“Triumph, rejoice!” – Bach’s oratrio of hope and renewal

The Christmas Oratorio presents itself as a cycle of similarly structured individual works whose continuity rests on the Christmas narrative according to the Gospels of Luke and Matthew as well as on the recurrence of certain types of settings and the dramaturgy typical of Bach’s cantata oeuvre.

Our decision to dedicate one concert evening to each cantata highlights the distinctive nature of the Christmas Oratorio. Nevertheless, a concert performance of the entire work would have been equally possible, which proves once again the compositional genius of the Thomascantor. Indeed, there are likely only few works which are equally powerful whether performed as individual parts or as a whole.

The recordings of the individual cantatas, the introductory workshops, the reflective lectures and other information (artists, musical and theological commentary, etc.,) are available here:

BWV 248, Part 1: “Jauchzet, frohlocket, auf, preiset die Tage”, cantata for the First Day of Christmas
BWV 248, Part 2: “Und es waren Hirten in derselben Gegend”, cantata for the Second Day of Christmas
BWV 248, Part 3: “Herrscher des Himmels, erhöre das Lallen”, cantata for the Third Day of Christmas
BWV 248, Part 4: “Fallt mit Danken, fallt mit Loben”, cantata for the Feast of the Circumcision
BWV 248, Part 5: “Ehre sei dir, Gott, gesungen”, cantata for Sunday after New Year’s Day
BWV 248, Part 6: “Herr, wenn die stolzen Feinde schnauben”, cantata for Epiphany