Henrik Colding-Jørgensen:
BACH'S CHRISTMAS (2007)
- A CHORALE CHAIN
dedicated to Nuuk Nordic Choir and Bente
Colding-Jørgensen.
In 2007 the
choir decided to plan a performance the following year of Bach's Christmas
Oratorio, Part I, II and III. However, they want to sing the eight chorale
movements included in these first three part of Bach's Christmas Oratorio
already in November 2007. To link these chorales together, I was asked to
compose pre-, post- and interludes for solo oboe, as the chorales are not meant
to succeed each other immediately. In this way the concept of "Bach's
Christmas" took shape, and I undertook the commission gladly, having employed
the oboe in other choral works.
THE CHAIN
is in fact the solo oboe, beginning and ending the composition. THE LINKS are
of course the eight chorales, interspersed by nine short movements for oboe
solo. The orchestration of the chorale movements is reduced to organ alone, in
two of the chorales completed by an oboe obbligato, where Johann Sebastian Bach
employed an obbligato instrument. In addition to this I re-composed three of
the chorales, giving these chorales a new stylistic content for solo oboe and
mixed choir, with the organ supporting the choral parts.
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
AT THE AGE, WHEN HE WROTE THE CHRISTMAS ORATORIO
The oboe
interludes take their characters and titles from the succeding chorale stanzas,
in this way bringing us through the stages of Christmas celebration, from the
first anticipations through the adoration of the newborn Child to his lifelong
dedication: Bach's Christmas.
The first
performance took place Saturday, November 24, 2007, at Hans Egede Church,
Nuuk, Greenland, by Nuuk Nordic Choir, Joakim Dam Thomsen, oboe, and Henrik
Colding-Jørgensen, organ. Conductor: Bente Colding-Jørgensen.
Small excerpts here (pdf).
See list of movements here
See chorale texts here
HANS EGEDE CHURCH, NUUK
The project is supported financially by Nordic
Culture Point