Christmas Cantatas

In 1677 Johann Schelle became the music director at the Church of St. Thomas in Leipzig, succeeding his teacher Sebastian Knupfer and preceding Johann Kuhnau in this post. His own pupils included important composers like Johann Christoph Graupner, Johann David Heinichen, Reinhard Keiser, Johann Theodor Roemhildt and Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow. Schelle is known to have produced more than 180 compositions, of which unfortunately only 48 have survived. His importance lies mainly in his chorale cantatas and in the combination of Biblical texts and freely written sacred poetry he employed in his more advanced sacred concertos- an early form of what would later become the Lutheran church cantata. The present release gathers together Schelle's known compositions for Advent and Christmas. In doing so it also sheds light on the musical role of the St. Thomas Choir in Leipzig's musical culture during the final third of the 17th century.