Christmas Mass (Christmette) - CD | Paul McCreesh & Gabrieli Consort & Players: Lutheran Mass for Christmas Morning

Product Information

• UPC: 028943993128
• Product Type: Audio CD
• Genre: Classical/Baroque/Sacred Music
• Format: Compact Disc Digital Audio
• Label: Archiv Produktion (Deutsche Grammophon)
• Catalog Number: 439931-2
• Duration: 79'00 minutes
• Recording Method: DDD (Digital recording, mixing, and mastering)
• Release Year: 1994
• Recording Location: Roskilde Cathedral, Denmark, 10/1993

Overview

"Christmas Mass" (Christmette) is a meticulously researched and brilliantly performed historical reconstruction of a Lutheran Christmas morning service as it might have been celebrated around 1620. Conducted by Paul McCreesh, the acclaimed Gabrieli Consort & Players—playing on authentic period instruments—collaborate with the Boys' Choir and Congregational Choir of Roskilde Cathedral to recreate the magnificent soundscape of German Lutheran worship during the early Baroque period. The recording primarily features the majestic music of Michael Praetorius (1571-1621), supplemented with works by his contemporaries Samuel Scheidt and Johann Hermann Schein. This landmark production captures the full liturgical journey of a Christmas service, including processionals, hymns, motets, organ voluntaries, Biblical readings, and ceremonial elements, resulting in an immersive experience that transports listeners to a 17th-century German cathedral. The recording has been praised for its historical authenticity, vibrant performances, and the sumptuous acoustic of Denmark's Roskilde Cathedral.

Product Features

• Format: Audio CD
• Recording Quality: DDD Digital Stereo
• Performance: Period instruments and historically informed practice
• Languages: Latin and German (original liturgical languages)
• Documentation: 44-page booklet with notes in English, German, French, and Italian
• Additional Content: Complete sung texts in original German with English translation
• Performance Forces: Vocal soloists, boys' choir, congregational choir, and period instrument ensemble

Interesting Facts

Historical Reconstruction:

This recording is not simply a collection of Christmas music but a complete reconstruction of a Lutheran Christmas service from the early 17th century. Paul McCreesh extensively researched historical documents, including Praetorius's own writings on performance practice, to create a historically authentic sequence encompassing all elements of the liturgy—from the opening processional to the final recessional.

Authentic Instrumentation:

The recording features an extraordinary array of period instruments including cornetts, sackbuts (early trombones), dulcians, crumhorns, recorders, shawms, rackets, baroque violins, violas, bass violins (early cellos), violones, theorbos, organs, regals, harpsichords, virginals, percussion, and even period drums. This creates the rich, colorful sound palette that would have been heard in the grand German cathedrals of the early 17th century.

Musical Innovation:

Michael Praetorius was a pivotal figure in the development of Lutheran church music, blending traditional German hymns with the latest Italian musical innovations of his time. This recording showcases his genius in combining these elements, particularly in his polychoral works that create magnificent spatial effects with multiple choirs and instrumental groups performing antiphonally.

Cultural Importance:

The Lutheran Christmas Mass held special significance in German religious and cultural life. This recording provides insight into how worship music functioned as both a communal devotional practice and a powerful artistic expression during a formative period in European music history, when the early Baroque style was emerging from Renaissance practices.

Track Listing

1. Processional: "Christum Wir Sollen Loben Schon" (Lucas Osiander) - 3:14
2. Introit: "Puer Natus in Bethlehem" (Praetorius) - 7:29
3. Kyrie (Missa: Gantz Teudsch) (Praetorius) - 4:31
4. Gloria (Missa: Gantz Teudsch) (Praetorius) - 7:36
5. Collect: "Der Herr Sei Mit Euch" (Praetorius) - 1:08
6. Epistle: "So Schreibt Der Heilig Propheten Jesajas" (Praetorius) - 2:01
7. Organ Prelude: "Praeambulum" (Anonymous) - 1:09
8. Gradual Hymn: "Vom Himmel Hoch Da Komm Ich Her" (Praetorius) - 4:03
9. Gospel: "So Schreibt Der Heilige Lukas" (Praetorius) - 3:51
10. Credo: "Wir Glauben All An Einen Gott" (Samuel Scheidt) - 5:12
11. Organ Prelude: "Resonet In Laudibus" (Anonymous) - 1:09
12. Pulpit Hymn: "Quem Pastores Laudavere" (Praetorius) - 4:36
13. Sonata: "Padouana A 5" (Johann Hermann Schein) - 3:05
14. The Lord's Prayer: "Vater Unser" / Words of Institution: "Unser Herr Jesus Christus" (Praetorius) - 2:35
15. Sanctus Motet: "Jesaja Dem Propheten Das Geschah" (Praetorius) - 6:25
16. Organ Prelude: "Wie Schön Leuchtet Der Morgenstern" (Samuel Scheidt) - 1:35
17. Communion Motet: "Wie Schön Leuchtet Der Morgenstern" (Praetorius) - 3:26
18. Communion Motet: "Uns Ist Ein Kindlein Heut Geborn" (Praetorius) - 2:11
19. Post-Communion: "Der Herr Sei Mit Euch" (Praetorius) - 1:19
20. Benediction: "Der Herr Segne Dich Und Behüte Dich" (Praetorius) - 1:02
21. Final Hymn: "Puer Nobis Nascitur" (Praetorius) - 2:56
22. Organ Voluntary: "Nun Lob Mein Seel" (Praetorius) - 3:04
23. Recessional: "In Dulci Jubilo" (Praetorius) - 5:23

Performers

• Direction: Paul McCreesh
• Gabrieli Consort: Vocal ensemble
• Gabrieli Players: Period instrument orchestra
• Boys' Choir and Congregational Choir of Roskilde Cathedral
• Choir Directors: Kristian Olesen, Finn Evald
• Celebrant: Raimund Nolte (bass)
• Various period instruments: Cornetts, sackbuts, recorders, shawms, dulcians, crumhorns, rackets, strings, organs, keyboards, and percussion

Production

• Recording Producer: Jörg Ritter
• Balance Engineer: Andrew Wedman
• Recording Engineer: Jürgen Bulgrin
• Executive Producer: Dr. Peter Czornyj
• Recorded at: Roskilde Cathedral, Denmark, October 1993

Publishers

Published by Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg. ℗ 1994 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg.

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