Bach: Christmas Oratorio

After the well-received venture into the contemporary music of McDowall and Chilcott in the summer, the Christmas offering from the Newbury Choral Society is a return to more traditional fare with J S Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. The six cantatas which make up the Christmas Oratorio were written to celebrate the Christmas feast days of 1734 to 1735. For many the work has a more direct appeal than the two great passions and the B Minor Mass, unhindered by lengthy periods of recitative or dialogue. From the exultant opening chorus we are led to moments of deep reflection and arias of great beauty.

Apart from being astonishing for the sheer volume of his compositions, Bach also had a world-wide reputation as a performer, gained in the period he spent as cantor of the Church of St Thomas in Leipzig, where he produced most of his vast choral output. As was common, for this oratorio Bach re-purposed music from earlier compositions, as well as making use of Lutheran hymn tunes, to produce a unified and satisfying whole, both joyous and uplifting. For reasons of length, the choir will perform only parts 1, 3, 5 and 6.

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