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he Christmas concert, with Russian and German Christmas carols, was recorded in one of Germany's most beautiful Baroque churches. In addition to the well known sacred songs such as "In dulci jubilo" and Russian pieces like "Gospodie Pomuli", Wanja Hlibka delved deeply into the ways of both cultures. The a cappella version of "Es ist ein Ros entspungen", for example, enchanted the 1700 concert goers with the Kosaken's Russian melancholy..... a moving and grandiose experience. The church's interior, when one considers the basilica's dimensions, presents a challenge to a vocal ensemble. With a depth of over eighty meters, it requires the vocal power of the Russian operatic soloists comprising Wanja Hlibka's choir to elicit the necessary charisma from the vocally sophisticated arrangements and to captivate the audience in the way that they did. The atmosphere of the concert, dependent on the desired expression and dynamic, ranges from a peaceful, quiet, almost gentle honoring of the child in the manger to an enormous room-filling song of praise proclaiming the joy at the birth of the Redeemer.

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he minster of Waldsassen, which you will encounter in this production, was established in 1133, with its present structures being built between 1685 and 1704. Prominent builders such as Georg Dientzenhofer and Abraham Leuthner created one of Bavaria's most remarkable Baroque churches. In 1803 the minster was given to the catholic community as a parish church. In 1969, the collegiate church was sanctified as a papal basilika minor. The church interior has a total length of 82 meters and the nave with basilican profile is attended with chapels and galleries. The organ has 7720 pipes and is the second largest in Germany. Prominent international conductors, such as Leonard Bernstein, Sir Colin Davies, Lorin Maazel, Yehudi Menuhin as well as many famous choirs, orchestras, soloists and organists made the Basilica Concerts an insider tip throughout Germany.