Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks & Howard Arman - Angelus ad Pastores - Weihnachtsgeschichte (2023) [Official Digital Download]

In the Revelation of James, an apocryphal gospel that was not included in the Bible, events and details surrounding the birth of Christ are reported that do not appear in the better-known versions of the Christmas story from the gospels of Matthew and Luke. In particular, it portrays very real people, full of emotions and conflicting feelings. Mary, not Jesus, is the focus of the narrative. The Christmas story is presented by James in a vivid, dramatic and almost theatrical manner. Howard Arman's Christmas Story follows the tradition of works such as Bach's Christmas Oratorio, where newly-composed settings of the Gospel alternate with chorales. Here, Gregorian and polyphonic chorales as well as several motets from the 17th century are woven into Arman's composition and form a second narrative level. They frame the episodes of the Christmas story and can also be understood as musical reactions to the narrated events. This new BR-KLASSIK CD is complemented by the chorales from Peter Maxwell Davies's Christmas cantata O magnum mysterium.

Arman contrasts the powerful language and mysticism of James’s gospel by reducing musical means to their essentials: monophonic singing, syllabically conceived solo passages and, as the only accompanying instrument, a hurdy-gurdy, which with its monotonous, archaic sound represents a certain timelessness. All of this results in maximum text comprehensibility, whereby the emotional declamatory singing style almost makes the figures resemble characters in a stage play. A key moment is Joseph's vision shortly before the birth of Christ: time seems to stand still, and the mystical and sublime aspect of this scene is intensified by poetic words full of linguistic contrasts and contradictions.

The chorales and motets integrated into Arman’s Christmas Story gradually develop ever greater polyphony. Thus, three settings by Nicolaus Zangius, Hieronymus Praetorius and Hans Leo Hassler, scored for ever greater numbers of voices, lead to a fourth, ten-part composition by Melchior Vulpius, which concludes with the words "Peace on Earth".

In its formal layout, Arman's Christmas Story bears similarities to Peter Maxwell Davies's cantata O magnum mysterium. This work, written in 1960 for the choirmaster of Manchester Cathedral, also consists of chorales and instrumental sonatas, although the order is not compulsory. The four a cappella chorales in particular constitute a self-contained unit in terms of both content and music.

Tracklist:
01. Arman: Weihnachtsgeschichte nach der apokryphen Offenbarung des Jakobus: I. Die Botschaft
02. Schein: Veni redemptor genti
03. Arman: Weihnachtsgeschichte nach der apokryphen Offenbarung des Jakobus: III. Der Streit
04. Schein: Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, Vers 1 - 2
05. Arman: Weihnachtsgeschichte nach der apokryphen Offenbarung des Jakobus: V. Der Traum
06. Schein: Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, Vers 3
07. Arman: Weihnachtsgeschichte nach der apokryphen Offenbarung des Jakobus: VII. Die Reise
08. Zangius: Angelus ad pastores
09. Schein: Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, Vers 7
10. Arman: Weihnachtsgeschichte nach der apokryphen Offenbarung des Jakobus: X. Der Zeitstillstand
11. Praetorius: Angelus ad pastores
12. Arman: Weihnachtsgeschichte nach der apokryphen Offenbarung des Jakobus: XII. Die Hebamme
13. Hassler: Angelus ad pastores
14. Arman: Weihnachtsgeschichte nach der apokryphen Offenbarung des Jakobus: XIV. Die Hoehle
15. Vulpius: Angelus ad pastores
16. Arman: Weihnachtsgeschichte nach der apokryphen Offenbarung des Jakobus: XVI. Die Magier
17. Anonymus: Da pacem Domine in diebus nostris
18. Arman: Weihnachtsgeschichte nach der apokryphen Offenbarung des Jakobus: XVIII. Der Kindermord
19. Schein: Verleih uns Frieden gnaediglich
20. Praetorius: Agnus Dei super Angelus ad pastores
21. Anonymus: Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland


Thanks to the Original customer!