The Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists usher in Christmas with works by two giants of European sacred music: Johann Sebastian Bach and Marc-Antoine Charpentier.

Folk-like French noëls – secular Christmas carols, technically forbidden in sacred music by the Council of Trent – form the basis of Charpentier’s unique midnight mass. An irresistible rendition of laughter-in-music opens one of Bach’s most festive cantatas, Unser Mund sei voll Lachens, written for Christmas Day 1725 in Leipzig. And Schwingt freudig euch empor, composed for the first Sunday in Advent, looks forward to the birth of Christ with dancing choruses and one of Bach's most intimate, touching arias, Auch mit gedämpften, schwachen Stimmen.

Soloists joining the Monteverdi Choir include four rising stars of the international baroque music scene, Hilary Cronin, Bethany Horak-Hallett, Florian Sievers, and Florian Störtz.

Programme
Charpentier Messe de Minuit pour Noël H9
Bach Unser Mund sei voll Lachens BWV 110
Interval
Bach Schwingt freudig euch empor BWV 36