SOUND OF WINTER - WERFENWENG
Johann Sebastian Bach: Christmas Oratorio

FROM WERFEN AND THE MOUNTAINS OF SALZBURG

The Christmas story, which has shaped our cultural circle for over 1500 years, embedded in the Salzburg mountains (Werfenweng, Pfarrwerfen, Werfen, the Hohenwerfen Fortress and the giant ice caves): a region that is also characterised by contrasts and an eventful history. Bareness, hardship, political turmoil and persecution have marked the lives of people for centuries, who had to make a living from this mountain world by the simplest means. The counterpoint to this is the breathtaking beauty that is offered to the observer: the sweetness of the Werfenweng plateau, the dramatic power of the karstified mountains, the defiant defensiveness of Hohenwerfen Fortress and the magic of a winter landscape. Like no other, the time around Christmas is linked with expectations and longings, even loaded. Regardless of any religious affiliation, people are looking for quiet spots around and within themselves, for authenticity, community and a spiritual concentration on the essential. Yet no time of the year is characterized more than this by hectic, superficial consumerism, kitsch, aggression and forlornness. The Christmas story's search for hostel triggers the search for the hostel within oneself and with others, in a reality that becomes more and more incomprehensible every day.

WORK

J.S. Bach: Christmas Oratorio - Cantatas I, II, IV & VI

WITH

Soprano: Sophie Karthäuser
Mezzo-soprano: Katharina Magiera
Tenor: Michael Schade
Baritone: Christian Immler
Choir: Bachchor Salzburg
Rehersal: Alois Glaßner
Orchestra: Bach Consort Wien
Conducted by: Rubén Dubrovsky

SPECS

Running Time: 93:20
Script: Martin Pichl and Veronika Zimmermann
Directed by: Volker Werner
Artistic consulting: Philippe Arlaud
Format: Full HD, 16:9 | Color
Sound: Stereo + Dolby 5.1
Co-production: ORF III & SCARLATTI Arts international s.l.
Year: 2018
Distributed by: ORF Enterprise