Hector Berlioz’ L’enfance du Christ, Op. 25 (“The Childhood of Christ”) is a Christmas oratorio in three parts. It tells the story of the flight of the Holy Family (Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus) into Egypt following King Herod’s decree that all newborn children in Judaea be massacred.
Berlioz wrote the text, which is based on the Gospel of Matthew 2:13. The work was first performed at Paris’ Salle Herz on December 10, 1854.
The tender chorus, The Shepherds’ Farewell, formed the genesis for the entire oratorio. First composed in 1850 as a piece for organ, it depicts the shepherds’ reverent and wistful farewell to the baby Jesus as he leaves the stable in Bethlehem for Egypt. The plaintive, pastoral, recurring voice of the oboe guides us forward with the gentle authority of the shepherd’s staff. The music unfolds with a magical series of modulations, moving from E major through B minor, C major, and G major, before returning home to E major.
Perpetrating a hoax on the audience at the initial performance on November 12, 1850, Berlioz passed off The Shepherds’ Farewell as the work of the fictitious 17th century composer, “Ducré.” Berlioz, who was active as a critic, was regarded as a musical rebel. One commentator noted that “Berlioz would never be able to write a tune as simple and charming as this little piece by old Ducré,” at which point the hoax was revealed.
This recording features Robert Shaw with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus:
Berlioz described L’enfance du Christ as “a naive and gentle kind of music.” In a letter written before the London premiere, he recalled the oratorio’s almost accidental development:
I take a scrap of paper and draw a few staves on which in a little while an Andantino in four parts for organ makes its appearance. I find a certain character of naive, rustic devotion in it and promptly decide to add some words in the same vein. The organ piece disappears and becomes the chorus of the shepherds of Bethlehem saying goodbye to the child Jesus at the moment when the Holy Family are setting out on their journey to Egypt.
Throughout the oratorio, a solo tenor serves as narrator. In the final scene, the narrator joins in what the composer described as “the mystic chorus, O mon âme! (“Oh my spirit”). Gradually, the instruments fade away, and we are left with unaccompanied voices.
John Eliot Gardiner leads this performance with tenor Anthony Rolfe Johnson, the Monteverdi Choir, and Orchestre de l’Opéra de Lyon:
Recordings
- Berlioz: L’enfance du Christ, Op. 25, H 130 (The Shepherds’ Farewell), Robert Shaw, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus Amazon
- Berlioz: L’enfance du Christ, Op. 25, H 130, John Eliot Gardiner, Monteverdi Choir Orchestra, Orchestre de l’Opéra de Lyon Amazon
Featured Image: “Adoration of the Shepherds” (1510), Giorgione