Christmas Oratorio

Bochumer Symphoniker

Christmas is a busy time for everyone – including a composer like Johann Sebastian Bach in the 1730s. Not only is he responsible for all the music in Leipzig's churches and for teaching the students at the associated school – he also has to write new music for the many holidays. And in the midst of a daily routine that would have caused most people stress in a single week, Bach writes some of the greatest masterpieces of Western civilization.

The Christmas Oratorio

Maribo Cathedral

Church of Our Lady Copenhagen

St. Mary's Church Helsingør

JS Bach’s Christmas Oratorio is one of the choral masterpieces of the Baroque era. Originally intended to be performed over six days between Christmas and Epiphany, Parts one, two, three and six explore the Birth of Jesus, the annunciation to the shepherds, and the adoration of the shepherds.

EPSG:4326

Saffron Hall

Bach's Christmas Oratorio

Hobby Center for the Performing Arts

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Heavenly choirs, blaring trumpets and thundering timpani! Experience a grand and heartfelt Christmas atmosphere when the 100-year-old Radio Choir rounds off its anniversary year together with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and brilliant soloists in Johann Sebastian Bach’s timeless Christmas Oratorio under the direction of chief conductor Kaspars Putninš.

Bach's Christmas Oratorio part 1–3

Berwaldhallen

SR Berwaldhallen

Handel's Messiah

Veterans Memorial Auditorium

Envy and hatred reign in Saul's heart. For he perceives in David a rival for the throne: After David's victory over the giant Goliath, King Saul finds himself compelled to welcome David into his house and to honour him as a hero. When his son Jonathan and his daughter Michal side with David, and eventually even his daughter Merab acknowledges the universally celebrated hero, Saul finally decides to remove David from his path. However, David enjoys divine protection. Instead, it is Saul whose star threatens to set. With SAUL, George Frideric Handel turned to a biblical subject from the Old Testament. The subject matter was certainly controversial, as around twenty years before Handel’s arrival in London, Parliament, during the “Glorious Revolution” of 1689, had offered the British crown to William III of Orange and Mary II in order to put an end to the rule of the absolutist King James II. Georg Friedrich Handel had so far achieved one box office hit after another in London, primarily with his serious operas. However, the audience gradually seemed to be tiring of Italian opera. Thus, Händel set out in search of new paths in musical theatre. The genre of the oratorio, which he had become acquainted with during his time in Rome from 1706 to 1709, seemed suitable for this purpose. And indeed, the premiere of SAUL on 16 January 1739 at the Haymarket Theatre in London was a success, not least due to the gigantic choral numbers and the English national language in which it was sung. That SAUL is also dramatic, stage-effective musical theatre is demonstrated by the numerous musical effects with which Handel brings the story of the tormented King Saul to life. From triumphal choruses to whispers of witches to the funeral march that is still played today at state funerals worldwide. The acclaimed production from the Glyndebourne Festival, in Barrie Kosky’s opulent and profound direction, presents the Old Testament fable of envy and resentment set in London during the Georgian era, when indulgence and misery, popular entertainment and humiliation existed side by side. At the podium of the Gürzenich Orchestra stands Rubén Dubrovsky, who has already demonstrated his flair for Baroque music in Cologne with GIULIO CESARE IN EGITTO and ORLANDO.

Saul

Cologne Opera

The William Byrd Singers, one of the North West’s finest chamber choirs, return to the Stoller Hall to perform this seasonal favourite from one of the world’s best-loved composers. The music, sung in the original German and accompanied with period instruments, is joyful, pastoral and dramatic, full of lyrical solos and spectacular choruses. This concert is a must for your Christmas calendar.

William Byrd Singers – Christmas Oratorio

The Stoller Hall

St. George's Church Eisenach

Following a triumphant debut with the Monteverdi Choir in December 2024, celebrated French baroque specialist Christophe Rousset brings his dramatic flair to Handel’s thrilling oratorio this Christmas.

The Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists have been performing historically-informed Handel for almost 50 years, and are “unbeatable in the performance of this repertoire” (Scherzo). A stellar cast of soloists will join “the best choir in the world” (Trouw), bringing MCO’s trademark immediacy and drama to Handel’s festive masterpiece for the first time in over three decades.

Handel: Messiah

Église Saint-Roch

St Martin-in-the-Fields

Teatro alla Scala

Auditorium Parco della Musica

David Castleberry, guest Conductor
with the WV Symphony Chorus.

Messiah

Clay Center

We commence the festive period with one of the most celebrated pieces in the classical canon, Handel’s jubilant oratorio. Since 1742, The Messiah has secured itself in the Christmas calendar as a true celebration of the nativity. Heaped with beautiful arias including He was Despised and Rejected and I Know that My Redeemer Liveth and rousing choruses like For Unto Us a Child is Born and the ever-popular Hallelujah Chorus. This sublime work offers the quintessential holiday celebration.

Messiah Handel's glorious oratorio

Lighthouse, Poole's Centre for the Arts

Experience the timeless power of Handel’s Messiah this holiday season as the Regina Philharmonic joins forces with acclaimed soloists for a moving celebration of the sacred season. From the iconic “Hallelujah” chorus to the radiant arias, this beloved holiday tradition promises to uplift and inspire.

Knox-Metropolitan United Church

Gather family and friends for one of the season's best-loved, most joyful events. The world-famous Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Chorus fill Symphony Hall with the powerful sounds of Handel's Messiah. Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus Director Norman Mackenzie takes center stage in this presentation of the Christmas portion of Handel's most enduring oratorio, culminating in the glorious "Hallelujah Chorus."

The Woodruff Arts Center

When Sir James MacMillan completes a new choral work the world takes notice, because few living composers write with more conviction or imaginative fire. “We need this music right now” wrote The Spectator after the world premiere of his Christmas Oratorio in 2021, and this epic work finds both strangeness and splendour in the most familiar of sacred stories.

MacMillan's Christmas Oratorio

Barbican Centre

Handel’s Messiah

Strathmore

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.

Oratorio events in Ashland this month

Christmas Oratorio

Bochumer Symphoniker

The Christmas Oratorio

Copenhagen Phil

Christmas Oratorio

Britten Sinfonia

Bach's Christmas Oratorio...

Mercury Chamber Orchestra

The Artelize Podcast and ...

Artelize

The Artelize Podcast - A ...

Artelize

The Artelize Podcast: A l...

Artelize

The Artelize Podcast and ...

Artelize

Bach's Christmas Oratorio...

Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra

Bach's Christmas Oratorio...

Swedish Radio Choir

Handel's Messiah

Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Mu...

Saul

Oper Köln

William Byrd Singers – Ch...

The Stoller Hall

Christmas Oratorio

Thüringen Philharmonie Gotha-Eisenach

Handel: Messiah

English Baroque Soloists

Messiah

West Virginia Symphony Orchestra

Messiah Handel's glorious...

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Messiah

Regina Symphony Orchestra

Handel's Messiah

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

MacMillan's Christmas Ora...

Barbican Centre

MacMillan's Christmas Ora...

BBC Symphony Orchestra

Handel’s Messiah

National Philharmonic

Johann Sebastian Bach. Ch...

Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum

Handel Messiah

Orchestra of St John’s