Bach' Christmas Oratorio at Auditorio Nacional de Música

A Christmas oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, presented at the Auditorio Nacional de Música in Madrid. A classical music offering centred on the sacred works of the German composer for the Christmas festivities.

The Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248) is a work by Johann Sebastian Bach composed in Leipzig in 1734 and 1735. It was conceived as a set of six cantatas to be performed on different feast days of the Christmas cycle, from the Nativity to Epiphany. Its text recounts the birth of Jesus, drawing on the Gospels of Luke and Matthew.

The score combines choir, soloists, a narrator who sings the role of the Evangelist, and orchestra. Bach reused material from earlier cantatas in several of its parts, a common practice in his output that made use of music already written in new liturgical contexts.

The Auditorio Nacional de Música is a concert and performance venue located in the Salamanca district of Madrid. This classical music programme is aimed at those who want to hear one of the great choral works of the Baroque repertoire in a Christmas setting.