Episode 228. Song Cycles for Christmas

Episode 228. Song Cycles for Christmas

For my second holiday episode this year, I turn to the music of my “other” country, Germany, the land of my forebears, where I have lived for the last decade. Christmas is celebrated in a different way here than anywhere else in the world in my experience. I have chosen to play music by German composers who in effect created a subgenre, the Christmas song cycle. The most famous of these is no doubt the Weihnachtslieder cycle by the 19th century German composer Peter Cornelius, who set a standard that was furthered by a number of 20th century composers as well: Joseph Haas (Krippenlieder), Richard Trunk (Weihnachtslieder), and Mark Lothar (Kleine Weihnachtsgeschichte). In these works certain interesting tropes recur, both theological (primary among them the inner thoughts and premonitions of Mary) and psychological (experiencing the return of a more innocent time by seeing the joy of the season through the eyes of a child). I have chosen recordings by singers both celebrated (Irmgard Seefried, Peter Schreier) and less well-known (Wolfgang Anheisser, Nikolaus Hillebrand), all of whom give performances that I hope will bring us closer to the spirit of the season.

RECORDINGS HEARD IN THIS EPISODE

Peter Cornelius (words and music): Weihnachtslieder, Op. 8. Irmgard Seefried, Erik Werba [1955]:

• I. Christbaum
• II. Die Hirten
• III. Die Könige
• IV. Simeon
• V. Christus der Kinderfreund
• VI. Christkind

Joseph Haas, poets as noted below: Sechs Krippenlieder, Op. 49. Nos. 1-5: Peter Schreier, Norman Shetler [1979]; No. 6: Olaf Bär, Helmut Deutsch [1996]:

• I. Weihnachtslegende (Alice Freiin von Gaudy)
• II. O puer optime (Anton Müller)
• III. Die beweglichste Musika (Angelus Silesius)
• IV. Weihnachtslied (P. Gaudentius Koch)
• V. Marien Kind (Lulu von Strauss und Torney)
• VI. Die heiligen drei Könige (Adolf Holst)

Richard Trunk, poets as noted below: Weihnachtslieder, Op. 61. Wolfgang Anheisser, Julius Severin [1969]:

• I. Advent (Adolf Holst)
• II. Weihnachten {Albert Sergel)
• III. Maria (Christoph Flaskamp)
• IV. In der Krippe (Siegfried von Vegesack)
• V. Die heiligen drei Könige (anonymous)
• VI. Idyll (Gustav Falks)
• VII. Christbaum (Ada Christen)

Mark Lothar, Inge Karsten: two excerpts from Kleine Weihnachtsgeschichte, Op. 51. Nikolaus Hillebrand, Mark Lothar [1979]

• Maria in der Nacht
• Morgenröte

Max Reger, Martin Boelitz: Mariä Wiegenlied, Op. 76/52. Irmgard Seefried, Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Robert Heger, Orchester der Bayerischen Staatsoper, München [1970]