Sun. 15. December 2024 | 4:00 pm | Evangelische Auenkirche, Wilhelmsaue 118A, 10715 Berlin
Heinrich von Herzogenberg (1843-1900) : The Birth of Christ (1894) op. 90
- Sonja Bisgiel, soprano
Myungwon Kim, tenor
Timon Töpfer, organ
- Berliner Oratorien-Chor
- Chamber ensemble of the New Prussian Philharmonic Orchestra
- Conductor Thomas Hennig
The oratorio The Birth of Christ was composed in 1894 in collaboration with the theologian Friedrich Spitta, the brother of the much better-known musicologist Philipp Spitta. The speciality of this oratorio lies not only in the chamber music orchestral accompaniment, but also in its structure as a liturgical form. In addition to a variety of choral movements, Advent and Christmas carols and the use of a children’s choir, this musical nativity play integrates congregational singing with organ accompaniment into the artistic conception, which is linked to a pietistic attitude of faith and artistically fills the programme of the older liturgical movement in the 19th century with life, but also embeds the composition in a popular form.
