Innovative Colours
J S Bach's
Christmas Oratorio -
reviewed by
HOWARD SMITH'... musically reliable ...'
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The youngest child of Johann Ambrosius Bach and Maria Elisabeth Lämmerhirt, Johann Sebastian (1685-1750) was a workaholic who, within his extensive total output, penned more than two-hundred-and-fifty-one cantatas -- many unknown to the casual listener.
St John and St Matthew Passions are penetrating, frequently visited adaptations of the gospels while the Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248) and Mass in B minor (BWV 232) reveal Bach's ability to deal fixedly with the mystery of the nativity and with death.
This recent DVD of Bach's 'Christmas Oratorio', a live performance, is musically reliable, the more so as its performers are the unsurpassed Munich-based Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks and Akademie für Alte Musik, Berlin.
It's especially notable for technically advanced light designs distinguishing the individual cantatas, with innovative colors their most striking characteristic...
Copyright © 1 December 2012
Howard Smith,
Masterton, New Zealand
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