About the album
The Christmas Oratorio is a series of 6 separate cantatas, collectively relating the story from Christmas through to Twelfth Night. Bach wrote the work in Leipzig in 1734 and 1735 for Christmas Day (I), Boxing day (II), the third day of Christmas (III), New Year (IV), the Sunday after New Year (V) and Twelfth Night (VI). As with the Passions, the texts here are drawn from three sources: (1) the evangelical texts (primarily Luke and Matthew) intoned by the Evangelist (tenor) as recitatives, (2) chorales from the Lutheran tradition and (3) free texts for arias and some choral passages, written by the poet Picander.
This performance is perhaps as close as presently possible to what we imagine Bach might have had in mind as he composed the work in Leipzig. First of all, we have the 'one to a part' aspect: historical research among the various sources clearly shows that Bach did not ask for a choir to perform his cantatas, but simply a vocal quartet. This 'single line singing' certainly adds to the individual expression of the text and the music's transparency. Bach's religious music always uses the text as its starting point and a great deal of attention is therefore paid to correct enunciation. The vocal principle of 'one to a part' also has a major influence on the instrumental forces. Bach employed a small-scale string ensemble (two first violins, two second violins, one viola, one or two bass violins for the bass line and sometimes a violoncello da spalla, or shoulder cello, see below), as well as single wind instruments where appropriate, all supported by an organ, which formed the continuo in conjunction with the bass violin. And since the instrumental music is also completely permeated by the rhetoric that stems from the text, the transparency of this small ensemble intertwines seamlessly with the vocal lines, giving a refined polyphony that reached its zenith in Bach's music.
Continuing to focus attention on the 'historical truth' of performance (in other words, trying to get as close as possible to the circumstances in which the work was originally conceived and performed) is not a museum activity. Rather, it is an ongoing process of questioning music in performance, erasing later habits and traditions that have survived, so that the music can once again dazzle us with its freshness and directness.
Kerstmuziek die klinkt zoals Bach het bedoeld moet hebben
Waarschijnlijk kwam een uitvoering van het Weihnachtsoratorium nog nooit zo dicht bij wat Johann Sebastian Bach in gedachten moet hebben gehad, toen hij het kerstoratorium schreef. Een mooie prestatie van dirigent Sigiswald Kuijken en zijn barokorkest La Petite Bande. "This delicately expressive and intimate performance captures the tender essence of the Christmas story." BBC Music Magazine, maart 2015.
Bach componeerde het oratorium in 1734 en '35 in Leipzig. Het bestaat uit 6 aparte cantates die samen het kerstverhaal vertellen. Ze schetsen 1e Kerstdag, 2e Kerstdag, 3e Kerstdag, Nieuwjaar, de zondag na Nieuwjaar en Driekoningen. Bach had bij het componeren van dit werk geen groot koor voor ogen, maar een kwartet, waardoor de muziek transparant wordt en elke stem tot zijn recht komt. Hier ook geen voltallig orkest, maar een klein strijkersensemble - dat zich naadloos voegt bij de stemmen - begeleid door enkele blaasinstrumenten en een orgel. Kuijken en zijn ensemble houden vast aan de oorspronkelijke bedoeling van Bachs kerstoratorium en laten zich niet beïnvloeden door moderne gewoonten. Ze zorgen daarmee voor directe en verfrissende muziek.
La Petite Bande is één van de meest vooraanstaande barokorkesten. Het werd in 1972 opgericht door de Belgische violist en dirigent Sigiswald Kuijken en de Nederlandse klavecinist en dirigent Gustav Leonhardt. Het orkest streeft ernaar oude muziek zo getrouw mogelijk te laten herleven. Dat doet het gezelschap door authentieke instrumenten te gebruiken en de oude speelwijze te hanteren. La Petite Bande was oorspronkelijk een tijdelijk gezelschap, dat zich hoofdzakelijk richtte op Franse muziek. Vanwege hun succes geeft het orkest tegenwoordig wereldwijd concerten en bestaat het repertoire ook uit muziek van Italiaanse componisten en componisten als Bach, Händel, Gluck, Haydn en Mozart.
