This innovative program presents an imaginary Christmas oratorio consisting of works by German composers from the 17th century. Many of these works are unpublished and come from the magnificent Düben collection in the library of the University of Uppsala; they are arranged here in an order that introduces the scenes and main characters of the Nativity: Maria, Jozef, the archangel Gabriël, the angels, the shepherds, the wise men and Simeon. These works belong to the genre of historia sacra and depict the dialogue of the Annunciation between the archangel Gabriël and Maria, the arrival of the Wise Men - led by angels - at the manger and the scene in which Maria and Jozef seek Jesus in the Temple. These narrative scenes contrast with the large ensembles representing the angels, the shepherds and the worshipping crowd at the manger. The instruments also play an important role with their contrasting timbres in this celebration. This recording contains works by Andreas Hammerschmidt, Wolfgang Carl Briegel, Christian Flor, Christoph Bernhard, Heinrich Schütz, Franz Tunder, David Pohle and Thomas Selle.
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