The Christmas Oratorio (German Weihnachtsoratorium) BWV 248 is a work by Johann Sebastian Bach celebrating the Christmas season. It was written in 1734, although much of the music was recycled from the composer's earlier music, including three secular cantatas written in the same year (BWV 213, 214 and 215) and the lost St. Mark Passion. The text is by Picander. It is in six parts, each part being a cantata intended for performance on one of the days of Christmas (although the work is nowadays often performed as a whole). It is narrated by a tenor Evangelist, and also makes extensive use of Lutheran hymns.

The first cantata, for the first day of Christmas, focuses on Mary (sung by the alto) in the period around the birth of Jesus; the second, for the second day of Christmas, the appearance of the angel to the shepherds; the third, for the third day of Christmas, the visit of the shepherds to Jesus in the stable; the fourth, for New Year's Day, the circumcision of Jesus; the fifth, for the Sunday after New Year's Day, the visit of the Three Wise Men; and the last, for the Feast of the Epiphany, the role of Herod.

References

• Bach-cantatas.com Accessed 16 December 2005.
• Choirs.org.uk Accessed 16 December 2005.
• Good Music Guide Accessed 16 December 2005.

Compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach | Christmas music

Weihnachtsoratorium (Bach) | Oratorio de Noël (Jean-Sébastien Bach) | BWV 248 | Oratorio di Natale | Weihnachtsoratorium