Christmas

Few times of the year are as closely associated with music as Christmas. Ever since the first holy evening, when the angels sang the Gloria in the fields of Bethlehem and announced peace to mankind on Earth, right up until the present day, their message remains the same. The rich message of the Christmas festival is beautifully reflected in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. His Christmas Oratorio is not in fact a single work, but rather a collection of six cantatas for the individual festivals of the Christmas season. The first three cantatas are dedicated to the first three days of Christmas, while the last, the sixth, is devoted to the Feast of the Annunciation.