The message of the Star in the Orient has fascinated people for centuries and fed the imagination of artists since the early Middle Ages. Numerous manuscripts and song collections offer musical testimony of the phenomenon. They tell of the star that illuminates all people, rich and poor, large and small, lords and peasants.

The Laudesi once visited the cities of central Italy in procession, singing their passionate songs of praise in honour of the saints. These customs still exist in Provence where the medieval oral tradition of Christmas song continues. In the course of the centuries the saints have come to be represented, not as heavenly beings but as “ordinary” people participating in everyday life and bringing the message of peace. You will hear historical, living and oral traditions from an old Europe of myths and legends – a journey on the trail of the Star of Bethlehem.

Ensemble Unicorn & Oni Wytars
Gabriella Aiello – voice
Hermann Oswald – tenor
Peter Rabanser – voice, bagpipes, tamburello
Katharina Dustmann – percussion
Riccardo Delfino – harp
Marc Lewon – lute, fiddle
Thomas Wimmer – fiddle
Marco Ambrosini – nyckelharpa
Michael Posch – recorder
dir: Michael Posch & Marco Ambrosini