La Petite Bande ist eines der führenden Barockensembles unserer Zeit, und mit dieser Aufnahme kommt Dirigent Sigiswald Kuijken vielleicht so nahe wie nie jemand zuvor an das, was Bach sich möglicherweise bei der Komposition seines Weihnachtsoratoriums vorgestellt hat: Anstelle eines mächtigen Chores hört man hier ein Vokalquartett, wodurch die Musik viel transparenter wird und der Ausdruck jeder Stimme individuell zum Tragen kommt. Auch unterstützt sie kein Orchester, sondern lediglich ein kleines Streichensemble, dessen Melodielinien sich nahtlos mit den Stimmen verbinden und ein Vorzeigebeispiel für eine Polyphonie darstellen, die ihren Zenith in Bachs Musik erreichte.
Der „historischen Wahrheit" der Interpretation weiterhin Aufmerksamkeit zu schenken und zu versuchen, den Umständen, in denen das Werk ursprünglich konzipiert und aufgeführt wurde, so nahe wie möglich zu koemmen, ist mitnichten etwas fürs Museum. Es ist vielmehr ein kontinuierlicher Prozess, musikalische Interpretation zu hinterfragen und sie von späteren Einflüssen zu befreien, sodass die Musik uns einmal mehr mit ihrer Direktheit und ihrer Aktualität begeistern kann.
L’Oratorio di Natale corrisponde una serie di 6 cantate indipendenti, che insieme raccontano la storia dal Natale all’Epifania. Bach scrisse l’opera a Lipsia nel 1734-1735 per il giorno di Natale (I), Santo Stefano (II), terzo giorno di Natale (III), Capodanno (IV), la Domenica dopo Capodanno (V) e l’Epifania (VI). Come nelle Passioni, anche qui i testi sono cavati da tre fonti: (1) i testi evangelici (soprattutto Luca e Matteo) intonati dall’Evangelista (tenore) come recitativi, (2) i corali della tradizione luterana e (3) testi poetici per arie e alcuni passi corali, scritti dal librettista Picander.
Questa esecuzione è attualmente la più fedele possibile a quel che immaginiamo Bach potesse avere in mente quando compose quest’opera a Lipsia. Innanzitutto abbiamo l’aspetto ‘one to a part’: la ricerca musicologica sulle diverse fonti mostra chiaramente che, per eseguire le sue cantate, Bach non richiedeva un coro ma semplicemente un quartetto vocale. Questo ‘cantare a voce sola’ accresce certamente l’espressione individuale del testo e la trasparenza della musica. La musica sacra di Bach utilizza sempre il testo come punto di partenza, e grande attenzione deve essere quindi dedicata alla dizione corretta. Il principio vocale del ‘one to a part’ ha anche una forte influenza sull’organico strumentale. Bach utilizzava un nucleo d’archi di piccole dimensioni (due primi violini, due secondi violini, una viola, uno o due violoni per la linea di basso e talvolta un violoncello da spalla), ed eventualmente singoli strumenti a fiato, tutti sostenuti da un organo, che formava il continuo unitamente al violone. E siccome anche le parti strumentali sono completamente permeate dalla retorica che scaturisce dal testo, la trasparenza di questo piccolo ensemble si intreccia perfettamente con le linee vocali, esaltando quella raffinata polifonia che raggiunse il suo apice nella musica di Bach. Continuare a focalizzare l’attenzione sulla ‘verità storica’ dell’esecuzione non è un’attività museale. Piuttosto è un continuo processo di discussione sull’esecuzione della musica, per cancellare abitudini e tradizioni più tarde che sono sopravvissute, in modo che la musica possa nuovamente emozionarci con la sua freschezza e immediatezza.
Artist(s)
La Petite Bande
La Petite Bande (Belgium) was founded in 1972 by Sigiswald Kuijken at the request of the record company Harmonia Mundi (Germany) in order to record Lully's "Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme", under the direction of Gustav Leonhardt. The orchestra takes its name and constitution from Lully's own orchestra at the court of Louis XIV. All its members are internationally renowned specialists in the early music field.
