SATB vocal soli, SATB
choir and orchestra
SKU: CA.9700700
Christmas Oratorio in
Two Parts. Composed
by Joseph Leopold Eybler.
Edited by Karl Michael
Waltl. Arranged by Paul
Horn. Sacred vocal music,
Oratorios, Christmas.
Full score. 248 pages.
Duration 80 minutes.
Carus Verlag #CV
97.007/00. Published by
Carus Verlag
(CA.9700700).
ISBN
9790007164713. Text
language:
German.
Joseph
Leopold Eybler had
frequent contacts with
the great composers of
his day: both Joseph
Haydn and Albrechtsberger
were his teachers and
friends, and he had a
close friendship with
Mozart and Johann Michael
Haydn. His major
Christmas oratorio Die
Hirten bei der Krippe zu
Bethlehem (1794) was
composed four years
before Haydn's Die
Schopfung (The Creation).
The almost operatic work
displays a wealth of
different facets: from
the virtuoso aria,
through the tranquil
depiction of nature in
music, to the portrayal
of the most heartfelt
emotions. As a true jewel
of Viennese classicism,
Die Hirten (The
Shepherds) is a
worthwhile addition to
the Christmas
repertoire.