J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio was written for the Christmas season of 1734, and although it incorporates music from earlier works it belongs firmly among his timeless large-scale compositions. The development of the oratorio, which was to become a new musical form in Protestant church services at that time, was stimulated by Bach’s compositions, particularly by the unusual form of his six-part Christmas Oratorio. From its famously joyful opening ‘Jauchzet frohlocket’ to the arrival of the Wise Men from the East, this work’s enduring popularity has long proven its status as a choral ‘evergreen.’
Original award winning score (Golden Medal, New York Festivals 1996 a.o.) from the acclaimed awarded movie by Ralf Schmerberg.
Ralf Hildenbeutel (born March 6, 1969 in Frankfurt am Main) is a German composer and producer. He was decisive role in the formation of musical style trance. Together with A.C. Boutsen (Matthias Hoffmann) and Stevie B-Zet (Steffen Britzke) he belonged to the permanent staff of the record label Eye Q Records. The Scene Magazine Front Page wrote in 1995, about 90% of all trance releases have the typical Q-Eye style as a template. Between 1991 and 1998 produced Ralf Hildenbeutel all publications of the star DJs Sven Väth…
In 2010 the world is celebrating the 300th anniversary of the birth of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, whose music – for the most disparate reasons – was for a long time shrouded in oblivion. Many of his works disappeared completely after the Second World War, and it was not until 1999 that they were rediscovered in Kiev. The present world-première recording of four of his cantatas grants us a fascinating insight into the composer’s output and invites us to join him on a musical voyage of discovery. These ambitious works, which were written for Christmas and Ascension, attest to the technical and musical virtuosity of Johann Sebastian Bach’s eldest son.