nourara - Weihnachtsoratorium transkulturell

In the organizer's words:

Christmas - a festival of light, hope and community - takes on a new, polyphonic sound form in nourara. The transcultural Christmas oratorio combines Johann Sebastian Bach's familiar choruses and arias with musical forms of expression from non-European Christian cultures, in particular Armenian and pre-Islamic Syrian traditions. This opens up the familiar Christmas narrative to new perspectives beyond Western interpretation.

The central question is: What does Christmas mean in a world characterized by flight, persecution and exclusion? How do light ("nour"), hope ("ara") and the search for protection in the darkness sound in different cultural contexts?

A special focus is placed on the Armenian musical tradition - one of the oldest Christian cultures in the world. The liturgical chants of the Sharakan (Շարական), linked to experiences of exile, trauma and spiritual resilience, enter into a musical dialog with Bach's compositions. This is complemented by soundscapes from pre-Islamic Christian Syria and new compositions that build bridges between cultures, centuries and spiritual narratives.

nourara is a musical symbol of hope, solidarity and compassion - across religious, cultural and linguistic boundaries, composed by composers with different cultural backgrounds from the asambura collective.

The asambura ensemble and polyLens vokal will be performing under the direction of Joss Reinicke. In some of the works, the audience will be actively involved in the musical events through a sing-along choir that has been rehearsed in advance