Festliches Weihnachtskonzert

Experience rarely performed festive Baroque Christmas music at the Lutherkirche in Leer with the Heinrich Schütz Choir of East Frisia and the Baroque orchestra Le Chardon.
The Christmas Oratorio for soloists, choir, and orchestra by Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel, the “Gotha-Altenburg Court Kapellmeister,” presents a portion of the most important work by one of the great composers of the 18th century. Stölzel’s compositions spanned nearly every genre, though many were lost over time due to poor archival practices. His Christmas Oratorio was rediscovered a few years ago. This is wonderful music by a contemporary of Bach that definitely deserves more attention.
A Feast of Sounds: Giovanni Alberti Ristori’s (Christmas Mass) *Messa per il Santissimo Natale*. Between 1715 and 1753, Ristori rose to the rank of vice-kapellmeister at the Saxon and Royal Polish court in Dresden, composing primarily dramatic music and church music for the Catholic court church. Ristori’s experience with opera and the first-rate orchestra there—which included renowned virtuosos—allowed him to combine extraordinary instrumental sound effects with captivating contrasts in the vocal texture in his festive Mass from 1744.
Both works will be performed using historically informed performance practice with period instruments.