When Johann Sebastian Bach (1685­–1750) composed his Christmas Oratorio for the Christmas season 1734/35, he tackled a very ambitious project. Bach envisions the angels and the shepherds as two “choirs,” two musical ensembles, which engage in a dialogue. 3: 4-7 / Acts 6: 8-15 & 7: 55-60; Gospel: Matthew 23: 35-39 / Luke 2: 15-20 The music of the alto aria is soothing, with a lilting rhythm. Buy Christmas Oratorio (SATB ) by J. S. Bach at jwpepper.com. The book analyzes Bach’s masterwork from a musical, cultural, and theological perspective and sheds new light on Bach’s own compositional process. The lullaby that follows is a beautiful alto aria, which meditates on the intimate relationship between the believer and Jesus: “Sleep, my most beloved, enjoy your rest . 2, as well as free poetry and hymns. Music—here the songs and psalms sung in the honor of God—serves as a celebration of the birth of Jesus. Auf, preiset die Tage (Shout for joy, exult, rise up, praise the day), BWV 248 I (also written as BWV 248 I), is a 1734 Christmas cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach that serves as the first part of his Christmas Oratorio. Download booklet. Recommended Citation: Rathey, Markus. Traces of a similar view of music can also be found in other movements of the oratorio, albeit not as concentrated as in Part II. The angels play an elegantly flowing siciliano motive, while the shepherds interject with a simpler, more rustic theme. The opening chorus, “Celebrate, rejoice, rise up and… glorify what the Highest has done today,” was completely original. [2] Some of the parts were also repeated during the Vespers services; for the liturgical context see Markus Rathey, Johann Sebastian Bach’s Christmas Oratorio: Music, Theology, Culture (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2016), 120–125. possible translation}} to highlight the problems you . Bach plays with a common stereotype of shepherds’ music, the pastorale: lilting motives in triple meter over a simple, often static, bass. “Triumph, rejoice!” – Bach’s oratrio of hope and renewal. The same is true for the opening movement of the third part of the oratorio: “Ruler of heaven, give heed to our babble, let our feeble songs praise you” (no. Its first cantata, Jauchzet, frohlocket! Join this translation   ————   Update this information (instructions). The opening chorus, “Celebrate, rejoice, rise up and… glorify what the Highest has done today,” was completely original. His major study of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio was published by Oxford University Press in 2016. If this request was not resolved and is still valid, please re-request it by following the instructions at, This translation system has been deprecated in favour of, This page was last edited on 30 September 2009, at 21:47. In his Hauspostille the Reformer states that through the birth of Christ, humans become co-citizens with the angels: “But he is not only our Lord, but he is also the Lord of the angels; and together with the angels we are members of the Lord’s domestic community. Each group also has its unique musical ideas. 19). The basis for this publication are Bach’s autograph score and the … If the angels are singing, the shepherds have to be imagined as following their example by singing, as well. The opening chorus is a celebration of music as a means of expressing the joy that will later be announced by the angels in the Gloria. Bach composed his Christmas Oratorio for the Christmas season from Christmas Day on 25 December 1734 to Epiphany on 6 January 1735. 14). An instrumental sinfonia depicts the bucolic scene in the fields close to Bethlehem. The laws for the school (Schulordnung), recently revised in 1733, described the musical duties of the pupils by comparing them to a choir of angels: “When they are singing, they shall diligently remember the nature and the duties of the holy angels; this shall teach them that the singing of sacred songs is a glorious duty and how they should behave honorably while singing these songs.”[9], For Bach and his contemporaries, Christmas music was not only a way to set a sentimental mood, not only the celebration of a “Silent Night” or the sonic memory of jingling bells. This is the case here as well. . Bach, the Christmas Oratorio text does not appear in Picander's published collection "Ernst-Schertzhaffte und Satyrische Gedichte" (Leipzig 1737), which seems to indicate that it was perhaps a joint effort rather than entirely his own work. Music as a theme features prominently in the second part of the oratorio, performed on December 26, 1734 in the St. Thomas Church. < For much of his life, Bach was in charge of music at St. Thomas Lutheran Church in Leipzig, Germany. }} or {{Doubt | original sentence | Although Troutbeck’s translation tried to … Already in the opening movement for Part II, however, Bach celebrates the encounter between the angels and the shepherds, albeit without words, only with the use of music. This idea also shapes the following movements of Part II of the oratorio. Bach's "Christmas Oratorio" is nowadays more likely to be heard and appreciated on record than in live performances. I. Friday, 12.25.20 at 8 p.m. YouTube & Facebook. The theological synthesis is also musical synthesis. It comprises six cantatas, suitable for performing separately