The fact that you have not known Johann Heinrich Rolle before plays - almost - no role. Once you have heard his Christmas Oratorio now published on cpo, you will certainly be off your rocker. (Enough puns!) As a "fiery and thoughtful composer, who has made himself famous for the church through his works", he was described in the travel descriptions of the Englishman Charles Burney and his oratorio really surprises with an extremely colorful and form-rich music Johann Heinrich Rolle (1716-1785), who was active for more than 30 years as "Director musices" and Kontor at the Altstädtischen Gymnasium in Magdeburg, enjoyed great popularity at his time and gained importance as the founder of Magdeburg's first public concert series. According to advertisements in the Magdeburger Zeitung, the oratorio sounded in December 1769 and 1771 within this "Rollescher Konzertreihe", and it could not be clarified until today whether the work was used at all as regular church music. Thus the text, whose poet is unknown, does not describe the events on the field near Bethlehem as usual, but devotes itself to religious observations The Chamber Choir Michaelstein and the Telemann Chamber Orchestra Michaelstein, conducted by Ludger Remy, present this forgotten masterpiece of Central German music. Soloists: Gundula Anders. Dorothee Mields. Britta Schwarz, Wilfried Jochens, Dirk Schmidt.