Jubilant choirs in high church halls, hardly anything reminds us more vividly of the deeper meaning of Christmas: the birth of a child and the promise of a happy future. And so the NDR Vokalensemble groups its Christmas concert around Johann Sebastian Bach’s motto »Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied«. Bach has two choirs compete with each other in the praise of God. And the magnificent final fugue »Alles was Odem hat, lobe den Herrn« with its virtuoso colouratura really hardly gives the singers a chance to catch their breath.
Under the direction of Heide Müller, an up-and-coming young conductor who has already conducted leading ensembles such as The Norwegian Soloists Choir and Cappella Amsterdam, the NDR Vokalensemble presents works by Bach as well as compositions by Francois Poulenc. Connoisseurs claim that it is not his operas but his sacred works that are the best that this devout Catholic ever wrote. After all, the French composer often modelled his rich harmonic modulations on Bach. Poulenc had studied Bach’s vocal works as a young man and emphasised: »This work made me passionate and had a decisive influence on me.«
PERFORMERS
NDR Vokalensemble choir
Christian Schmitt organ
Heide Müller conductor
PROGRAM
Johann Sebastian Bach
Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 225
Adrianna Kubica-Cypek
L’hiver
Francis Poulenc
Un soir de neige FP 126
Johann Sebastian Bach
Mass in B minor, BWV 232
Johann Sebastian Bach
Jesus bleibet meine Freude
Gustaf Nordqvist (Text: Edvard Evers)
Jul, jul, strålande jul
Ørjan Matre
Eit barn er født i Betlehem
Michael Praetorius
Es ist ein Ros entsprungen
Francis Poulenc
Quatre motets pour le temps de Noël FP 152 (Auszüge)
Johann Sebastian Bach
Ich steh an deiner Krippen hier
Johann Sebastian Bach
Magnificat D-Dur BWV 243 (Auszüge)
David Willcocks
See Amid the Winter’s Snow
David Willcocks
The Infant King
David Willcocks
Et misericordia
Anonymus
Maria durch ein Dornwald ging
