Advent and Christmas (21): "Vom Himmel hoch"

The famous organist Johann Ludwig Krebs (1713-1780), cathedral organist in Zwickau and court organist of Friedrich III. in Altenburg, wrote his organ works both in the old polyphonic as well as in the contemporary sensitive style. Although Krebs' Leipzig teacher Johann Sebastian Bach obviously estimated him much, for a long time his music has been unjustly degraded as merely epigonal.

His intimate Bicinium "Vom Himmel hoch" connects a gamba reminiscent basso continuo with the soprano choral melody, performed in quiet halfs. The cantabile and lively bass line with its beautiful sequences gives this charming work a special elegance.