With the first three cantatas of his Christmas Oratorio, Johann Sebastian Bach creates a musical picture of the Christmas season full of light, hope, and inner emotion. From the triumphant jubilation of the birth of Christ ("Jauchzet, frohlocket!") to the touching scene of the shepherds and the first encounter with the newborn child – Bach's music brings the miracle of Christmas to life. Magnificently orchestrated and yet deeply felt, these cantatas combine Baroque festivity with spiritual depth – a work that touches the heart and soul and brings the message of Christmas to life with every note.

Johann Sebastian Bach. Christmas Oratorio. Cantatas I-III

Mozarteum Foundation

The St. Matthew Passion is one of the most moving works in music history. It condenses human suffering, compassion, and hope into a musical language of overwhelming expressiveness. Bach composed this Passion not merely as a retelling of Christ's Passion, but rather as a musical drama that deeply touches and thrills the listener, raising questions of guilt, love, and redemption. Two choirs, two orchestras, soloists, and an evangelist interweave to create a spiritual Gesamtkunstwerk of rare magnitude. A work that leaves one speechless—and speechless before its depth.

Virgil Hartinger

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Dec 20, 2025

Johann Sebastian Bach. Christmas Oratorio. Cantatas I-III · Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum

Mar 15, 2026

Johann Sebastian Bach. St. Matthew Passion - BWV 244 · Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum

Future and recently performed repertoire

Evangelist in St. Matthew Passion by Bach

Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum

Singer in Christmas Oratorio by Bach

Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum

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