Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen (1472-1533): Krippenszene (1511-20) ); © Kunstmuseum Basel
et into the festive spirit of the season and sing along to famous Christmas carols from the German-speaking Renaissance with the help of the Basler Stadtposaunenchor and cornetti!
Popular carols – “Joseph, lieber Joseph mein”, “In Dulci Jubilo” and “Es ist ein Ros’ entsprungen” – first appeared in sources such as Leonhard Schröter’s “Newe Weihnacht Liedlein” from 1587 and the famous arrangements by Michael Praetorius in his Musae Sioniae prints from 1605–1610. ReRenaissance now brings the audience closer to this music in a variety of ways, from playful duo arrangements to double-choir versions with cornetti and trombones, and most important is that all music printed in the program booklet can be sung along as desired by the audience!
Theresa von Bibra – voice
Reiner Schneider-Waterberg – voice
Josué Meléndez – cornetto
Benedetta Ceron – cornetto
Phillip Boyle – trombone
Catherine Motuz – trombone; direction
Ochs und Esel, Wolfenbüttel, Herzog August Bibliothek, Cod. Guelf. 96 Weiss, fol. 122r
Why I’ll be there!
by DAVID FALLOWS
Christmas music in England is mostly gruesome Victorian tat (O little town of Bethlehem; As shepherds watched their flock by night; Away in a manger; Good king Wenceslas) while we ignore our classy Christmas music of the fifteenth century. But it is not half so gruesome as America’s twentieth-century tat (Jingle bells; I’m dreaming (!) of a white Christmas; Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer had a very shiny nose).
All the same it is great to remember that the German-speaking lands retain a serious body of Christmas music from the sixteenth century and earlier. It looks as though Catherine Motuz is planning a truly enlightening feast of this music in versions from the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. She’s even planning on some music by one of my dearest and most improbable loves, Michael Praetorius. Surely not to be missed.
Haus zum Kirschgarten
Historical Museum
Barfüsserkirche
Historical Museum Basel
Barfüsserkirche
Historical Museum Basel
Barfüsserkirche
Historical Museum Basel
Basel, Martinskirche
