Bach, J S - Weihnachts-oratium - Dawson, Lynne (soprano)

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Compiled from secular cantatas and first published in 1734, Bach's Christmas Oratorio is remarkable in that it was conceived to be performed in two churches over six feast days, across a two-week period. Gathering together suitable cantatas to form a larger work was not an unusual practice, and Bach's Easter and Ascension Oratorios (BWV 249 and 11) are both compiled from secular cantatas. It is indeed possible that Bach had in mind recycling the cantatas into a larger work when he originally composed them.

The music of this recording is glorious late Bach. Composed after the St John and St Matthew Passions and the B minor Mass, his maturity as a composer is evident in both the structure of the work and the subtle orchestration and contrapuntal writing of the chorales.