Festival of paintings II
The second cantata decidedly changes character to focus on the shepherds. It is the only cantata in the oratorio that opens with an instrumental sinfonia, including pairs of flutes, oboes d’amore and oboes da caccia in siciliana form, typically associated with bucolic scenes. The same sonority is presented in the final chorale, reaffirming this framework […]
Festival of paintings I
Bach composed his Christmas Oratorio for Christmas 1734 in Leipzig. His intention was not to perform it completely on one occasion, but to structure it as a cycle of six cantatas for the different days between Christmas and Epiphany, integrated into the religious services at the St. Thomas and St. Nicholas churches. Each of the […]