Intro
A Christmas program having as central piece Charpentier's famous Messe de Minuit pour la Nuit de Noel (1694) based on folk songs (Messe de Minuit pour la Nuit de Noel). In this delightful work, the composer ingeniously incorporates 11 folk melodies into the liturgical context.
Also in the program, Charpentier' pastoral In Nativitatem Domini Nostri Jesu Christi Canticum ( Song of the Birth of Our Lord Jesus) and Michel Corrette's Christmas Symphonies.
PHOENIX performs from yet unpublished scholarly editions of the two works made respectively by Prof. David Schildkret of Arizona State University (Midnight Mass) and Dr. John Powell of University of Tulsa (In Nativitatem), to whom we are indebted.
Artists
Conductor and Musical director: Myrna Herzog
Soloists: VOCE PHOENIX
Hadas Faran-Asia: soprano
Ella Wilhem: alto
Eliav Lavi: tenor
Guy Pelc: bass
Ensemble PHOENIX :
Jonathan Keren and Katya Polin - baroque violins
Adi Silberberg – recorder
Shira ben Yehoshua - baroque oboe and recorder
Myrna Herzog & Sonia Navot - viols
Inbar Navot - baroque bassoon
Adiel Shmit – baroque cello
Marina Minkin - harpsichord
Eliav Lavi - theorbo.
Reviews
"The instrumental mix [was] rich and variously colored in timbres, the singers – both solo and in ensemble – blending smoothly with the instruments. There was fine teamwork. Herzog’s reading of the work encouraged suave dynamic changes, embellishments, coquettishly swayed rhythms, gentle dissonances and florid endings, offering her singers and players opportunities for personal expression. There is much to be said for one-to-a-part playing and singing: when performed well, no gesture is lost in this ideal, transparent setting. Such was the case in PHOENIX’s delightful concert".
Pamela Hickman's Concert Critique Blog
