The many sided and productive Michael Praetorius (1571-1621) is knwon as a composer of dance music sacred music and music for the advent and Christmas time. He worked as Kapelmeister to the court at Wolffenbuttel but he was also asked to serve in other places includin Dresden. Praetorius was valued for the new impulses he gave to music by means of his use of instrumental accompaniment. His main contribution is his theoretical work 'Syntagma Musicum' one of the most important musical refernce books in connection with instruments and instrumentation in the early 17th Century. 'Es ist ein ros entsprungen' is a well known ancient melody which has inspired numerous composers andarrangers througout the Centuries. Otto M. Schwarz has made a choral arrangement.

This splendid Christmas work gives you a three verse setting of the ancient melody In Dulci Jubilo which is generally associated with the text Good Christian Men Rejoyce. There is however a slight twist to this version in that each verse is a setting by three different composers covering over 300 years. The first setting is by the German composer Michael Praetorius (1571-1621) the second by JS Bach (1685-1750) and the third by the English romantic composer Sir John Stainer (1840 - 1901). The different verses are a fascinating study in the development of harmony and rhythmic style and give a brief glimpse into the personality and compositional styles of each composer.

Patrick Millstone based his Dance of the Shepherds on the song Quem pastores laudavere by Michael Praetorius.After an upbeat flashy introduction you can hear this wonderful Christmas song. A good choice for a Christmas concert or church service!

Le célèbre choral Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen (D?un arbre séculaire) a été écrit par le compositeur allemand Michael Praetorius (1571-1621). Christmas Variations de Roland Kernen est une suite de variations sur ce choral.