during the so-called twelve days of Christmas. Und es waren Hirten in derselben Gegend, BWV 248 II, for the Second Day of Christmas in 1734, is the second of six cantatas (or parts) constituting this oratorio. It fits the stereotype of a lullaby. The second part of the oratorio (like the other parts as well), ends with a setting of a common congregational hymn. Emanuel Winternitz, Musical Instruments and Their Symbolism in Western Art: Studies in Musical Iconology (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1979), 132–134. This material is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0  License. The shepherds encounter the message of Jesus’s birth in music and their first response is music. to watch this page]. [6] For the original text see Rathey, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, 206. Break forth into song, full of shouting and rejoicing” (no. The Christmas Oratorio (German: Weihnachts-Oratorium), BWV 248, is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season.It was written for the Christmas season of 1734 and incorporates music from earlier compositions, including three secular cantatas written during 1733 and 1734 and a largely lost church cantata, BWV 248a. The students of the St. Thomas School who sang the work in 1734/35 would have been familiar with this idea. Add to cart. CHRISTMAS ORATORIO. The angelic Gloria is followed by a small recitative, sung by the bass voice, which connects the praise of the angels with the human response. While the biblical narrative expects the angels to sing their angelic Gloria, nowhere do we read in the Gospel of Luke that the shepherds made music as well. Johann Sebastian Bach, John Eliot Gardiner, English Baroque Soloists, Nancy Argenta, Olaf Bär, Hans Peter Blochwitz, Alison Bury, Lisa Beznosiuk, Monteverdi Choir, Anne Sofie von Otter - Bach: Christmas Oratorio (Weihnachts Oratorium) - Amazon.com Music Available at http://ismreview.yale.edu, PDF: music-and-divine-encounter-in-bachs-christmas-oratorio_rathey, Music and Divine Encounter in Bach’s Christmas OratorioMarkus Rathey, The Magi and the Manger: Imaging Christmas in Ancient Art and RitualFelicity Harley-McGowan and Andrew McGowan, Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, RavennaArthur P. Urbano, Born in Us Today: The Gospel of IncarnationWendy Farley, A Meeting of Domestic and Liturgical Rites: Joy and Light in Orthodox ChristmasNicholas E. Denysenko, Christmas in Fear, or Looking over One’s Shoulder at the CrècheSusan K. Roll, The Grinch that Didn’t Steal Christmas: A Reformation StoryBruce Gordon, Can We Still See Calvary from Bethlehem?R. Paintings of the Nativity in the Renaissance and the Baroque frequently feature angels with instruments (often string instruments such as viola da gambas or violins), and the shepherds are often depicted bringing their flutes and reed instruments to the manger to play their simple tunes for the newborn Christ.[1]. Earthly music was a reflection of heavenly music; the voices of the human choir emulated the angelic voices. 5); Martin Luther (Mvts. All of J.S.Bach's major choral works, including the Christmas Oratorio (1874), the Magnificat (1874), and the St Matthew and St John Passions (1894 and 1896 respectively), were translated by him for the music publisher Novello. Corelli’s Christmas Concerto, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, and the Christmas sections from Handel’s Messiah are an integral part of the public and private soundscapes between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve. Part II: The Second Day of Christmas. 45 Chor: "Wo ist der neugeborne König der Juden?" However, the opening sinfonia is more than just a musical genre painting, it describes an encounter. . Jauchzet, Frohlocket - Christians, Be Joyful (J. S. Bach: Christmas Oratorio, Part I) Words: Original German text is attributed by some to Christian Friedrich Henrici Music: Jauchzet, Frohlocket (J. S. Bach: Christmas Oratorio, Part I) | Johann Sebastian Bach [4] At the beginning of his sinfonia, Bach juxtaposes these two sonic groups: the strings begin, then they are interrupted by the oboes, then the strings take the lead again, and so forth. Chorus (S, A, T, B) Ruler of heaven, give ear to our stammer, Let these our weary refrains bring thee pleasure, As thee thy Zion with psalms doth exalt! [5] For a more detailed discussion of this movement see Rathey, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, 197–207. Bach’s sinfonia enacts this synthesis musically by leading the two musical choirs, which are distinct in motive and color, to a sonic synthesis. 5); Martin Luther (Mvts. As he had already done in the opening sinfonia, Bach establishes a juxtaposition between the divine sphere in the first section and the human sphere in the second section; in the third section, he leads these two spheres to a synthesis by combining musical ideas from the first two sections. 2. II After the alto lullaby, the Evangelist announces the arrival of the heavenly hosts, and the angels sing their “May honor be to God on high,” the angelic Gloria. His listeners would have been familiar with paintings that associated the sound of the strings with the divine messengers. The goal was a sonic and spiritual harmony between heaven and earth. . 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