Sounding holidays: Bach's Christmas Oratorio in the Martin Luther Church!

On Sunday, January 5, 2025, a performance of Cantatas IV to VI from Johann Sebastian Bach's Christmas Oratorio will take place at 4 p.m. in the Martin Luther Church. The Christmas Oratorio, also known as the "Oratorio for Holy Christmas", is one of the most important pieces of music of the Christmas season. It consists of six cantatas, each of which lasts around 30 minutes and are dedicated to a Christian festival day between December 25th and January 6th. The text is based on the Gospels of Lukas and Matthew, while the music includes a wide range of shapes and moods.

The cantatas listed are composed for New Year, the first Sunday after New Year and the Epiphany Festival (Epiphany). The following soloists appear during the performance: Friederike Urban (soprano), Julia Böhme (old), Jonas finger (tenor) and Clemens Heidrich (bass). The Dresden Bach Choir and the Sinfonietta Dresden will present the work under the direction of Elke Voigt.

admission prices and pre -sale

The admission prices are 26 euros (full price) and 22 euros in advance. Reduced tickets cost 16 euros or 14 euros in advance, while young people up to 18 years of free admission receive free admission if the tickets are acquired through the administration of the parish. Ticket sales take place in Martin-Luther-Platz 5 during opening hours and online at www.reservix.de .

The performance of the Christmas Oratorio has a long tradition. Albert Schweitzer was skeptical about 100 years ago that Bach's Christmas Oratorio would become popular in the repertoire of choirs and orchestras. Today, however, it is the most popular sacral work by Johann Sebastian Bach. The music is high -theatrical and begins with the urgent entrance choir "Jauchzet, rehllocket". This was originally composed for the birthday of the Elector Maria Josepha of Saxony.

The Christmas Oratorio has a close connection to Dresden and tells the history of the birth of Jesus in its six cantatas. Bach wrote the cantatas for services in the Leipzig Hauptkirchen St. Thomas and St. Nikolai and divided the Christmas story into the three Christmas holidays, New Year, Sunday after New Year and the Epiphany Festival. In the past, the Christmas Oratorio was forgotten in the 19th century, while other works, such as the passions and the H minor trade fair, were preferred.

The first guaranteed performance of all six cantatas took place on December 17, 1857 by Eduard Grell. A rediscovery of the work began with the youth movement in the 20th century. Especially in the 1920s, the Christmas Oratorio was often performed in large cities of the German Reich, especially in parishes. Leipzig has most of the Christmas Oratorio's performances in Germany today, with the Dresden Kreuzchor performing the first three cantatas in Advent and the last three in January since 1967.