Festive Christmas Concert

Christmas Concert

Elsa Benoit, photo: James Bellorini Christmas motifs have been written into numerous pages of Western classical music, and not only on the occasion of the festivities that open the carnival season. In the second movement of George Frideric Handel’s Concerto a due cori, one can easily recognise an excerpt of the joyful, punctuated rhythm of the chorus Lift up your heads from the Messiah’s second movement, which tells the story of the life, death and resurrection of Christ. Johann Sebastian Bach, fulfilling the demands of the Protestant liturgical calendar by the sweat of his brow, wrote many works for the Christmas season. In so doing, he also drew inspiration from Italian musicians, including the composer of the famous ‘Christmas Eve’ Concerto Grosso in G minor, Arcangelo Corelli. Bach’s showstopping solo cantata Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen suited a variety of festive occasions due to its universal, laudatory text. Its virtuosic coloratura parts require soprano and trumpet soloists of the highest calibre. Christmas themes can also be found in the text of the Credo. One of the most beautiful passages in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Mass in C minor – not without reason referred to as the ‘Great’ – is the expansive, mellifluous aria ‘Et incarnatus est’ from the Credo. Mozart wrote it with his vocally gifted wife Constanze in mind, just as years before he had penned the showstopping motet ‘Exsultate, jubilate’ for the famous Italian soprano Venanzio Rauzzini.

Christmas Concert

Elsa Benoit, photo: James Bellorini Christmas motifs have been written into numerous pages of Western classical music, and not only on the occasion of the festivities that open the carnival season. In the second movement of George Frideric Handel’s Concerto a due cori, one can easily recognise an excerpt from the first part of The Messiah, devoted to the Old Testament announcements of Christ’s coming. Johann Sebastian Bach, fulfilling the demands of the Protestant liturgical calendar by the sweat of his brow, wrote many works for the Christmas season. In so doing, he also drew inspiration from Italian musicians, including the composer of the famous ‘Christmas Eve’ Concerto Grosso in G minor, Arcangelo Corelli. Bach’s showstopping solo cantata Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen suited a variety of festive occasions due to its universal, laudatory text. Its virtuosic coloratura parts require soprano and trumpet soloists of the highest calibre. Christmas themes can also be found in the text of the Credo. One of the most beautiful passages in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Mass in C minor – not without reason referred to as the ‘Great’ – is the expansive, mellifluous aria ‘Et incarnatus est’ from the Credo. Mozart wrote it with his vocally gifted wife Constanze in mind, just as years before he had penned the showstopping motet ‘Exsultate, jubilate’ for the famous Italian soprano Venanzio Rauzzini.

Guest performance Festive Opera and Operetta Concert

Christmas Concert: Baroque Classics

The Sunday Morning Concert brings you wonderful and much-loved compositions, performed by top musicians from the Netherlands and abroad. Enjoy the most beautiful music in the morning! You can make your Sunday complete by enjoying a delicious post-concert lunch in restaurant LIER.The Royal Concertgebouw is one of the best concert halls in the world, famous for its exceptional acoustics and varied programme. Attend a concert and have an experience you will never forget. Come and enjoy inspiring music in the beautiful surroundings of the Main Hall or the intimate Recital Hall.

Concert of Christmas Carols

Concert of Christmas Carols at the Warsaw Philharmonic, photo: DELUGA.art Although carols have become a fixture in the musical landscape of winter, we still know little about the origins of music-making over the Christmas period. Numerous internet sources give the oldest mention of carols as being a supposed directive issued by Telesphorus, bishop of Rome, in 129 AD specifying the performance of a ‘Hymn of the Angels’ during a festive mass. Some commentators have even gone so far as to mention the title of the carol which Pope Telesphorus had in mind, overlooking the fact that Christmas services have only been held in the Roman Church since the fourth century, while the song they cite is usually dated to the eighteenth (not the second) century. Although a final answer seems unlikely, the search for the oldest carol continues, attesting to the role which the subject of Christmas has played down the centuries – both in official liturgical songs and in music-making in the home. As every year, this will be evoked for listeners by the Warsaw Philharmonic Choir. During the traditional Christmas concerts, the choir – often accompanied by soloist and instrumentalists – will perform a programme comprising carols old and new, from home and abroad. The repertoire of the December concerts alters slightly each year and offers a unique glance at the wealth of music linked to one of the most important Christian feasts. Bartłomiej Gembicki

