Ecce Advenit

Ecce, advenit Dominator Dominus, thus begins the introit to the feast of "Epiphanies": "Behold, arrived is the ruler, the Lord. The composer Winfried Offele (*1939) chose this as the title of his large-scale, almost two-hour oratorio for Advent. The work has grown together from works of many decades and in the last ten years has been completely tailored to the wonderful possibilities and high quality of the many choirs and vocal ensembles at the Münster in Constance. Seven choirs and ensembles - from the children's choir, Gregorian schola, various vocal ensembles to the large Münster choir - are involved. They are accompanied by soloists, a large orchestra, organ and congregational singing, so that a total of almost 250 musicians were engaged in this production. The oratorio begins almost archaically with a large orchestral introduction, develops through late romantic sounds and the use of various modern styles to stylistic elements from pop music. The various Advent chorales, which serve as the basis for the different parts of the oratorio and are heard again and again, ensure that the music is always well audible and easy to understand.