J.S. Bach - Christmas Oratorio

26.11.2022 16:00 Uhr

Johann Sebastian Bach's Christmas Oratorio is one of the best-known and most impressive works in music history: "It always creates an atmosphere that could not be more festive and for many is inseparable from Christmas," says Michael Neymeyer, music teacher at the Kolleg St. Blasien. Due to the comprehensive instrumentation with choir, soloists and large orchestra with trumpets and timpani, the oratorio is appropriate for the festive occasion, be it in Advent or in the time before, around and after Christmas, according to Neymeyer. To get in the mood for the Advent season, the St. Blasien Festival Choir, the 3Klang Chamber Orchestra and soloists will perform under Neymeyer's direction on Friday, November 25, at 8 p.m. in the Church of St.  Katharina in St. Blasien's partner community Klingnau, on Saturday, November 26, at 4 p.m. in St. Blasien Cathedral and on Sunday, November 27, at 5 p.m.   in the Church of St. Cyriak.  in Sulzburg.

"I am particularly pleased that the Christmas Oratorio will also be performed in our partner municipality of Klingnau," says St. Blasien's mayor Adrian Probst, patron of the event. "We are not only friendly, but also culturally connected," says Probst. "Such joint events distinguish the partnership and enliven it," adds the patron. The St. Blasien Festival Choir is an ensemble of around 60 people from the Black Forest and Upper Rhine region, which develops larger works of choral literature with and without orchestra on a project-by-project basis. The highlight so far was the performance of Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana" against the backdrop of St. Blasier Cathedral in 2018. The lower school choir of the Kolleg St. Blasien also participates in the performance in the cathedral. "As an orchestra, the chamber orchestra 3Klang was won, which consists of professional musicians from all over Germany, which also meets for certain projects in southern Germany for joint rehearsals," explains Michael Neymeyer. "Music director Michael Neymeyer has put together a top-class programme here. The story of Christ's birth is about hope and joy. With the Christmas Oratorio, a message resounds in our currently uncertain times that could not be more appropriate. I'm really looking forward to it," says Mayor Adrian Probst. His Swiss counterpart, Reinhard Scherrer, mayor of Klingnau, agrees: "I am very pleased that we can deepen the friendly relations between the two partner cities through such an event." He is impressed by the fact that the choirs take the road to convey the message of hope and joy with the Christmas Oratorio in Klingnau.

The Christmas Oratorio:Originally, the six
cantatas in which the Christmas story is told were performed in six services – namely in chronological accordance with the chronology of biblical events: Cantatas I to III on Christmas days, the remaining three cantatas for New Year's Eve and Epiphany. Today they are played in different combinations mainly in concert, rarely as a complete work.

Info: Soloists: Maria Backhaus (soprano), Franziska Markowitsch (alto), Steffen Schwendner (tenor), David Wagner (tenor), Gerhard Nennemann (bass); Head: Michael Neymeyer; Patron: Mayor Adrian Probst; Organizer: City of St. Blasien in cooperation with the cathedral parish of St. BlasienTicket sales: Tickets (from 22 euros) are available at the tourist information offices of Hochschwarzwald Tourismus GmbH, 07652/12060, under www.reservix.de, bz-ticket.de and at the box office.