NKK and CCA - Weihnachtsoratorium

Each of the six cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach´s Weihnachtsoratorium are meant for a specific day in the liturgical year. But if you put them together, the result is one of the most beautiful oratorios ever written. Performed by the Nederlands Kamerkoor (Netherlands Chamber Choir) and the Combattimento Consort Amsterdam in the Musis Sacrum in Arnhem, under the baton of Jan Willem de Vriend is the perfect way to spend your Chrismas Eve!

The Nederlands Kamerkoor (Netherlands Chamber Choir), founded by Felix de Nobel in 1937, is an independent professional vocal ensemble which concentrates on a cappella repertoire from the early Middle Ages until the present day.

The Nederlands Kamerkoor works with conductors specialized in different periods of music. In 2005 Peter Dijkstra was named Principal Guest Conductor and the Flemish early music specialist Paul Van Nevel Honorary Guest Conductor.

One concert for € 6,99 or all 3 Christmas Concerts for € 9,99
Click on the ticket at the left side, to go to the checkout page

The premiere of this webcast is on December 24^th 20:15 CET

If you don't have the opportunity to watch the performance on the premiere date, you can watch the production up to 15 January as Video on Demand at a time that suits you.

Founded in 1982 by violinist Jan Willem de Vriend, the Combattimento Consort Amsterdam has developed into a close-knit ensemble specialising in music from 1600-1800. The musicians´ wish not to focus solely on the standard repertoire has resulted in many interesting programmes featuring remarkable and little-known works, some of which are only available in manuscript. The performance of these compositions in conjunction with more familiar works has proved to be refreshing and inspiring to listeners and performers alike. Over the years the ensemble has given many memorable concerts and operatic performances including Handel´s Rodelinda, Alcina, also by Handel, and Monteverdi´s L´Orfeo, in collaboration with De Nationale Reisopera.In September 2002 the ensemble has made its debut at the Early Music Holland Festival in Utrecht, giving two performances of Rameau´s opera Platée in a co-production with Onafhankelijk Toneel and the Nationale Reisopera. In addition to numerous concerts in the Netherlands, the Combattimento Consort also appeared in various European countries and in venues outside of Europe. Successful tours in the United States, Japan and South America have always been attracting attention in national and international media. Concerts often have solo performances by members of the ensemble, but the Combattimento Consort has also worked with great performers such as Barbara Bonney, Andreas Scholl and Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Thomas Zehetmair and Sabine Meyer as well as joining forces with Collegium Vocale Gent and other groups. Several recordings have won the highest praise of the Dutch music magazine ´Luister´. Over the years, the ensemble has made numerous CD recordings, including Handels La Resurrezione. Another recent production is Der Stein der Weisen. This opera had its premiere in the Wielki Theatre in Lodz (Poland; 2003), and after that it toured in The Netherlands and Flanders. In 2004 the Combattimento Consort toured through Central Europe and The Netherlands with Handel´s opera Agrippina, the largest cultural project within the Netherlands Presidency of the European Union.lands Presidency of the European Union.

From its foundation in 1982 the Combattimento Consort Amsterdam has been directed by Jan Willen de Vriend. After studying the violin with Davina van Wely at the conservatories in Amsterdam an The Hague he performed all over the world in various chamber music combinations.

