AVROTROS Christmas Concert

A heartwarming Christmas concert featuring the Grand Omroepkoor and the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Marcus Creed. On the program Maria motets by Mozart and English choral music for Christmas.

Marian Motets by Mozart
For this Christmas concert, the Groot Omroepkoor and the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra are conducted by Marcus Creed. He is one of the most important choral conductors of our time and once began his career with the Choir of King's College, Cambridge.
The first movement is dedicated to Mary, the mother of Christ. She is widely honored in the Church as the most important woman in Christianity. She has been the subject of countless magnificent compositions over the centuries. In this concert, two of Mozart's finest, written in his Salzburg years. Of great beauty is the Marian antiphon Regina coeli, with, in addition to the choir, some great and virtuosic solos for the soprano.

English choral music for Christmas
The second part focuses on Christmas itself with music by two English composers who have made their mark in English religious choral music. The instrumental Intrada. with which Finzi's cantata Dies Natalis opens, beautifully captures the mood of the mystical poetry in the remainder of the composition. In terra pax by the same composer sets the Christmas story in a wintry English landscape of Finzi's time.
The Fantasy on Christmas Carols by Vaughan Williams is a feast of recognition in which several English Christmas carols, also known and loved in the Netherlands, pass in review. Together with soprano Julia Lezhneva and baritone Gabriel Rollinson, choir and orchestra make this Christmas concert a heartwarming experience.