Berlioz's L'Enfance Du Christ is probably known primarily due to it's famous "Shepherd's Chorus" but it is a piece that once listeners discover it, they realize a true golden gem has been found. It is primarily a choral work which tells the story of what are called the Infancy Narratives in the New Testament. Scenes of the work are taken from both the scriptures and legends and include Herod visiting a soothsayer which predicts the birth of the Messiah, the Annunciation (Mary learning of the birth of Jesus), the birth itself, and the flight into Egypt. This recording by the Orchestre National du Lille under the direction of Jean-Claude Casadesus captures both the beauty and scope of the work.

Tracklist:

Narrator
Scene 1 - Nocturnal March
Scene 2 - Herod's Aria
Scene 3
Scene 4 - Herod And The Soothsayers
The Soothsayers Make Cabbalistic Signs
Scene 5 - The Stable In Bethlehem
Scene 6
Overture
The Shepherds
The Holy Family's Repose
Narrator
Scene 1 - Within The City Of Sais
The Father Of The Family
Great God! What Distress!
The Father Of The Family
Trio For Two Flutes And Harp, Played By The Young Ishmaelites
The Father Of The Family
Lento
Narrator
Narrator, Chorus

UPC: 730099465021
Label: Naxos
Release Date: 10.12.99
Format: CD

D. Mulhaud - L'enfance Du Christ (2 CD)