Bach composed Christmas music for more than 30 years of his professional life, but none in such a short a space of time as when he arrived at Leipzig in 1723. He used the relatively quiet Advent period to prepare for the onslaught of commitments around Christmas. This recording celebrates his vibrant representation of all the major themes of the season.
The Magnificat was his major contribution in his first year, as it was needed for Christmas Day.
One his few works in Latin, this grandiloquent 16-movement canticle enabled the new Cantor to make his mark with a supreme exhibition of compositional mastery and acoustical opulence.
Today's audiences usually hear the Magnificat in D, but it was originally composed in E flat, with four interpolated movements reflecting the special seasonal context. Philippe Herreweghe presents as tailored and tonally refined a reading as you are likely to find, as indeed he did in his more intimate but prosaic account of the D major version from 1990. This new performance also ranks with the best in terms of varied coloration and sonic choral brilliance.
Bach's Christmas cantatas from 1723 and 1724 comprise works of fascinating range. 'Christen, ätzet diesen Tag' (No 63) is another extrovert celebration, with trumpets and drums, originally conceived in Weimar and smartened up for its new surroundings. Most interesting is 'Christen wir sollen', which presents the idea of thanksgiving as coming from within the dark recesses of Advent, preparation and expectation; Collegium Vocale are supreme in austerity, and the distilled stilo antico.
Herreweghe can be a touch anodyne, but this is a mild gripe for what is, overall, an outstanding collection of performances to celebrate a Bach Christmas – beyond the great Oratorio.