Saturday, December 5, 2015 at 4:00 and Sunday, December 6, 2015 at 2:30 and 5:00 at Christ Church, Greenwich, Paul F. Mueller, Music Director and Conductor
This year’s Greenwich Choral Society Christmas Concert, ‘Christmas Blessings,’ features Part Two of J.S. Bach’s Weihnachts-Oratorio (Cantata for the Second Day of Christmas), a telling of the Christmas story and the witness of shepherds, angels and archangels. The Bach will be paired with Vivaldi’s joyous Dixit Dominus, a setting of Psalm 109 scored for double chorus and double orchestra. A baroque-sized orchestra and a quartet of soloists will assist the Choral Society in our annual Christmas concert in the recently refurbished sanctuary of Christ Church, Greenwich. The concert, which includes traditional carols and audience participation, is a wonderful way to usher in this glorious time of the year.
As is our tradition, the December concert will begin with a procession of bells, candles and voices, as we surround the audience with our first selection. Bach begins his cantata with the gentle sound of oboes, which brings us directly to the biblical account of the Nativity as told by Luke and Matthew, concluding with the explosive chorus, “Glory to God in the Highest.” Vivaldi’s Dixit Dominus is a highly energetic setting of Psalm 109, exploring the color combinations of double chorus, double orchestra, and duets for soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor and bass soloists, a delight to hear and to perform!
Elena Mullins, soprano, Sarah Nelson Craft, mezzo-soprano, Andrew Fuchs, tenor, and Michael Maliakel, baritone, will be our featured soloists in the Bach and Vivaldi. We are particularly excited to present these young artists as they are all new to the Greenwich Choral Society, appearing with us in December for the first time.
As usual, the concert will end with traditional carols, audience participation, and a rousing rendition of the French carol, Il est né (He is Born!), in a new orchestration created for the Greenwich Choral Society.
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