen, Harry Christophers and Joanna MacGregor....
- 1996: Ton Koopman
Ton Koopman is a conductor, organist and harpsichordist.Koopman had a "classical education" and then studied the organ , harpsichord and musicology in Amsterdam...
, Christoph PrégardienChristoph Prégardien is a German lyric tenor whose career is closely associated with the roles in Mozart operas, as well as performances of Lieder, oratorio roles, and Baroque music...
(tenor), Elisabeth von MagnusElisabeth von Magnus is an Austrian classical mezzo-soprano.- Family :...
(alto), Lisa Larsson- Biography :Larsson studied in Basel and since 1993 appeared in the Internationales Opernstudio of the Zurich Opera House under conductors such as Franz Welser-Möst, Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Christoph von Dohnányi....
(soprano), Klaus MertensKlaus Mertens is a German bass and bass-baritone singer who is known especially for his interpretation of the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach.-Professional career:Klaus Mertens took singing lessons while attending school...
(bass), Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & ChoirThe Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir is a Dutch early-music group based in Amsterdam.The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir was created in two stages by the conductor, organist and harpsichordist Ton Koopman. He founded the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra in 1979 and the Amsterdam Baroque Choir in...
. Erato RecordsErato Records is a record label founded in 1953 to promote French classical music. In 1992 it became part of Warner Bros. Records. In 1999 Erato launched a subsidiary Detour Records....
0630-14635-2
- 1997: Philip Pickett
Philip Pickett is an English musician, recorder player and director of early music ensembles, notably The New London Consort.- Student days :...
, New London Consort; Paul AgnewPaul Agnew is a Scottish operatic tenor.Agnew read music as a Choral Scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford. He became associated with the Consort of Musicke, the Tallis Scholars, the Sixteen and the Gothic Voices, before embarking on a solo career in the early 1990s.Closely associated with William...
(tenor, Evangelist), Michael ChanceMichael Chance CBE is an English countertenor.Chance was born in Penn, Buckinghamshire, into a musical family. After growing up as a chorister he attended Eton College, Berkshire, and later King's College, Cambridge...
, Michael George (bass), Andrew King (tenor), Catherine BottCatherine Bott is a British soprano and a baroque specialist.Following her studies at The King's High School For Girls, and Guildhall School of Music and Drama, with Arthur Reckless, she began her career as a member of the English baroque-jazz crossover group, The Swingle Singers...
(soprano); plus 7 other soloists making up the chorus. Decca 458 838
- 1997: René Jacobs, Werner Güra
Werner Güra is a German classical tenor in opera, concert and Lied, also an academic teacher in Zurich.- Professional career :...
(tenor), Andreas SchollAndreas Scholl is a German countertenor, a male classical singer in the alto vocal range. He is noted as a specialist in Baroque music.-Childhood:...
(alto), Klaus Häger (bass), Dorothea RöschmannDorothea Röschmann is a German opera soprano from Flensburg.-Education and early life:Röschmann studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, under Barbara Schlick at the Akademie für Alte Musik in Bremen, and subsequently in Los Angeles, New York, Tel Aviv, and under Vera Rózsa in London...
(soprano), RIAS KammerchorThe RIAS Kammerchor is a professional chamber choir of the RIAS in Berlin, founded originally for contemporary music, with an international reputation.-History:...
, Akademie für Alte Musik BerlinAkademie für Alte Musik Berlin is a German chamber orchestra founded in East Berlin in 1982...
. Harmonia MundiHarmonia Mundi is an independent music record label founded in 1958 by Bernard Coutaz in Arles . The Latin phrase means "world harmony"....
, 2901630.31
- 1999: John Eliot Gardiner, Christoph Genz
- Biography :Christoph Genz was a member of the Thomanerchor. He studied at the King’s College, Cambridge where he was a member of the King’s College Choir. He studied voice with Hans-Joachim Beyer at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater „Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy“ Leipzig and with Elisabeth...
(tenor), Bernarda Fink (alto), Dietrich Henschel (bass), Claron McFaddenClaron McFadden is an American soprano. McFadden studied voice at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, finishing her degree in 1984....
(soprano), Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists. Arthaus MusikNaxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...
TDK DVD-BACHHO. This recording is used in the film Juloratoriet (1996) (English title: Christmas Oratorio).
- 2000: Helmuth Rilling
Helmuth Rilling is an internationally known German choral conductor, founder of the Gächinger Kantorei , the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart , the Oregon Bach Festival , the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart and other Bach Academies worldwide, and the "Festival Ensemble Stuttgart"...
, James TaylorJames Taylor is an American tenor, known for singing the Evangelist in works of Johann Sebastian Bach.- Biography :James Taylor grew up in Houston. He studied singing with Arden Hopkin at the Texas Christian University...
(Evangelist), Sibylla Rubens- Biography :Sibylla Rubens studied voice at the Staatliche Musikhochschule in Trossingen and at the Hochschule für Musik in Frankfurt and in master classes with Edith Mathis....
(soprano), Ingeborg DanzIngeborg Danz is a German mezzo-soprano and alto concert singer.- Biography :Ingeborg Danz studied school music at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold and voice with Heiner Eckels...
(alto), Marcus Ullmann- Professional career :Marcus Ullmann received his first musical training as a choir boy in the Dresdner Kreuzchor. He studied at the Dresden Music Academy and graduated with honours in Lieder, Choral Work and Opera...
