Bach: Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248

Featuring

Karl Ristenpart
Agnes Giebel
Lotte Wolf-Matthäus
Helmut Krebs
Walter Hauck
RIAS Kammerorchester

RIAS Kammerchor
RIAS Knabenchor
Johann Sebastian Bach

Did you know?

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Historical Context

The six-part oratorio corresponds to the festive period of the Twelve Days of Christmas, which are also celebrated as a symbol of a turn of eras.

Recording & Production

This recording of the Christmas Oratorio by Karl Ristenpart was made in only two days in December 1950, an extraordinary feat.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Bach's Christmas Oratorio, describing the emergence of Christianity, is seen as a counterpart to Wagner's 'The Ring of the Nibelung', which depicts the demise of Germanic gods.

Critical Reception

Unlike many of Bach's single cantatas, the Christmas Oratorio has always been present during the relevant season, particularly Parts 1 to 3.

Interpretation

Ristenpart's interpretation of the chorales, with swift tempi and breaths only at textual units, conformed to contemporary reform efforts in congregational singing after Nazi rule.

Performer Biography

Karl Ristenpart, the conductor of this recording, responded to the Nazi accession to power in 1933 by retreating to chamber music, a field less susceptible to state control.