Although originally La Petite Bande was not meant to become a permanent orchestra, the success of the recordings was such that they began to give concerts regularly. Having initially concentrated mainly on French music, the orchestra's repertoire has expanded over the years to include music by the Italian masters and that of Bach, Handel, Gluck, Haydn, Mozart and others.The 17-part CD series "Cantatas of J.S. Bach" (ACCENT) will be finished by the end of 2012. Sigiswald Kuijken applies the latest findings in Bach research: no choir, but rather a vocal quartet together with a minimal instrumental scoring. In this way, the fine musical texture of these cantatas can be much better (and more naturally) revealed.
La Petite Bande has recorded instrumental as well as vocal music, including operas and oratorios from the Baroque and Classical periods. La Petite Bande currently makes recordings for Accent, Challenge, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, Denon, Seon/Virgin and Hyperion.
La Petite Bande has performed in a multitude of international festivals and concert series, in Europe, Japan, Australia, South America and China.
Since 1997, La Petite Bande has been in residence in the City of Leuven.
Sigiswald Kuijken
Sigiswald Kuijken was born in 1944 close to Brussels. He studied violin at the conservatories of Bruges and Brussels, completing his studies at the latter institution with Maurice Raskin in 1964. He came into contact with early music at a very young age, together with his brother Wieland. Studying on his own, he gained a thorough knowledge of specific 17th- and 18th-century performance techniques and conventions of interpretation on violin and viola da gamba This led to the introduction, in 1969, of a more authentic way of playing the violin, whereby the instrument was no longer held under the chin, but lay freely on the shoulder; this was to have a crucial influence on the approach to the violin repertoire and was consequently adopted by many players starting in the early 1970s.
From 1964 to 1972, Sigiswald Kuijken was a member of the Brussels-based Alarius Ensemble (with Wieland Kuijken, Robert Kohnen and Janine Rubinlicht), which performed throughout Europe and in the United States. He subsequently undertook individual chamber music projects with a number of Baroque music specialists, chief among which were his brothers Wieland and Barthold and Robert Kohnen, as well as Gustav Leonhardt, , Frans Bruggen Anner Bylsma and René Jacobs.
In 1972, with the encouragement of Deutsche Harmonia Mundi and Gustav Leonhardt, he founded the Baroque orchestra La Petite Bande, which since then has given innumerable concerts throughout Europe, Australia, South America, China and Japan, and has made many recordings for a number of labels (including Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, Seon, Virgin, Accent, Denon, Hyperion, Challenge, ...).
In 1986 he founded the Kuijken String Quartet (with François Fernandez, Marleen Thiers and Wieland Kuijken), which specialises in the quartets and quintets (with Ryo Terakado as first violist) of the Classical period. Recordings of quartets and quintets by Mozart and Haydn have appeared on Denon.
Since 1998 Sigiswald Kuijken occasionally brings together two generations Kuijken (his daughters Veronica and Sara and his brother Wieland) to perform string quartets of later periods (Debussy, Schumann, Beethoven, Schubert) often combined with Lieder by Marie Kuijken, soprano and also daughter of Sigiswald, and Veronica Kuijken, piano. Recordings of the two generations have been made for Arcana and Challenge Records.
In 2004 Sigiswald Kuijken reintroduced in practical performance the Violoncello da spalla (shoulder cello, very probably the instrument Bach had in mind when writing his six cello solos): concerts and recordings of Bach, Vivaldi, ...
From 1971 to 1996, Sigiswald Kuijken taught Baroque violin at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague and from 1993 to 2009 at the Koninklijk Muziekconservatorium in Brussels. In addition, he has for many years been in demand as a guest teacher at a number of institutions (including the Royal College of Music in London, Salamanca University, the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, the Conservatoire of Geneva, the Musikhochschule of Leipzig).
Since 1998, Sigiswald Kuijken occasionally conducts “modern” symphonic orchestras in romantic programs ( Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms, Mendelssohn).
On 2 February 2007, Sigiswald Kuijken received an honorary doctorate of the K.U. Leuven.
He was granted in February 2009 the prestigious "Life Achievement Award of the Flemish Government".
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