December 1723. Johann Sebastian Bach has just assumed his position as cantor at St. Thomas Church and is celebrating his first winter in Leipzig. For this 25th of December, he composes the first version of what will become one of his most famous masterpieces : his Magnificat.

Some four hundred years later, the sequence of the vespers that enchanted the Nikolaikirche on Christmas Day is now well known. It is precisely this sequence that Vincent Dumestre recreates, in the manner envisioned by the cantor : Bach introduced the Leipzig audience to new works of his own composition, such as the original version of the Magnificat, written specifically for the occasion, or the cantata Christen, ätzet diesen Tag BWV 63. But he combined these with the long-standing tradition of Leipzig’s cantors, incorporating these new works among the motets, chorals, or hymns found in the Florilegium Portense collection, arranged and edited by Erhard Bodenschatz – a century earlier ! – or in the Gesangbuch of Gottfried Vopelius. And to conclude these vespers on the late afternoon of December 25th, 1723, the hymn Gott sei uns gnädig und barmherzig was sung – a hymn as simple as it is moving, as the epilogue to the very first performance of the Magnificat, a masterpiece that continues to echo today on stages around the world.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Magnificat

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Nun Komm der Heiden Heiland BWV 659

Erhard Bodenschatz (1576-1636)

Alleluia

 Johann Sebastian Bach

L’Offrance musicale : chaconne en ré BWV 1079

Johann Sebastian Bach

Cantate Christen, Ätzet diesen Tag BWV 63

1. Coro : « Christen, ätzet diesen Tag’ »
2. Recitativo : « O selger Tag! o ungemeines Heute »
3. Aria : « Gott, du hast es wohl gefüget »
4. Recitativo : « So kehret sich nun heut »
5. Aria : « Ruft und fleht den Himmel an »
6. Recitativo : « Verdoppelt euch demnach »
7. Coro : « Höchster, schau’ in Gnaden an »

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