What could be a more beautiful sounding gift one week before Christmas than a three-part oratorio that is unknown in Hungary and recalls a less well documented part of Jesus’s life, the Redeemer’s childhood?
Hector BERLIOZ: L’enfance du Christ (The Childhood of Christ), Op. 25
oratorio in French
Le récitant (Narrator)/Le Centurion (Roman centurion): Cyrille Dubois
La vierge Marie (Virgin Mary): Anna Dowsley
Joseph/Polydorus: Lysandre Châlon
Hérode (Herod)/Le père de famille (Father of the family): Thomas Dolié
Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra
Hungarian National Choir (choirmaster: Csaba Somos)
Conductor: György Vashegyi
What could be a more beautiful sounding gift one week before Christmas than a three-part oratorio that is unknown in Hungary and recalls a less well documented part of Jesus’s life, the Redeemer’s childhood? Hector Belioz worked on the composition from 1850 to 1854 and the work deals with the episode of Jesus’s life when the holy family fled to Egypt. The concert by the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir will be conducted by György Vashegyi, a man committed to preserving the riches of French musical culture, while the soloists for L’enfance du Christ will be Cyrille Dubois, Anna Dowsley, Lysandre Châlon and Thomas Dolié.
In recent years, the Hungarian National Philhamonic Orchestra and Choir have put on countless productions that have proved to be exciting discoveries for the audience. With chief music director György Vashegyi at the helm, they are now preparing to present another special work at the Hungarian National Philharmonic’s traditional Christmas concert: Hector Belioz’s monumental three-part oratorio, L’enfance du Christ. The composer wrote the work to his own text between 1850 and 1854 and elected to tell the story of the holy family’s escape to Egypt.
There is a noteworthy story associated with the first bars of a particular section of the piece. Berlioz, who frequently experienced antipathy and bad blood during his career, presented a later movement of the composition that he intended as antecedent to the oratorio under a pseudonym. Those who had been passionate in rejecting his work received the music of the “unknown 17th century composer Ducré” with great enthusiasm.
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For the opening concert of the 2025/2026 season, the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra and its Kossuth Prize-winning chief music director…
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