Festive Final Concert of the Reykjavík Friends of the Arts Society – Bach‘s Christmas Oratorio in Harpa Concert Hall

The Motet Choir and Schola Cantorum, two of Iceland‘s leading choirs, will perform Johann Sebastian Bach‘s Christmas Oratorio ( Cantatas I-III & V)  with the Reykjavík International Baroque Orchestra and internationally known soloists in the magnificent Eldborg Hall of Harpa Concert Hall on Sunday December 29 at 5 pm.

This festive event will be the final concert of the 42 year long remarkable history of the Reykjavík Friends of the Arts Society (formerly Hallgrímskirkja Friends of the Arts Society).

J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio is one of the most celebrated pieces of musical history, performed around the world during the Christmas season, telling the story of the birth of Jesus through music in the most moving way.

The two choirs will be performing the Christmas Oratorio together for the first time. The Motet Choir’s most recent performance of the oratorio in Harpa in 2021 was a great success and the choir received the Icelandic Music Award for its achievement. Both choirs were founded by Hörður Áskelsson and were for decades cornerstones of his celebrated tenure as organist and cantor of Hallgrímskirkja. The choirs have won several prizes in Iceland and internationally.

Tuomo Suni

The Reykjavík International Baroque Orchestra is playing the oratorio for the sixth time. The orchestra is comprised of first class musicians from all over the world and has received much praise for its performances. Concertmaster is excellent Finnish violinist Tuomo Suni who has led the orchestra superbly under the baton of Hörður Áskelsson, Artistic Director of the Reykjavík Friends of the Arts Society.

All the soloists are outstanding: 

Alex Potter

Alex Potter from England is one of the foremost countertenors in the world and a highly respected interpreter of baroque music. He performed the alto part of the Christmas Oratorio to great acclaim with the Motet Choir and the Reykjavík International Baroque Orchestra directed by Hörður Áskelsson in Harpa in 2021 and has gained numerous fans in Iceland as he does wherever he sings.

Herdís Anna Jónasdóttir

Icelandic soprano Herdís Anna Jónasdóttir has received various prizes and acknowledgement for her work. She was Singer of the Year 2022 at the Icelandic Music Awards, received Gríman, the Icelandic Performing Arts Award in 2019, and was Singer of the Year 2016 in Saarbrücken, Germany. She is highly versatile and her “brilliant, glittering soprano” is admired both on the stage and in the concert hall.

Jóhann Kristinsson

Icelandic baritone Jóhann Kristinsson is a recipient of numerous awards. This year he received the Icelandic Music Award as Singer of the Year and he won the prestigious singing competition “Stella Maris”, where he also received the Jury Prize of the Vienna Musikverein. He has worked with renowned conductors such as Herbert Blomstedt, Bertrand de Billy and Kent Nagano and collaborated with numerous prestigious orchestras. Kristinsson was the bass soloist in the award-winning performance of the Christmas Oratorio in Harpa in 2021.

Benedikt Kristjánsson

Internationally known Icelandic tenor Benedikt Kristjánsson will perform the role of the Evangelist and sing the tenor arias, as well as conducting the performance. Kristjánsson is one of the most sought-after baroque singers in the world. He became famous when he sang Bach‘s St. John Passion arranged for three performers in a live performance from the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig on Good Friday 2020. As Evangelist in Bach‘s Passions and Christmas Oratorio and tenor soloist in various other oratorios he has performed around the world with esteemed orchestras and worked with distinguished conductors such as Reinhard Goebel, Hans-Christoph Rademann and Philippe Herreweghe. In the last several years Kristjánsson has collaborated extensively with Hörður Áskelsson and the Reykjavík Friends of the Arts Society.

The Reykjavík Friends of the Arts Society invites you to join in this festive celebration with one the greatest masterpieces of the musical repertoire, with around 100 performers on stage, including world-renowned musicians specializing in historical and baroque performance. During the concert, Cantatas I–III and V will be performed, each with a duration of around 30 minutes.

The concert has a total duration of 2 and ½ hours with an intermission.

Ticket sale is at tix.is.

Performers:

Herdís Anna Jónasdóttir soprano

Alex Potter countertenor

Benedikt Kristjánsson tenor

Jóhann Kristinsson bass

The Motet Choir

Schola Cantorum Reykjavicencis

The Reykjavik International Baroque Orchestra

Concertmaster: Tuomo Suni

Conductor: Benedikt Kristjánsson

 Christmas Oratorio brochure here