Christmas Oratorio - Johann Sebastian Bach DVD

The Christmas Oratorio, Bach's six-part cantata cycle, was presented by The Monteverdi Choir under the direction of John Eliot Gardiner at the Heiderkirche in Weimar in December 2000 as the culmination of a year-long pilgrimage. Gardiner's mission had been to perform Bach's complete canon of liturgical cantatas, in appropriate religious settings, to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the composer's death. This is a magical record of a splendid musical occasion. Although the Oratorio is seasonal, the tale and the manner of its telling repay repeated listening regardless... of the time of year. The commitment of Gardiner, his singers and musicians is deeply moving and is heightened by the splendid Baroque surroundings. The story, related largely by tenor Christoph Genz, is a rich tapestry of musical textures, ranging from the celebratory pastoral opening to the poignancy of many of the solo passages (soprano Claron McFadden's bell-like tones soar, in particular). In one of the accompanying brief documentaries, Gardiner says that at a time when we're weighed down with wallpaper music, Bach provides a means of escape through his sacred music. The proof is in the holistic nature of this piece, with its combined senses of nature at work and order, represented by the discipline of the music itself, of almost mathematical proportions. Sublime. On the DVD: two discs each contain three parts of the Oratorio with a short documentary providing some useful background to Gardiner's pilgrimage and an exploration of his belief that through music, "Bach tells us what it's like to be a human being as part of the universe." The picture format is 16:9 and provides ample digital quality; the setting inevitably imposes its own limits on the viewing experience. The segment for the "Third Day of Christmas" features a choice between the concert camera and the conductor camera so you can vary the picture, but this is really just a gimmick soon forgotten if you're mainly interested in the music. You can listen to the soundtrack in LCPM stereo (best), AC3 Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 surround. --Piers Ford [show more]

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