On the night of December 24, Christmas Eve, the Christian Religion celebrates the Birth of Jesus
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Franz Xaver Gruber (1787-1863) was an Austrian composer, poet and organist. He was a schoolteacher and organist at the Church of Saint Nicholas , in Oberndorf bei Salzburg , a town near Salzburg , where he premiered, in 1818, the famous Christmas carol Silent Night , whose music was written by him and lyrics by Father Joseph Mohr .
Stille Nacht (Silent Night) is a well-known Austrian Christmas carol originally composed in German by the Austrian schoolteacher and organist Franz Xaver Gruber ; the lyrics were done by the Austrian priest Joseph Mohr . In 2018, upon the bicentennial of the Christmas carol, UNESCO declared it Cultural and Intangible Heritage of Humanity . The song has been recorded by many singers and in various musical genres; Bing Crosby 's version is the most popular in the world, being the third best-selling single in history. The music performed today differs slightly from Gruber 's original, particularly in the final notes.
Today it is offered to us by the Maîtrise of Radio France hosted by teacher Sofi Jeannin .
Bartolomé María de Ercilla (1863-1898) was born in Durango , Bizkaia, son of the former mayor of the town, Juan Timoteo de Ercilla y Cenarruzabeitia ; which facilitated his relationship with some of the main standards of Basque culture at the time, such as Miguel de Unamuno, Felipe Arrese or Arturo Campion . He was the first director of the Durango Music Band , as well as the creator of the Orfeón Iparraguirre . He combined his compositional work with teaching, piano playing, directing instrumental and vocal ensembles and even organizing cultural events, such as the Bilbao Friendship Circle Musical Evenings . He died in Durango , a natural death according to the chronicles, when the composer was only 35 years old.
Messiah Sarritan . On Christmas Day 1892, his best-known work was premiered, the popular carol Mesias Sarritan written for three mixed voices and organ with zortziko for solo tenor. It is dedicated to Castor de Gorrichategui , a Berriztarra professor of whom he was a disciple, has lyrics by the priest Balbino de Garitaonandía , chaplain of the Hospital of Durango , and is published with the information of opus no. 51. This numbering indicates that, at 29 years old , Ercilla had composed at least that many works, mainly written for piano, band, keyboard and voice, choir, orchestra and arrangements of works by other authors. (Extracted from the article by Luis Orduña Ridruejo , Director of the Tabira Band of Durango, published by Astola magazine)
Juan José Colomer (1966) is a composer with dual Spanish and American nationality, born in Alcira, Valencia, and resident in Los Angeles , USA, since 1992. He completed his musical studies at the Alcira Musical Society and at the Superior Conservatory of Music of Valencia , where he obtained the Higher Degree in Trumpet and the Middle Degree in Composition. In 1990 he moved to Boston , where he furthered his studies at Berklee College of Music specializing in film music. He has received commissions from the National Orchestra of Spain, International Horn Symposium, Center for the Diffusion of Contemporary Music (CDMC), International Philip Jones competition (Guebwiller, France), Fundación Autor, Spanish Brass and the Valencian Institute of Music.
El Tambolero is an original and spectacular musical fusion of the Christmas carol The Little Drummer Boy and the Bolero by Maurice Ravel . The title itself is a fusion of the titles of both works and its author is the composer and arranger Juan José Colomer .
Fum, Fum, Fum is a traditional Catalan Christmas carol. Joan Amades believes that it has its origins in the 16th or 17th centuries , in Catalonia . The oldest version was found in 1904 by Joaquim Pecanins , music teacher, recorded in the Christmas Matinés of Prats de Llusanés. The meaning of the word "fum" in Catalan is "smoke" in Spanish.
Today it is offered to us by the Vancouver Youth Choir Junior accompanied by a string quartet all conducted by teacher Carrie Tennant .
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Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Today we meet one of the three giants of Western music along with Mozart and Beethoven . He was a German violinist, organist, conductor and composer, born in Eisenach into the most prominent musical family in history. In 1703 he obtained his first job in Arndstat and in 1707 he moved to Mülhausen as an organist, where he married his cousin Maria Barbara with whom he had seven children. After the death of his wife in 1720, he remarried Mary Magdalene with whom he would have another thirteen children. In 1723 he moved to Leipzig where he would reside until his death at the age of 65. Considered one of the three main geniuses in the History of Music along with Mozart and Beethoven, his influence has been notable on Haydn , Mozart , Beethoven , Mendelssohn , Schumann , Chopin ... and many other renowned composers.
Oratorio is a dramatic musical genre, unlike opera , without staging, costumes, or sets. Generally composed for solo voices, choir and symphony orchestra, sometimes with a narrator, its theme is frequently religious (stories from the Bible or the Gospel , from the life of Jesus or the lives of saints, etc.), but can also be be profane (mythological heroes, historical themes, hymn to nature, etc.). Its main characteristics are generally A) A general structure in several parts, frequently three, (eventually preceded by an instrumental prelude). B) The presence of a narrator (external to the action or identified with a character). C) The alternation between the sung parts of arias and recitatives.