Jan Willem de Vriend studied the violin at the conservatoires of Amsterdam and The Hague. During this time there, he already conducted several opera productions, such as Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss and Silbersee by Kurt Weill. As a violinist and artistic director he has directed many remarkable concerts and opera productions in the Netherlands, and also in a number of countries across Europe, in North and South America and in Japan. With the Combattimento Consort Amsterdam, he features on numerous CDs and in many recordings for radio and television, a number of which were highly acclaimed in Dutch reviews. De Vriend was guest concertmaster with Camerata Bern and Ensemble Oriol Berlin, among others.In addition to his activities with Combattimento Consort Amsterdam, Jan Willem de Vriend is principal conductor and artistic director of the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra. Besides that, he regularly acts as the guest conductor of the Dutch Chamber Orchestra, the Brabant Orchestra, the Gelders Orchestra, the Noord Nederlands Symphony Orchestra and the Limburg Symphony Orchestra. He has made recordings for radio, television and CDs with the Radio Chamber Orchestra and the Brabant Orchestra. Abroad, he has conducted the RIAS Jugend Orchester and the Deutsche Kammer Philharmonie, among others.Opera has always played an important part in Jan Willem de Vriend´s activities. He directed various co-productions (Händel´s Rodelinda and Alcina, Monteverdi´s L´incoronnazione di Poppea and L´Orfeo, Purcell´s King Arthur and Dido and Aeneas) with the Onafhankelijk Toneel theatre company, Huis aan de Amstel and the Nationale Reisopera. Moreover, he conducted Mozart´s Die Zauberflöte with Opéra du Rhin in Strassbourg, Monteverdi´s L´Orfeo at the Luzern Opera and the opera Der Stein der Weisen as directed by Eva Buchmann, and he made an extensive tour of the Netherlands with Die Fledermaus (Strauss).

The young Austrian tenor Bernhard Berchtold was a prize-winner at numerous international competitions. Since 2003 he is a member of the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, where he appeared in roles such as Tamino, Belmonte, Rinuccio and Osman in Handel´s "Almira". New roles in 2009/10 are Ferrando and Adolar in C.M. Weber´s "Euryanthe". He guested as Belmonte at the Bayerische Staatsoper Munich, Teatro Verdi Trieste, Staatsoper Hannover and at the Ludwigsburger Schloss Festpiele 2009. He sang Alceste in Mozart´s "Ascanio in Alba" at the Teatro Communale di Bologna, Tamino at the Teatro Carlo Felice Genova. He appeared in Elektra at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, as Licone a the Theater an der Wien in Haydn´s Orlando Paladino, as Bastien in Mozart´s "Bastien and Bastienne" and as Herr Vogelsang in "The Impressario" at the Salzburg Festival under Nikolaus Harnoncourt, in 2009 as Henry in R. Strauss´ "Die schweigsame Frau" in Sevilla and in Kurt Weill´s "Die sieben Todsünden" at the Salzburg Festival under Simon Rattle. In 2010 he will return to Ludwigsburg as Lurcanio in Handel´s "Ariodante". On the concert-platform Bernhard Berchtold is focusing on works by J.S. Bach, Handel and Haydn. In 2009/10 he recorded Handel´s "La Resurezzione" with the NDR Choir and Orchestra of Hanover under Michael Hofstetter and he will sing Bach-Cantatas at the Bachakedemie Stuttgart as well as various concerts in Japan, South America and Europe under conductors such as Sebastian Weigle, Christian Arming, Enoch zu Guttenberg, Jan Willem de Vriend, Ton Koopman and Martin Haselboeck.

Soprano Heleen Koele rounded off her solo voice studies at the Conservatory of Zwolle in 1991. Thereafter she was coached by Cora Canne Meijer, and currently by Charlotte Margiono. Heleen is active in as many areas of her profession as possible. For instance, together with pianist Steven Faber she forms a duo which gives song recitals throughout the country. They also recently recorded a CD of songs about youth, entitled: "I am a person too", a CD which was very well received by the press. Heleen has performed the Four last songs of Richard Strauss with the Netherlands Youth Orchestra conducted by Jurjen Hempel. She also loves singing and acting in opera repertoire, for example in the title role in Suor Angelica and the role of Santuzza in Mascagni´s Cavalleria Rusticana. Furthermore, Heleen is much in demand for oratorio, and as such has sung many diverse works: from Bach´s St. Matthew Passion to Verdi´s Requiem. In recent seasons Heleen Koele has appeared at various opera festivals, where her performances have included works by Schubert, her first comic role, in Daniel Aubert´s Fra Diavolo, and the theatre production "Who is Mignon?", with music by Hugo Wolf and Steven Faber. Heleen has been a member of the Nederlands Kamerkoor since 1998, and has also sung many solos in that context, e.g. in Mozart´s Requiem conducted by Jaap van Zweden and in Thamos under Kenneth Montgomery. Her recent appearance as soloist in Brahms´ Requiem with the NKK and Marcus Creed was a huge success. One quote from the press: "The most warmth was radiated by soprano Heleen Koele. Her gilt-edged voice infused "Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit" with a rare and intense glow."

