Christmas concert

Benjamin Britten’s “A Ceremony of Carols” is one of the most enchanting Christmas works of the 20th century. In its unusual instrumentation for boys’ or women’s choir and harp, a world of sound unfolds, characterised by radiant clarity, archaic beauty and heartfelt festivity. Britten draws on Middle English and Latin texts, combining them with music that is at once simple, artful and mysterious. Between jubilant anticipation, tender devotion and dance-like joy, a Christmas scene emerges that is far removed from any sentimentality – bright, poetic and imbued with timeless dignity.

Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s “Messe de Minuit pour Noël” combines the Latin Mass liturgy with 17th-century French Christmas carols. From these familiar Noëls, Charpentier develops music of great clarity, rhythmic vitality and delicate Baroque colour. As a result, the Mass strikes a balance between festivity and immediacy, without losing any of its liturgical dignity. The outcome is a Christmas work that combines artful composition and folk tradition in a particularly charming way.