Bach,J.S. : St. John Passion / Christmas Oratorio - DVD

St. John Passion [DIGITAL VIDEO DISC] Released 2014 product/publication from Berliner Philharmon

The St. Thomas Boys Choir, whose history dates back to the year 1212, is the oldest cultural establishment in the city of Leipzig. Outliving all political, municipal, religious, and educational controversy for 800 years, musica sacra has shaped the choir's past. Through the influence of the many St. Thomas Cantors, including the most famous- Johann Sebastian Bach (Thomas Cantor 1723-1750)- the city of Leipzig and the St. Thomas Church became the center of Protestant church music. The St. Thomas Church is home to the Boys Choir. A choir rich in tradition, they are committed to continuing this musical legacy. This contains the award-winning two-hour documentary InchDie Thomaner - A Year in the Life of the St. Thomas Boys Choir LeipzigInch by Paul Smaczny and Günter Atteln as well as the breathtaking recordings of two of Johann Sebastian Bach's major choral works the St. Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor.

For many, the Christmas holiday season would be incomplete without the resounding drum roll and trumpet fanfare that opens Bach's InchOratorium auf die Heilige WeynachtInch (InchOratorio for the holy ChristmasInch). Ever since it was first performed by the Thomaskantor between Christmas Day in 1734 and Epiphany 1735 in Leipzig's two main churches of St. Thomas and St. Nikolai, Bach's six part musical masterpiece has become a cornerstone of the city's identity and musical heritage. The performance presented here, led by Bach's 17th successor Gotthold Schwarz together with the Thomanerchor and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, features a lineup of renowned soloists, enabling one to experience the festive grandeur of what many consider the epitome of Christmas music in it's original setting. InchGotthold Schwarz transforms this into a Christmas Oratorio that is far more than a sum of it's parts... his musical rhetoric avoids cheap gimmicks and vain showmanship.Inch (Peter Korfmacher, LVZ)