next performances
Bach - Not the Christmas Oratorio
f fromTönet, ihr Pauken! Erschallet, Trompeten! BWV 214
Lasst uns sorgen, lasst uns wachen (Herkules auf dem Scheidewege) BWV 213
Preise dein Glücke, gesegnetes Sachsen BWV 215
“Jauchzet, frohlocket!” These words and the opening timpani ‘fanfare’ form the unmistakeable opening of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, for many in German-speaking countries the musical definition of Christmas, equivalent to Handel’s Messiah in Britain. But this iconic music was in fact first composed for a worldly occasion, the birthday of the Queen of Poland, a year before the Christmas Oratorio was put together, in 1733.
The rather prosaic original text, “Tönet ihr Pauken, erschallet Trompeten” (Resound ye drums, ring out ye trumpets), explains the idiosyncratic musical opening, and is the beginning of a fascinating discovery of the original context of music we think we know so well. Secular music reused to accompany the story of the nativity? One might wonder how such ‘upcycling’ could possibly work, until one realises that music originally intended for royal birthdays and coronations was simply being reapplied to celebrate the birth of another king, one whose birthday, and the music now associated with it, would continue to be celebrated for decades and centuries to come.
Friday 10 September 2021 London
Wednesday 15 September 2021 Thüringer Bachwochen tickets
Friday 17 September 2021 Newbury Spring Festival tickets
Saturday 9 October 2021 Regensburg tickets from end of August
Lasst uns sorgen, lasst uns wachen (Herkules auf dem Scheidewege) BWV 213
Preise dein Glücke, gesegnetes Sachsen BWV 215
“Jauchzet, frohlocket!” These words and the opening timpani ‘fanfare’ form the unmistakeable opening of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, for many in German-speaking countries the musical definition of Christmas, equivalent to Handel’s Messiah in Britain. But this iconic music was in fact first composed for a worldly occasion, the birthday of the Queen of Poland, a year before the Christmas Oratorio was put together, in 1733.
The rather prosaic original text, “Tönet ihr Pauken, erschallet Trompeten” (Resound ye drums, ring out ye trumpets), explains the idiosyncratic musical opening, and is the beginning of a fascinating discovery of the original context of music we think we know so well. Secular music reused to accompany the story of the nativity? One might wonder how such ‘upcycling’ could possibly work, until one realises that music originally intended for royal birthdays and coronations was simply being reapplied to celebrate the birth of another king, one whose birthday, and the music now associated with it, would continue to be celebrated for decades and centuries to come.
Friday 10 September 2021 London
Wednesday 15 September 2021 Thüringer Bachwochen tickets
Friday 17 September 2021 Newbury Spring Festival tickets
Saturday 9 October 2021 Regensburg tickets from end of August
Telemann - die Donnerode - with Les Passions de l'Ame
Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)
Wie ist dein Name so groß (Donner-Ode I) TVWV 6:3a
Veni sancte spiritus TWV 3:82
Wie lieblich sind auf den Bergen TVWV 3:61b
Mein Herz ist voll vom Geiste Gottes (Donner-Ode II) TVWV 6:3b
Dich rühmen die Welten TVWV 1:329
Singers of Solomon's Knot join the Swiss Early Music Orchestra, Les Passion de l'Ame, for two Telemann concerts in Bern and in Magdeburg, where the composer originates from. The two parts of the so-called thunder ode which celebrate the Psalms of David, thanks its name to the impressive role of the timpani in the score. The works were first performed in church services in Hamburg between 1756 and 1760 and we will combine them with two of Telemann's later sacred works.
Thursday 2 December 2021 Bern
Sunday 20 March 2022 Magdeburg
Thursday 24 March 2022 La Chaud-de-Fonds
Wie ist dein Name so groß (Donner-Ode I) TVWV 6:3a
Veni sancte spiritus TWV 3:82
Wie lieblich sind auf den Bergen TVWV 3:61b
Mein Herz ist voll vom Geiste Gottes (Donner-Ode II) TVWV 6:3b
Dich rühmen die Welten TVWV 1:329
Singers of Solomon's Knot join the Swiss Early Music Orchestra, Les Passion de l'Ame, for two Telemann concerts in Bern and in Magdeburg, where the composer originates from. The two parts of the so-called thunder ode which celebrate the Psalms of David, thanks its name to the impressive role of the timpani in the score. The works were first performed in church services in Hamburg between 1756 and 1760 and we will combine them with two of Telemann's later sacred works.
Thursday 2 December 2021 Bern
Sunday 20 March 2022 Magdeburg
Thursday 24 March 2022 La Chaud-de-Fonds
Bach family motets
Jubilation, lamentation and reflection in miniature
At the start of the new year, 2021, we will perform at the Bach Academy Bruges, presenting a selection of motets by J.S. Bach and his father's cousin, Johann Christoph Bach.
Saturday 22 January 2022, 20:00 CET, Concertgebouw Bruges, Belgium tickets
At the start of the new year, 2021, we will perform at the Bach Academy Bruges, presenting a selection of motets by J.S. Bach and his father's cousin, Johann Christoph Bach.
Saturday 22 January 2022, 20:00 CET, Concertgebouw Bruges, Belgium tickets