Christus: Sacred Trilogy (1/3) — With Raphaël Pichon and the Ensemble Pygmalion
Part I: Nativity
Cast
François-René Martin — Movie director
Bertrand Couderc — Lighting
Julian Prégardien — Tenor
Huw Montague Rendall — Baritone
Ying Fang — Soprano
Helena Rasker — Contralto
Laurence Kilsby — Tenor
Christian Immler — Bass
Program notes
Join Raphaël Pichon and Ensemble Pygmalion as they tell the Biblical Christmas story through the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. Across a triptych of concerts, they celebrate and retrace the life of Christ, guiding the listener from the Nativity to the Passion and onward to the Resurrection…
In this first concert, the nativity begins with an excerpt from Cantata BMV 151, “Süßer Trost, mein Jesus kömmt”, ringing out in the Opéra National de Bordeaux like a summoning call, yet imbued with the warmth of a mother’s lullaby. The program also features three contrasting sections of the Christmas Oratorio, depicting the birth of Jesus, the visit of the shepherds, and the challenges that lie ahead. The concert concludes with the joyful and majestic “Gloria in excelis Deo” from Cantata BMV 191: a celebration for the birth of Christ.