Concert of Christmas Carols

Concert of Christmas Carols at the Warsaw Philharmonic, photo: DELUGA.art Although carols have become a fixture in the musical landscape of winter, we still know little about the origins of music-making over the Christmas period. Numerous internet sources give the oldest mention of carols as being a supposed directive issued by Telesphorus, bishop of Rome, in 129 AD specifying the performance of a ‘Hymn of the Angels’ during a festive mass. Some commentators have even gone so far as to mention the title of the carol which Pope Telesphorus had in mind, overlooking the fact that Christmas services have only been held in the Roman Church since the fourth century, while the song they cite is usually dated to the eighteenth (not the second) century. Although a final answer seems unlikely, the search for the oldest carol continues, attesting to the role which the subject of Christmas has played down the centuries – both in official liturgical songs and in music-making in the home. As every year, this will be evoked for listeners by the Warsaw Philharmonic Choir. During the traditional Christmas concerts, the choir – often accompanied by soloist and instrumentalists – will perform a programme comprising carols old and new, from home and abroad. The repertoire of the December concerts alters slightly each year and offers a unique glance at the wealth of music linked to one of the most important Christian feasts. Bartłomiej Gembicki

Festive Concert with Viotti and the Netherlands Philharmonic

The Netherlands Philharmonic is one of the most versatile cultural organisations in The Netherlands. The orchestra organises a diverse concert program in The Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam and is a welcome guest on foreign stages and festivals. The Netherlands Philharmonic brings classical music to life at the highest level and collaborates closely with international guest soloists and conductors. It takes great pleasure in welcoming and developing new musical talent. Lorenzo Viotti is the principal conductor of Dutch National Opera and the Netherlands Philharmonic.

Festive Concert with Viotti and the Netherlands Philharmonic

The Netherlands Philharmonic is one of the most versatile cultural organisations in The Netherlands. The orchestra organises a diverse concert program in The Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam and is a welcome guest on foreign stages and festivals. The Netherlands Philharmonic brings classical music to life at the highest level and collaborates closely with international guest soloists and conductors. It takes great pleasure in welcoming and developing new musical talent. Lorenzo Viotti is the principal conductor of Dutch National Opera and the Netherlands Philharmonic.

Christmas concert: "Fantasia on Christmas Carols"

This year, the traditional Advent concert on the fourth Sunday of Advent will enchant you with an absolute highlight in one of Berlin's most beautiful churches: the Magaliesberg Children's Choir South Africa will support the Junge Chor of the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Kammersymphonie Berlin at the annual musical festival for the whole family. Take a moment to pause and reflect, away from the Christmas hustle and bustle. Let yourself be inspired by the puristic motto of the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, who collected old southern English folk songs for his 1912 work ‘Fantasia on Christmas Carols’: ‘The most beautiful occupation is that with the human voice and some of the best melodies in the world.’ Listen to works by Michael Praetorius, George Frederic Handel, Benjamin Britten, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Sir David Valentine Willcocks and others. Experience a wonderful prelude to Christmas in the Apostel-Paulus-Kirche in Berlin.

Christmas Oratorio

Experience Johann Sebastian Bach's magnificent Christmas Oratorio! To the thunder of timpani and jubilant trumpets, it is proclaimed in the magnificent opening that Jesus is born.It's easy to be misled by the title Christmas Oratorio, as if it were a single work intended to be performed at one occasion, Christmas Eve. That's far from the case. In fact, the Christmas Oratorio consists of six different parts, intended to be performed at as many occasions around Christmas. Today, as in this concert, it's customary to perform the first three parts, which were first performed together at a concert in Leipzig, in the days around Christmas 1735.Delving into Bach's music is to venture into an unfathomable and fascinating musical universe. We constantly discover new things, and it never ends. Spend a few hours with Bach's Christmas Oratorio. It's a magnificent experience.The Italian baroque specialist and conductor Luca Guglielmi leads the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Eric Ericson's Chamber Choir, and the four soloists. Eric Ericson's Chamber Choir, formed in 1945, ranks among the top international professional ensembles. Since 2003, the choir has had a close collaboration with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.