Concerto Copenhagen's Christmas

Welcome to Concerto Copenhagen's Christmas concert, where the atmospheric music of the Baroque awakens the sounds of Christmas The music of this year's Christmas concerts revolves around two of the basic moods of Christmas: the joy of anticipation at the coming of the Christ child, the saviour of the world - and the peace that will hopefully settle over us and the world. In the musical imagery of the Baroque, this peace is often depicted through pastorals: scenes in which the shepherds in the fields near Bethlehem are rocked along by gentle, undulating rhythms, and where the world stands still for a moment. In the midst of this landscape we hear Bach's idyllic aria Schafe können sicher weiden, in which the sheep can graze safely under the protective gaze of a good shepherd. The music of the concert has Johann Sebastian Bach as its clear guiding star, but also includes beautiful and rarely heard works by Georg Philipp Telemann, Johann David Heinichen, Johann Christoph Pez, Johann Kuhnau and Christoph Graupner. Let the peace of Christmas settle with Concerto Copenhagen under the direction of Lars Ulrik Mortensen and the soloist, the English soprano Joanne Lunn - in a concert where the hope of Advent, the light of Christmas and the year's last reflections are woven together in the warm sounds of the Baroque Programme: Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) "Bereitet die Wege, bereitet die Bahn" from cantata BWV 132 Johann David Heinechen (1683-1729) Pastorale per la Notte di Natale Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) "Jesu dir sei Lob gesungen" from the cantata "Uns ist ein Kind Geboren" Johann Kuhnau (1660-1722) Sinfonia from the cantata "Es ist ein Kind geboren" Johann Sebastian Bach "Schafe können sicher weiden" from cantata BWV 208 Johann Christoph Pez (1664-1716) Passacaglia from Concerto Pastorale Christoph Graupner (1683-1760) "Ich bleibe Gott getrau" Johann Sebastian Bach Sinfonia and aria "Stein, der über alle Schätze" from the cantata "Tritt auf dem Glaubensbahn" BWV 152 Johann Christoph Pez Pastorale from Concerto Pastorale Johann Sebastian Bach "Gottlob, nun geht das Jahr zu ende" from cantata BWV 28

• Joanne Lunnsopran