The adoration of the shepherds

The third part of the Christmas Oratorio opens again with a festive chorus, orchestrated with full forces (trumpets, timpani, flutes, oboes, strings and basso continuo). The text is an expression of joy and praise that frames the story narrated in this part: the shepherds going to find Child Jesus and worship him. The chorus will […]

The annunciation to the shepherds

The second cantata of the Christmas Oratorio 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 and pastoral scenes. The same sonority is presented in […]

The birth of Christ

The first cantata of the Christmas Oratorio is bright and celebratory. Bach opens it with instrumentation well suited for such a festive occasion: 3 trumpets and timpani, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, strings and basso continuo, with a 4-part choir. It is remarkable how the timpani and flutes take the lead, quickly followed in dizzying motion […]

Rich in everything that art can muster

[Oratorio…] The musical composition must be rich in everything that art can muster in terms of ingenious and refined ideas.Johann Gottfried Walther, Musikalisches Lexicon (1732) Bach composed his Weihnachts-Oratorium for the 1734/35 Christmas season in Leipzig. His intention was not to perform it completely on one occasion, but to structure it as a cycle of […]