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Michael Praetorius was the most prolific German composer of his generation, making use of a beauty of sound and an abundance of instruments worthy of his contemporary Monteverdi. Here we have a festive Christmas Mass as might have been heard in a great Lutheran church in the North of Germany in around 1620. The congregation sang Lutheran Chorals which were part of the other music and which required the presence of the best performers in the city as a support to the children's and adult's choir creating an extraordinary musical communion. Spatialising this Christmas Morning Mass in the exceptional architecture of the Royal Chapel of Versailles, Paul McCreesh alternates these monumental pieces and the soloist's airs in a rich instrumental decoration, giving the work the popular and festive dimension of a brilliant fresco.
