Gesine Adler - Soprano

Julia Böhme - Alto

Robert Sellier - Tenor

Clemens Heidrich - Bass

Stadtsingechor zu Halle & Universitätschor Halle »Johann Friedrich Reichhardt« - Chorus

Jens Lorenz & Clemens Flämig - Conductors

The first performance took place on Saturday evening in the Stadthalle in Zerbst. It is a beautiful building on a grand scale, all white, with ornate plasterwork and a recessed ceiling detail. The acoustic did not feel so generous, despite the size of the hall, though the concert was very enjoyable.

I have wanted to visit Zerbst ever since I discovered that Johann Friedrich Fasch (1688 - 1758) had been the Kapellmeister at the court there, from 1722 until his death in 1758. Sadly, we didn't have much time between the rehearsal and the performance to explore. We were in the middle of the Schloßgarten, it was freezing cold (and dark) outside and accessing the centre of Zerbst was sadly impractical. Hopefully next time! After the performance, the orchestra and choirs boarded several coaches back to Halle and the bus journey proved to be very sociable, with a really fun post-concert atmosphere on-board.

Sunday's 6pm performance took place in the Marktkirche in Halle. It was a fantastic concert and the more generous acoustic helped the musicians to really blossom and enjoy the performance. The atmosphere was amazing and the audience filled every available space, including up in the gallery. 

The concert concluded with a special encore of just eight bars - featuring the 'Hallelujah' motif from Handel's 'Messiah' - this being Handel's hometown and the church where Handel had learnt to play the organ. The words had been changed to 'Frohe Weihnachten' instead of 'Hallelujah' and it was a suitably joyous way of culminating the concert.

Afterwards, several of the musicians enjoyed the nearby Christmas Market in the Marktplatz in Halle. I had made friends with several of the players on the bus journey back from Zerbst - all great people and the most wonderful, kind characters.

I woke early the next morning to join another Christmas Oratorio project in Luxembourg and Metz and had adjusted my original travel plan - which would have involved traveling via Berlin on the day of the lorry attack on the Christmas Market there.