Celebration: Christmas Oratorio
Date & Location
Composer
Johann Sebastian Bach
Weihnachtsoratorium, BWV 248
I. Jauchzet, frohlocket, auf, preiset die Tage
II. Und es waren Hirten in derselben Gegend
V. Ehre sei dir, Gott, gesungen
VI. Herr, wenn die stolzen Feinde schnauben
Director’s Series
None of Bach’s holiday music is better known or more beloved than the Christmas Oratorio. Compiled by Bach for Christmas celebrations in Leipzig in 1734-5, his narrative account of the Christmas story is placed within some of his most lavish and varied writing for chorus, soloists, and orchestra. With its thrilling passages for trumpets and timpani, gentle lullabies, dramatic arias, ornate instrumental solos, and rousing choruses, the Christmas Oratorio captures the full range of emotions associated with this joyous season.
...Director’s Series
None of Bach’s holiday music is better known or more beloved than the Christmas Oratorio. Compiled by Bach for Christmas celebrations in Leipzig in 1734-5, his narrative account of the Christmas story is placed within some of his most lavish and varied writing for chorus, soloists, and orchestra. With its thrilling passages for trumpets and timpani, gentle lullabies, dramatic arias, ornate instrumental solos, and rousing choruses, the Christmas Oratorio captures the full range of emotions associated with this joyous season.
Praised by the Los Angeles Times as “an energetic and persuasive conductor,” and by the New York Times as “a powerful and expressive countertenor” Dana Marsh has performed and recorded extensively worldwide. With a doctorate in historical musicology from the University of Oxford (UK), he has held tutorial positions and a fellowship at Oxford and Cambridge Universities respectively. In 2016, Marsh was appointed director of the Historical Performance Institute at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.