Karin has been a member of the Nederlands Kamerkoor since 1996. After studying voice at the Utrecht Conservatory, she developed into a versatile singer, at home in all types of repertoire. Ensemble singing has always been a central theme of her musical career, and she has also managed to develop her skill as a soloist in many different respects. Although she originally showed a preference for song repertoire, she has also gradually grown to feel at home in the mezzo repertoire in oratorios from Bach to Rossini. Her voice has been heard in a number of opera productions too, and she has taken part in several premières of works by contemporary composers. Within the Nederlands Kamerkoor she has often appeared and continues to appear as a soloist, for instance recently in the première of the chamber opera Die Todesfrau by Hans Kox. Alongside her job with the Nederlands Kamerkoor Karin loves her work as a singing coach at the Utrecht School of the Arts.

When he was 12 years old Albert van Ommen joined the North Holland Boys´ Choir in Alkmaar and there received singing and piano lessons. Starting in 1989 he studied at the Sweelinck Conservatorium in Amsterdam with Margreet Honig, Maarten Koningsberger and Paula de Wit, and in 1996 gained his qualification in music education. Albert then continued his studies at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague, with Diane Forlano and Rita Dams, and in 1998 graduated as performing musician. Alongside these studies he was also studying at the Opera Academy set up by the conservatories of Amsterdam and The Hague. Here he sang the role of Lysander in Britten´s A Midsummer Night´s Dream, the title role in Cavalli´s Egisto, Tamino in Mozart´s Die Zauberflöte and Bartley in Vaughan Williams´ Riders to the Sea, all of which productions were conducted by Kenneth Montgomery. Accompanied by his wife, pianist Natasja Douma, Albert has sung many recitals of lieder by Schumann, Schubert, Brahms and Strauss, but he is also active in the field of oratorio. He has worked with the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra under Yakov Kreizberg and given concerts with pianist Rudolf Jansen. Alongside his work with the NKK Albert also appears regularly with Paul Van Nevel´s Huelgas Ensemble.

Jasper Schweppe studied voice with Lodewijk Meeuwsen at Zwolle Conservatory, graduating in music education in 1995. He then continued his studies with Meinard Kraak at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague, gaining his performance degree in 1998. During this period he sang for one season in the ensemble of The Phantom of the Opera, in Joop van den Ende´s production in Scheveningen. Following this he was employed as a first bass in the Netherlands Radio Choir between 1996 and 2005. As a member of the choir he took part in countless productions of large-scale works with famous conductors. Since 2005 he has had a contract with the Nederlands Kamerkoor, and also sings freelance with the Netherlands Radio Choir and the Amsterdam Baroque Choir. In 1999 Jasper won the Musicora Découvertes, an international competition, held in Paris, based around French 20th-century song.This resulted in various invitations to give recitals in France, among others from Radio France. Jasper Schweppe sings Gregorian chant (with the Hartkeriana ensemble), and Renaissance, Baroque, early and late Romantic and contemporary repertoire. He has taken part in various opera productions, including Les Indes Galantes by Rameau with the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century conducted by Frans Brüggen, and Bacchus, Ceres and Venus by Schenck with Camerata Trajectina. He has been a guest at the Musica Sacra Festival in Maastricht, the Early Music Festival in Utrecht, the International Gregorian Festival of Watou, the Ambronay Ancient Music Festival, the Festival de Montfaucon, the Festival de Gerberoy and the Flanders Festival. He has also performed as a soloist in both concerts and CD recordings with various ensembles, such as the Huelgas Ensemble, Camerata Trajectina, Capilla Flamenca, Currende, the Radio Chamber Orchestra, Egidius Kwartet, Weser Renaissance, Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, Asko-Schönberg Ensemble, Tölzer Knabenchor, Hartkeriana, Netherlands Wind Ensemble, Nieuw Amsterdams Peil and Cappella Figuralis.

Johann Sebastian Bach 1685-1750
Weihnachtsoratorium, BWV 248