{"id":5818,"date":"2024-10-29T12:02:43","date_gmt":"2024-10-29T12:02:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/listvinafelag.is\/?p=5818"},"modified":"2024-10-29T12:03:34","modified_gmt":"2024-10-29T12:03:34","slug":"bachs-christmas-oratorio-in-harpa-concert-hall-on-sunday-december-29-2024-at-5-pm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/listvinafelag.is\/en\/bachs-christmas-oratorio-in-harpa-concert-hall-on-sunday-december-29-2024-at-5-pm\/","title":{"rendered":"Bach\u2018s Christmas Oratorio in Harpa Concert Hall on Sunday December 29 2024 at 5 pm."},"content":{"rendered":"

Festive Final Concert of the Reykjav\u00edk Friends of the Arts Society \u2013 Bach\u2018s Christmas Oratorio in Harpa Concert Hall<\/p>\n

The Motet Choir and Schola Cantorum, two of Iceland\u2018s leading choirs, will perform Johann Sebastian Bach\u2018s Christmas Oratorio ( Cantatas I-III & V)  with the Reykjav\u00edk International Baroque Orchestra and internationally known soloists in the magnificent Eldborg Hall of Harpa Concert Hall on Sunday December 29 at 5 pm.<\/p>\n

This festive event will be the final concert of the 42 year long remarkable history of the Reykjav\u00edk Friends of the Arts Society (formerly Hallgr\u00edmskirkja Friends of the Arts Society).<\/p>\n

J.S. Bach\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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 H\u00f6r\u00f0ur \u00c1skelsson and were for decades cornerstones of his celebrated tenure as organist and cantor of Hallgr\u00edmskirkja. The choirs have won several prizes in Iceland and internationally.<\/p>\n

\"Tuomo<\/a>

Tuomo Suni<\/p><\/div>\n

The Reykjav\u00edk 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 H\u00f6r\u00f0ur \u00c1skelsson, Artistic Director of the Reykjav\u00edk Friends of the Arts Society.<\/p>\n

All the soloists are outstanding: <\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Alex<\/a>

Alex Potter<\/p><\/div>\n

Alex Potter<\/span><\/a> 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 Reykjav\u00edk International Baroque Orchestra directed by H\u00f6r\u00f0ur \u00c1skelsson in Harpa in 2021 and has gained numerous fans in Iceland as he does wherever he sings.<\/p>\n

\"Herd\u00eds<\/a>

Herd\u00eds Anna J\u00f3nasd\u00f3ttir<\/p><\/div>\n

Icelandic soprano Herd\u00eds Anna J\u00f3nasd\u00f3ttir<\/a><\/span> has received various prizes and acknowledgement for her work. She was Singer of the Year 2022 at the Icelandic Music Awards, received Gr\u00edman, the Icelandic Performing Arts Award in 2019, and was Singer of the Year 2016 in Saarbr\u00fccken, Germany. She is highly versatile and her \u201cbrilliant, glittering soprano\u201d is admired both on the stage and in the concert hall.<\/p>\n

\"J\u00f3hann<\/a>

J\u00f3hann Kristinsson<\/p><\/div>\n

Icelandic baritone J\u00f3hann Kristinsson<\/a><\/span> 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.<\/p>\n

\"Benedikt<\/a>

Benedikt Kristj\u00e1nsson<\/p><\/div>\n

Internationally known Icelandic tenor Benedikt Kristj\u00e1nsson<\/a><\/span> will perform the role of the Evangelist and sing the tenor arias, as well as conducting the performance. Kristj\u00e1nsson is one of the most sought-after baroque singers in the world. He became famous when he sang Bach\u2018s 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\u2018s 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 Kristj\u00e1nsson has collaborated extensively with H\u00f6r\u00f0ur \u00c1skelsson and the Reykjav\u00edk Friends of the Arts Society.<\/p>\n

The Reykjav\u00edk 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\u2013III and V will be performed, each with a duration of around 30 minutes.<\/p>\n

The concert has a total duration of 2 and \u00bd hours with an intermission.<\/p>\n

Ticket sale is at tix.is.<\/p>\n

Performers:<\/p>\n

Herd\u00eds Anna J\u00f3nasd\u00f3ttir soprano<\/p>\n

Alex Potter countertenor<\/p>\n

Benedikt Kristj\u00e1nsson tenor<\/p>\n

J\u00f3hann Kristinsson bass<\/p>\n

The Motet Choir<\/p>\n

Schola Cantorum Reykjavicencis<\/p>\n

The Reykjavik International Baroque Orchestra<\/p>\n

Concertmaster: Tuomo Suni<\/p>\n

Conductor: Benedikt Kristj\u00e1nsson<\/p>\n

\"\" Christmas Oratorio brochure here<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Festive Final Concert of the Reykjav\u00edk Friends of the Arts Society \u2013 Bach\u2018s Christmas Oratorio in Harpa Concert Hall The Motet Choir and Schola Cantorum, two [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":5809,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/listvinafelag.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/listvinafelag.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/listvinafelag.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/listvinafelag.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/listvinafelag.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5818"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/listvinafelag.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5818\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5820,"href":"https:\/\/listvinafelag.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5818\/revisions\/5820"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/listvinafelag.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/listvinafelag.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/listvinafelag.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/listvinafelag.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}