Die Geburt Christi

Herzogenberg's oratorio "The Birth of Christ" was quite extraordinary for it's time. Large-scale religious music was no longer fashionable, and even most Masses were written for the concert hall rather than for the church. Herzongenberg's Die Geburt Christi is scored for a large orchestra, choir, children's chorus, soloists and organ, deftly combining the contrapuntal textures of Bach with the late romantic harmonic language of Brahms.