New Year's Concert - Multi-choir Works by Michael Praetorius

Musical-festive conclusion of the Christmas season with the Zwerenberger Vocal Ensemble under the direction of Ulrich Seeger. Traditionally, festive music from the early Baroque period is performed at the Christmas-themed New Year concerts in Zwerenberg. Under the title "Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr," Ulrich Seeger brings together a representative selection of sonorous works from the extensive oeuvre of Michael Praetorius. This includes magnificent two- to four-choir choral concertos based on Christmas hymns such as "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland," "Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ," "In dulci jubilo," "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern," and a Magnificat in German. This year, Ulrich Seeger dedicates the program to the composer Michael Praetorius, a contemporary of Heinrich Schütz, who lived from 1571 to 1621. His most famous work is undoubtedly the equally simple and beautiful choral setting of "Es ist ein Ros entsprungen," but Michael Praetorius also created many larger-scale, multi-choir works with which he introduced the new concert style from Italy to Germany as one of the first. He stands close to Gabrieli and Schütz in this regard. Praetorius's father was a student of Johann Walter, Luther's closest musical companion, and thus Praetorius became one of the most important representatives of Protestant church music of his time, alongside Schütz. Another performance will take place on Monday, January 5, 2026, at 7:00 PM at the Evangelical Reconciliation Church in Calw-Heumaden.