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• Praetorius, Hieronymus: 2 Christmas Hymns

Praetorius, Hieronymus: 2 Christmas Hymns

for 8 voices or instruments in 2 choirs.

These two Christmas pieces originally appeared - in reverse order to that in which they are printed here - at the end of Hieronymus Praetorius´ Canticum B. Mariae Virginis/seu/Magnificat/Octo Vocum/Super Octo Tonos Consuetos, published in Hamburg in 1622.
Hieronymus Praetorius was born in Hamburg in 1560, and died there in 1629. He was the son of the composer Jacob Praetorius, but was apparently unrelated to the more famous Michael Praetorius. Apart from a short spell in Erfurt (1580-82), he spent his working life in Hamburg, where he was organist at the church of St. Jacobi. He was a prolific composer of church music, much of which is for two choirs.
Both Christmas hymns have, of course, survived in many different settings: we recently published Michael Praetorius´ quite elaborate setting of In dulci jubilo in the present series (EML 172); the melody of Joseph, lieber Joseph often appeared to the words “Resonet in laudibus” in settings going back to the beginning of the sixteenth century.
The contrast between high and low choirs that characterises these pieces allows for all kinds of interesting scorings, such as strings or recorders in Chorus I, and trombones or curtals in Chorus II; a quiet alternative would be 8' recorders in Chorus I (TTBCb) and viols in Chorus II. It is not necessary to have all the parts sung: there is documentary evidence to show that Praetorius´ double-choir pieces were often performed with instruments either doubling or replacing the voices. Both pieces work pretty well performed purely instrumentally.