The Christmas Oratorio is composed of six cantatas to be performed on different days of the Christmas holidays: 1.- The Birth (December 25). 2.- The announcement to the shepherds (December 26). 3.- The adoration of the shepherds (on December 27). 4.- The circumcision and baptism of Jesus (January 1). 5.- The journey of the Three Wise Men (the first Sunday in January). 6.- The adoration of the Three Wise Men (January 6). Despite which, it is usually presented as a single whole or as two sets: cantatas 1, 2 and 3 on the one hand and cantatas 4, 5 and 6, on the other.
Today we offer the set of the first three cantatas (I: 1´02´´ .-. II: 28´18´´.-. III: 56´42´´) conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt (1929-2016), Austrian conductor specialized in baroque and classic music, and a pioneer in the interpretation of his works with instruments of the period and in the application of objective and historicist musicological criteria.
Barbara Hendricks (Stephens, Arkansas, November 20, 1948) is a lyric soprano and jazz performer as well as a notable exponent of Mozart operas and a first-class recitalist. In 1974 he debuted in Europe , singing at the Glyndebourne Festival and in the USA , at the San Francisco Opera and the Santa Fe Opera ; Since then, he has sung in the most relevant opera houses in the world. In 1987 she was awarded the French Legion of Honor and in 2000 she received the Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts. He is a member of the jury of the International Catalonia Prize awarded by the Generalitat of Catalonia. Hendricks has worked extensively for refugees and supports the work of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
John Williams (1932) is an American composer, conductor, pianist and trombonist, considered one of the most prolific composers of soundtracks in the history of cinema; He has composed some of the most famous and recognizable of all time such as: Star Wars, Harry Potter, Jaws, ''Catch Me If You Can''. ET, Superman, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, Home Alone and others. He has also made musical compositions for various Olympic Games , numerous television series, news broadcasts and several concert works . He has won the Oscar five times and has 52 nominations to his credit, establishing him as the second man with the most nominations for the highest award in the cinema after Walt Disney .
Christmas album. The two aforementioned artists come together today to offer us a select and varied repertoire of Christmas songs.
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) was a British pianist, conductor and composer who from a very young age showed great talent for music and at the age of 14 began receiving private lessons with Frank Bridge ; later with Ralph Vaughan Williams . At the beginning of the Second World War he moved to the USA where he wrote various orchestral and lyrical works; At the end of the war he returned to London by ship where he wrote several choral works. In 1945 he premiered his opera Peter Grimes with memorable success; although his greatest success would come with his War Requiem , a work that was intended to be a rejection of all types of war conflicts. Criticized for his active pacifism and homosexuality, he is nevertheless considered one of the most emblematic English composers of the 20th century .
A Ceremony of Carols , Op. 28, is a musical composition by Benjamin Britten for choir and harp. The work was composed in 1942 while the author was crossing the Atlantic Ocean by boat to return to England.
Structure : I (0´08´´) Procession ("Procession").-. II (2´16´´) Wolkum yole! .-. III (3´52´´) There is no Rose ("There is no rose").-. IV a (6´34´´) That yonge Child ("That young boy").-. IV b (8´19´´) Balulalow .-. V (9´49´´) As dew in Aprille ("Like the dew in April").-. VI (11´01´´) This little Babe ("This little baby").-. VII (12´42´´) Interlude ("Interlude").-. VIII (16´50´´) In freezing winter night ("In a freezing winter night").-. IX (20´57´´) Spring Carol ("Spring Christmas Carol").-. X (22´22´´) Deo Gracias ("Thanks be to God").
Today we offer it in interpretation of the St. Jacob Youth Choir accompanied on the harp by Margareta Nilsson and conducted by maestro Mikaël Wedar .
Ariel Ramírez (1921-2010) is one of the most relevant figures of Argentine nativism. He studied piano and composition, and at the age of 20, encouraged by Atahualpa Yupanqui , he traveled throughout the country contacting the different musical expressions of each region. Nine years later he made a four-year trip through Europe offering various concerts of music from his land; On his return to Argentina he formed a company made up of musicians and dancers with which he would tour the country for 20 years; After this stage he performed as a piano soloist in countless recitals in which he interspersed his own works. He wrote numerous songs and works, among which the world-famous Creole Mass stands out.
The Cantata , in its origin, is a musical piece written to be “sung” by one or more solo voices with instrumental accompaniment and generally articulated by several movements and sometimes, with a choir. Subsequently, the cantata evolves and adopts freer forms and complexions, as in the case that concerns us today.
Our Christmas is a cantata with lyrics by Félix Luna and music by Ariel Ramírez structured in six scenes or musical movements: I (0´04´´) THE ANNUNCIATION .-. II (4´15´´) THE PILGRIMAGE .-. III (10'03'') THE BIRTH .-. IV (16'32'') THE SHEPHERDS .-. V (18´45´´) THE WIZARDS .-. VI (21'16'') THE FLIGHT. Today it is offered to us by the Opera & Philharmonic Bialystok (Poland) accompanied by the Sierra Manta Group directed by maestro Violetta Bielecka
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Various Wikipedia articles have been used to write these texts.
The texts of Videomusicalis are written in Basque, Spanish and English.