(tenor), Hanno Müller-Brachmann (bass), Gächinger KantoreiGächinger Kantorei is an internationally known German mixed choir, founded by Helmuth Rilling in 1954 in Gächingen and still conducted by him. A "Kantorei" is a choir of high standard dedicated mostly, but not exclusively, to sacred music. The ensemble operates in Stuttgart now and is therefore...
, Bach-Collegium StuttgartBach-Collegium Stuttgart is an internationally known German instrumental ensemble, founded by Helmuth Rilling in 1965 to accompany the Gächinger Kantorei in choral music with orchestra...
, Hänssler Classic
- 2003: Jos van Veldhoven
Jos van Veldhoven is a Dutch choral conductor. He studied musicology at the Rijksuniversiteit of Utrecht, and choral and orchestral conducting at the Royal Conservatory, the Hague. He has been artistic director of De Nederlandse Bachvereniging since 1983...
, Gerd Türk- Biography :Gerd Türk received his first musical training as a choir boy at the cathedral of Limburg. He studied in Frankfurt and then at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis with Richard Levitt and René Jacobs, continuing in master classes with Ernst Haefliger and Kurt Equiluz.In the field of...
(tenor), Annette MarkertAnnette Markert is a German classical mezzo-soprano and alto.- Biography :Annette Markert studied voice at the Leipzig School of Music and was engaged at the Halle Opera House in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt from 1983 to 1990, then at the opera house in Leipzig.Since 1996 she has worked as a free-lance...
(alto), Peter Harvey (bass), Johannette Zomer- Biography :Johannette Zomer studied voice at the Sweelinck Conservatory Amsterdam in Amsterdam with Charles van Tassel and received her Performance Diploma in 1997....
(soprano), De Nederlandse Bachvereniging. Channel Classics Records CCS SA 20103
- 2007: Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Werner Güra
Werner Güra is a German classical tenor in opera, concert and Lied, also an academic teacher in Zurich.- Professional career :...
(tenor), Bernarda FinkBernarda Fink Inzko is an Argentinian mezzo-soprano. Born in Buenos Aires to Slovene parents, Bernarda Fink studied at the "Instituto Superior de Arte del Teatro Colón" in Buenos Aires. She won First Prize at the Nuevas Voces Líricas competition in 1985 and moved to Europe...
(mezzo-sopranoA mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
), Gerald Finley-Career:He was born in Montreal and received his musical education in St. Matthew's Anglican Church, Ottawa, the University of Ottawa, King's College, Cambridge and the Royal College of Music in London, England...
(baritoneBaritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
), Christian GerhaherChristian Gerhaher is a German baritone and bass singer in opera, concert and notably Lied.- Biography :Christian Gerhaher studied with Paul Kuen and Raimund Grumbach at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München, and Lied with Friedemann Berger, already together with his accompanist for decades...
(baritone), Christine SchäferChristine Schäfer is a German soprano. She studied from 1984 until 1991 at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin, where her teachers were Ingrid Figur, Aribert Reimann and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. She also took masterclasses with Arleen Augér and Sena Jurinac.After finishing her studies in 1992,...
(soprano), Arnold Schoenberg Chor, Concentus Musicus WienConcentus Musicus Wien is a baroque music ensemble founded by Nikolaus and Alice Harnoncourt in 1953. It generated the now well-established movement in performance and recordings to play early music on period instruments....
. Recorded at the Wiener Musikverein; Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, 8869 711225 2
- 2008: Ralf Otto, Ruth Ziesak
- Biography :Ruth Ziesak studied voice at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts with Elsa Cavelti and Christoph Prégardien. She has been a member of the Municipal Theatre Heidelberg since 1988 and the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in 1990....
(soprano), Monica GroopMonica Groop is a Finnish operatic mezzo-soprano. After graduating from the Sibelius Academy, she joined the Finnish National Opera in 1986 where she remains a member...
(alto), Christoph PrégardienChristoph Prégardien is a German lyric tenor whose career is closely associated with the roles in Mozart operas, as well as performances of Lieder, oratorio roles, and Baroque music...
(tenor), Klaus MertensKlaus Mertens is a German bass and bass-baritone singer who is known especially for his interpretation of the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach.-Professional career:Klaus Mertens took singing lessons while attending school...
(bass), Vokalensemble Frankfurt, Concerto Köln. Delta Music
- 2009: Georg Christoph Biller
Georg Christoph Biller is a German choral conductor, conducting the Thomanerchor since 1992 as the sixteenth Thomaskantor since Johann Sebastian Bach...
, Paul Bernewitz and Friedrich Praetorius (Boy soprano), Ingeborg DanzIngeborg Danz is a German mezzo-soprano and alto concert singer.- Biography :Ingeborg Danz studied school music at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold and voice with Heiner Eckels...
(alto), Martin Petzold and Christoph Genz - Biography :Christoph Genz was a member of the Thomanerchor. He studied at the King’s College, Cambridge where he was a member of the King’s College Choir. He studied voice with Hans-Joachim Beyer at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater „Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy“ Leipzig and with Elisabeth...
(tenor), Panajotis Iconomou (bass), Thomanerchor LeipzigThe Thomanerchor is a boys' choir in Leipzig, Germany. The choir was founded in 1212. At present, the choir consists of 92 boys from 9 to 18 years of age...
, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. Rondeau Production
External links
| |