BEETHOVEN, L. V. - Christus Am ?lberge/Elegischer Gesang (Sealed) (CD)

Ludwig van Beethoven’s only oratorio Christus am Olberge (‘Christ on the Mount of Olives’) portrays Jesus’ emotional struggles in the garden of Gethsemane before being seized by soldiers and taken for crucifixion. The work has an Italianate form with recitatives, arias and choruses, and its operatic attributes show Christ as a very human figure, a dramatic precursor to the sufferings of Florestan in Beethoven’s Fidelio. The tender and beautiful Elegischer Gesang is a memorial to the young wife of one of Beethoven’s close friends. Chorus Cathedralis Aboensis has specialized in large scale choral works since the choir’s inception in 1982. Virtually the entire canon of works for choir and orchestra are in the CCA’s repertoire: it has performed requiems by Verdi, Mozart, Faure and Part, as well as Bach’s Passions and Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem.