Christmas Oratorio - DVD

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)