Harbison recommends listening to each cantata separately: “Having first experienced them one a week, I feel fortunate to retain distinct, independent impressions of the pastoral, truly angelic Cantata two, the tonally-fresh horn-colored world of four, the adrenaline shot of five, smallest orchestration and hottest music dealing with the harshest drama in the story.” “Unabridged presentation… gripping… whole”ĭid Bach envision - or perhaps hope - that the work would be performed someday as a whole?Ībsolutely, says Christoph Wolff, Bach scholar and Harvard professor emeritus: “It almost seems as if Bach had meant to override given conditions and anticipate a non-liturgical concert performance.” John Harbison, who describes Bach’s Christmas masterpiece as Germany’s “seasonal equivalent to the English-speaking world’s Messiah,” says that listening to “all six cantatas” in one evening is tough: “each of the six cantatas has its own piece of the story and its own sound, although one, three, and six - however nuanced their D major trumpet-drum celebrations - can seem close cousins on first hearing.”

“Each of the six… has its own story… and its own sound” How well do you know this classical Christmas masterpiece?.The story begins with the birth of Jesus (for Christmas Day). The second and third parts feature the shepherds (for December 26 and 27). The fourth part describes the naming and circumcision of Jesus (for New Year’s Day). The fifth and sixth parts describe the Three Kings, or Magi (for the first Sunday after New Year and for Epiphany).īach used the parody technique to integrate his music from previous cantatas. Nicholas, for which he served as music director.Įach part is a cantata for 1 of 6 feast days within the 12 days of the Christmas season: How should we embrace this 18th century German masterpiece: as six separate cantatas or as a single-setting whole?įirst, listen to each cantata individually, as it was originally performed.īach composed the six-part “Christmas Oratorio” (“Weihnachts Oratorium”) in 1734 for two Leipzig churches, St. Listening to Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Christmas Oratorio” is a holiday experience like no other.Ĭonsider this text from part one (written in reverence to a new religious or secular prince) instead referencing the work itself:

Christoph wolff bach