Christmas in Leipzig
"the audience were won over within a few bars, and fixed to their seats until the final chord"
Leipziger Internet Zeitung full review
We have performed this programme in two different versions. It is built around J.S. Bach's Magnificat in Eb BWV 243a, which he wrote for Christmas Day in 1723, paired with Johann Kuhnau's grandiose Magnificat in C, which served in some ways as a model for Bach's masterpiece. Kuhnau was Bach's predecessor as Kantor at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, and his predecessor, Johann Schelle, wrote the wonderful sacred cantata 'Machet die Tore weit' ("Open the Doors!") with which the programme opens.
At the invitation of the Bachfest Leipzig, Kuhnau's Magnificat made way for Bach's cantata BWV 21, 'Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis', which was also (re-)written for the 1723/24 church year in Leipzig in 1723/24.
Project repertoire & personnel
Johann Schelle (1648-1701) - 'Machet die Tore weit'
Johann Kuhnau (1660-1722) - Magnificat
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) - 'Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis' BWV 21
J.S. Bach - Magnificat BWV 243a
4 sopranos ~ 2 altos ~ 2 tenors ~ 2 basses
4 violins ~ 2 violas ~ 'cello ~ double bass ~ 2 oboes/recorders ~ 3 trumpets ~ timpani ~ theorbo ~ harpsichord/organ (1 player)
Performances
December 2015: St John's Smith Square Christmas Festival, London, UK (Schelle, Kuhnau, Bach Magnificat)
June 2016: Nikolaikirche, Leipzig, Germany (Bachfest Leipzig) (Schelle, Bach BWV 21, Bach Magnificat)
Leipziger Internet Zeitung full review
We have performed this programme in two different versions. It is built around J.S. Bach's Magnificat in Eb BWV 243a, which he wrote for Christmas Day in 1723, paired with Johann Kuhnau's grandiose Magnificat in C, which served in some ways as a model for Bach's masterpiece. Kuhnau was Bach's predecessor as Kantor at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, and his predecessor, Johann Schelle, wrote the wonderful sacred cantata 'Machet die Tore weit' ("Open the Doors!") with which the programme opens.
At the invitation of the Bachfest Leipzig, Kuhnau's Magnificat made way for Bach's cantata BWV 21, 'Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis', which was also (re-)written for the 1723/24 church year in Leipzig in 1723/24.
Project repertoire & personnel
Johann Schelle (1648-1701) - 'Machet die Tore weit'
Johann Kuhnau (1660-1722) - Magnificat
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) - 'Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis' BWV 21
J.S. Bach - Magnificat BWV 243a
4 sopranos ~ 2 altos ~ 2 tenors ~ 2 basses
4 violins ~ 2 violas ~ 'cello ~ double bass ~ 2 oboes/recorders ~ 3 trumpets ~ timpani ~ theorbo ~ harpsichord/organ (1 player)
Performances
December 2015: St John's Smith Square Christmas Festival, London, UK (Schelle, Kuhnau, Bach Magnificat)
June 2016: Nikolaikirche, Leipzig, Germany (Bachfest Leipzig) (Schelle, Bach BWV 21, Bach Magnificat)