The Christmas Oratorio - Weihnachtsoratorium - BWV 248, is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season.
It is in six parts, each part a cantata intended for the feast days of the Christmas period.
It was written for the Christmas season of 1734 and incorporates music from earlier compositions, including three secular cantatas written during 1733 and 1734 and a largely lost church cantata, BWV 248a.
The date is confirmed in Bach's autographed manuscript.
The next complete public performance was not until December 17, 1857 by the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin under Eduard Grell.
The Christmas Oratorio is a particularly sophisticated musical work.
The author of the text is unknown, although a likely collaborator was Christian Friedrich Henrici (Picander).
The first part (for Christmas Day) describes the Birth of Jesus, the second (for 26 December) the annunciation to the shepherds, the third (for 27 December) the adoration of the shepherds, the fourth (for New Year's Day) the circumcision and naming of Jesus, the fifth (for the first Sunday after New Year) the journey of the Magi, and the sixth (for Epiphany) the adoration of the Magi.
The running time for the entire oratorio is around three hours.
Netherlands Bach Society:
Shunske Sato, violin and direction
Viola Blache, soprano
Ulrike Malotta, alto
Daniel Johannsen, tenor
Matthias Helm, bass
0:00 Sinfonia
5:06 Und es waren Hirten (Rezitativ)
5:52 Brich an, o schönes Morgenlicht (Choral)
6:54 Und der Engel sprach (Rezitativ)
7:36 Was Gott dem Abraham (Rezitativ)
8:18 Frohe Hirten, eilt (Arie)
11:59 Und das habt zum Zeichen (Rezitativ)
12:24 Schaut hin (Choral)
13:03 So geht denn hin (Rezitativ)
13:52 Schlafe, mein Liebster (Arie)
22:40 Und alsobald war (Rezitativ)
22:51 Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe (Chor)
25:09 So recht, ihr Engel (Rezitativ)
25:32 Wir singen dir in deinem Heer (Choral)
The Background Story:
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