Celebrating Christmas with Le Concert d’Astrée

“Unleashing the wild and daring side of the Baroque has been [Emmanuelle] Haïm’s mission for decades” (The New York Times). And now, she unlocks its festive side, too. As Artist Collaborator, Haïm reunites the Los Angeles Philharmonic with the choir from her acclaimed early music ensemble, Le Concert d’Astrée, for a special holiday celebration.

Joyous and uplifting, Gloria is one of Vivaldi’s most beloved pieces of sacred music. Strings, trumpet, and oboe burst into jubilant action as the singers cry out “Glory to God on high!” Haïm brings her “passionate, energetic approach…one that is as attractive as it is infectious” (Bachtrack) to Vivaldi’s choral masterpiece as well as his buoyant double trumpet concerto and feisty In furore iustissimae irae (In the fury of your righteous ire).

The first half of the program beams with bright, lively music, including Handel’s rollicking Concerto Grosso No. 5 and Corelli’s “Christmas Concerto,” a piece from 1690—a time when dancing was still prohibited in the church. Despite this, Corelli blended recognizable rhythms and abstract tempos from France’s most popular dances.

Program

• George Frideric Handel — Concerto Grosso, Op. 6, No. 5 in D major
• Antonio Vivaldi — In furore iustissimae irae, RV 626
• Arcangelo Corelli — Concerto Grosso, Op. 6, No. 8, “Christmas Concerto”
• Antonio Vivaldi — Concerto for Two Trumpets in C major, RV 537
• Antonio Vivaldi — Gloria in D major, RV 589