Francesco Manfredini:
Sinfonia »per il santissimo Natale« D-Dur, Op. 2/12

Giovanni Domenico Ferrandini:
Sinfonia pastorale D-Dur

Georg Philipp Telemann:
Trompetenkonzert D-Dur, TWV 51:D7

Pavel Josef Vejvanovsky:
Sonata natalis

Georg Friedrich Händel:
Pifa (aus Messiah)

Johann Sebastian Bach:
Sinfonia (aus Weihnachtsoratorium)

Johann Heinrich Schmelzer:
Sonata a tre »La Pastorale«

Antonio Vivaldi:
Concerto f-Moll »L‘Inverno«, RV 297

Johann Melchior Molter:
Concerto pastorale G-Dur

Giovanni Zamboni:
Pastorale

Johann Pfeiffer:
Pastorale (aus Ouverture in G-Dur)

Arcangelo Corelli:
Concerto grosso »per la notte di natale«, Op. 6/8

Pastorale calabrese (traditional)

It was in the Baroque period that composers first began to compose music for Christmas that reflected the special character of the Feast: it is not yet the cosy charm of candles, the Christmas tree and "Silent Night" that emerged in the 19th century, but of festivity and joy. The feast of the Lord's birth was to be duly celebrated, and it is the numerous Christmas oratorios and cantatas that express this. In addition to vast amounts of vocal music, there are also some instrumental works that were written especially for the Christmas feast and are presented here as a programme: the ?Pastorale?, the music of the shepherds, with its characteristic swaying rhythm is quite typical of this and therefore gives the CD its name.

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Recordings: 4-7 February 2013, Kath. Kirche Seeven (Switzerland) [Tr. 1]; 15-18 July 2019, Studio Griffa, Milan (Switzerland) [2, 20]; 1-4 December 2010, Studio Stolberger Straße, Köln (Germany) [3]; 13-15 January 2017, AMUZ, Antwerp (Belgium) [4-7].