The central event of the VII Moscow Christmas Festival was the performance of the «Christmas Oratorio» by Johann Sebastian Bach. Musicians from Russia, Germany and Austria joined forces on the stage of the Svetlanov Hall of the Moscow International Music House.

The «Christmas Oratorio» consists of six cantatas, each of which Bach once presented to the parishioners of his church as an independent work: he began to perform on 25 December 1734 and finished on 6 January 1735. The audience at the House of Music decided not to overburden themselves and limited themselves to the first half of the oratorio, covering events ranging from the journey of Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem to the worship of a newborn baby by shepherds.

The Moscow Virtuosi Orchestra under the direction of guest German conductor Hans-Christoph Rademann and the vocal ensemble Intrada of Ekaterina Antonenko performed the brightest and cloudless part of the work in a manner that is as solemn as it is – without excessive pompousness, but without deliberate «drying out», which is sometimes the sin of radical authenticists.

Soloists, including domestic ones, did not do any worse. Although their very choice revealed a typical problem of the Russian vocal school – the lack of purely baroque voices. Artists of the New Opera Anastasia Belukova (soprano), Polina Shamaeva (mezzo-soprano) and Dmitry Orlov (bass) confidently overcame all technical difficulties, but the character of their vocals was somewhat more operatic and «juicy» than in the traditions of authenticity. On the other hand, the European guests – Bach’s bass Tobias Berndt and tenor Paul Schweinester, who performed the recitatives of the Evangelist and the most virtuoso aria of the oratorio – Frohe Hirten eilt, ach eilet, demonstrated a perfect fit in style.

However, Polina Shamaeva should be singled out from our compatriots: the wide breathing and evenness of the sound in Schlafe’s aria, mein Liebster could not help but be delighted, and only the host’s insistent request not to applaud between the parts kept the audience from applauding.

At the end of the third cantata, however, music lovers celebrated the artists for several minutes, literally «tirelessly». Happy Hans-Christophe Rademann decided to repeat the first number of the oratorio as a return thank you. The conductor’s overwhelming joy was visible to the naked eye: restrained during the main part of the evening, he danced on his beads and made spectacular theatre gestures.

It was at that moment that his harmony with the audience was maximal – just like with Bach himself. The opening lines «Praise, Jubilate and Celebrate» were perceived by musicians and listeners as a guide to action.