Composed to celebrate Christmas in 1734, J. S. Bach’s famous Christmas Oratorio re-uses, adapts and expands some of the music he wrote previously, notably in his cantatas. The oratorio is in six parts, each destined for one of the main days of the Christmas festivities. In his majestic creation of music that expresses the unity of the whole work, Bach floods with devotion and musical creativity the narration of the different episodes about the birth and early days of the life of Christ, up to the beginning of the flight of the holy family to Egypt.

Gulbenkian Choir
Gulbenkian Orchestra
Michel Corboz Conductor
Maria Cristina Kiehr Soprano
Marianne Beate Kielland Mezzo-Soprano
Tilman Lichdi Tenor
Peter Harvey Baritone

Johann Sebastian Bach
Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248
(Cantatas I, II, V, VI)

 Pre-Concert Talk

16 December, 18:00 – Auditorium 3
By Alexandre Delgado