Johann Sebastian Bach, “Christmas Oratorio” (excerpts)

Johann Sebastian Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, like the great composer’s Easter concertos, has become an automatic element of holiday traditions in European concert halls and churches.  Though the story of Christ’s birth does not change, and the beats of the oratorio are easy to remember, Bach’s monumental opus always brings peace, happiness and sparkling joy in to the hearts and minds of its listeners.  Bach composed the oratorio sometime around Christmas 1734, and he hoped that it would be performed over the course of six evenings between Christmas and the Epiphany.  Bach never heard his major opus in full, but the fragments that have been arranged by the conductor Kaspars Putniņš will allow the audience to experience the story of the Christ child and the unrepeatable magic of Bach’s music.

Participants

Marlena Kane, soprano
Ka Bo Chan, countertenor
Mati Turi, tenor
Pauls Putniņš, bass
The Latvian Radio Choir
Sinfonietta Rīga
Conductor Kaspars Putniņš