Bach: Weihnachtsoratorium (mit einer Werkeinführung)

Featuring

Rachel Harnisch
Sonja Philippin
Anke Vondung
Maximilian Schmitt
Christian Immler
Peter Dijkstra

Friedrich Schloffer
Gert Heidenreich
Christian Brückner
Udo Wachtveitl
Max Hanft
Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin
Johann Sebastian Bach
Miscellaneous

Did you know?

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Critical Reception

The Christmas Oratorio is considered Bach's most popular work, achieving an aesthetic ideal where connoisseurs find satisfaction, and non-connoisseurs are pleased without knowing why.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Bach's profound theological knowledge, evident in his extensive library including 19 volumes of Luther's writings, informed his musical interpretations of faith.

Composition History

Bach's Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248, was performed between Christmas Day 1734 and Epiphany 1735, a period referred to as 'the holy Christmas season'.

Recording & Production

This recording of Bach's Christmas Oratorio was captured live at the Herkulessaal der Residenz in Munich on December 11th and 12th, 2010.

Performer Biography

The Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, founded in 1982 in East Berlin, is a globally renowned chamber orchestra that performs on historical instruments.

Compositional Technique

The majority of the Christmas Oratorio consists of 'parodies' or adaptations of Bach's earlier compositions, a common practice in the Baroque era.

Compositional Technique

The Christmas Oratorio showcases Bach's mastery of counterpoint, where voices work together without confusion, and his imaginative depiction of 'affects' or emotions.