Dresdner |Weihnacht

Dresden’s famous choirs and orchestras tell their own personal Christmas story on this new CD. From old hymns to the Feast of the Nativity to evergreen Christmas carols, the music is the sign of the approaching holiday. This collection opens with “Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her” by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, performed by none other than the famous Dresdner Kreuzchor together with the Dresden Philharmonic under the direction of Martin Flämig. The Chamber Choir of the Dresden Frauenkirche then follows. Under the direction of Matthias Grünert, cantor of the Frauenkirche, the well-known chorale “Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland” is featured in six different settings that wonderfully juxtapose the successful chorale arrangements by Samuel Scheidt, Johann Heinrich Schein, Johann Pachelbel, and Michael Praetorius. Matthias Grünert also performs the so popular chorale prelude “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme” by Johann Sebastian Bach on the Kern organ of the Frauenkirche Dresden. The colorful program is rounded off with instrumental interludes by Georg Friedrich Handel (Arrival of the Queen of Sheba) and Michael Praetorius’ (Terpsichore) with Semper Brass. The crowning finale is Tchaikovsky’s “Waltz of the Flowers” with the Saxon State Orchestra under the direction of Hans Vonk. An opulent Christmas treat for the ears!