It was a gloomy winter morning. The weather was cold and windy. Yet, the mood in the modest household was one of warmth and joy. The feeling of abundance prevailed everywhere – gifts, decorations, good food, wine, and above all happiness and contentment. It was Christmas Day. The head of the large family – a pious man in his fiftieth year, seemed to share the common happiness. However, a certain measure of anxiety was written on his face. Was it due to the onerous official duties he had to perform in church that day as cantor – choirmaster ? In fact, his newest choral work for Christmas was to be performed on that day under his direction ! Or, was there more to his worries ? Was he anxious for the safety and well-being of the new born child in the manger in the cold winter night ? The child – a weak baby boy ( schwaches Knablein ), was of poor parents. That chilly night, the parents had no place to shelter their new born infant other than a forbidding manger ( harte Krippe).

The Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248 ( Weihnachtsoratorium), which commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, is one of the four monumental sacred compositions of Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach’s other three major church works are his St. Matthew Passion, St. John Passion and the Mass in B Minor. The

Christmas Oratorio is a very lengthy composition consisting of six autonomous parts. Each part could in fact be considered a complete and independent de-facto cantata. The unity of the Christmas Oratorio lies in the continuity of the biblical story. The whole work takes more than three hours to perform. It was meant to be performed on six days during the Christmas season, viz. Christmas Day, the two days immediately following Christmas, the feast of Circumcision, the First Sunday in the year and the feast of Epiphany. Each part is assigned to these six days. The Christmas Oratorio was composed in 1734. The work was first performed between 25th December 1734 and 6th January 1735 at the St Thomas’ Church and St Nicholas’ Church in Leipzig, Germany. Bach was in his fiftieth year.

The six parts of the Christmas Oratorio consist of choruses, recitatives, chorales, madrigal - recitatives, arias, and chorale - recitatives. In addition to these, the second part has an orchestral movement, which is known as the ‘pastoral symphony’. Most of the chorales are by Martin Luther and Paul Gerhard, whilst Luther’s translation of the gospels of St Luke and St Matthew provide the biblical narrative. It is believed that the remaining sections of the text were written by Christian Friedrich Henrici, better known as Picander.

Much of the music of the Oratorio was taken by Bach from his previous secular cantatas composed in honour of earthly rulers, viz. ‘ Lasst uns sorgen, lasst uns wachen’ ( Herkules auf den Scheideweg ) BWV 213’, ‘Toenet, ihr Pauken, erschallet Trompeten’ BWV 214’ and ‘Preise dem Gluecke, gesegnetes Sachsen, BWV 215. However, the Oratorio also contains a substantial amount of wonderful original music.

Unlike in the case of the St Matthew Passion – Bach’s supreme masterpiece, the value judgements on the Christmas Oratorio by music scholars vary significantly from one another. One of the main reasons for this is the fact that much of the music of the Christmas Oratorio has been taken from Bach’s secular cantatas. Bach’s great biographer Philipp Spitta wrote, " The deep congregational feeling which lies at the root of Bach’s Passions underlies also his grand compositions for Christmas, Easter and Ascension". In regard to the wonderful soprano aria in the fourth part of the Oratorio, which prominently uses the echo effect, he commented, " Of course, childlike naivete is in its place in the Christmas festival if anywhere, and it is touching to note how the grave and thoughtful master has allowed himself to yield so completely to this festal feeling as to admit such sportive movements into the work." Hubert Parry, another eminent Bach scholar wrote, " The Christmas Oratorio may therefore be taken as a very typical example of the device of glorifying cherished incidents by musical adornment and expansion". Rutland Boughton had an altogether different view on the Christmas Oratorio. He was of the view that Bach’s outlook was dominated by thoughts on the Passion rather than the Nativity. He wrote, " But in Bach’s day the prevailing mass expression was one of defeat ; and so whereas for Christmas he wrote only a number of occasional church cantatas ( and those partly adoptations from earlier and even secular works), for the celebration of what remained real in Christianity he wrote Passions - not one, but four"

It is true that the Christmas Oratorio is not spiritually deep as the St. Matthew Passion and the St. John Passion. Further, it is not as grand as the Mass in B Minor. However, it cannot be denied that it is a monumental musical masterpiece on its own right. It is a true work of art, which reflects its creator’s inmost thoughts on the Christmas Story.

Understandably, a sense of joy and jubilation pervades the Christmas Oratorio. Drums and trumpets are liberally used to amplify the jubilant feeling. However, what is more significant is the touch of sorrow on the one hand and the spirit of defiance on the other, which are found in the Christmas Oratorio. Another salient characteristic is the prominence given to the spirit of the common people. These elements enormously enhance the vitality of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio.

The element of poverty and suffering comes out prominently in the first part of the Oratorio, which dwells on the birth of Jesus. The setting of Paul Gerhard’s chorale ‘ Wie soll ich dich empfangen’ ( How shall I receive thee ) to the moving melody of the Passion chorale ‘ O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden’ ( O Sacred Head, now wounded ) is a case in point. Some portions of the text would have also inspired the pathetic element. The setting of the words ‘ Muss in harten Krippen schlafen’ ( must is a forbidding manger sleep ) of the bass aria of the first part and the setting of Luther’s chorale ‘ Er ist auf Erden kommen arm’ ( He came to the world poor ) of the same section, are further examples. The words ‘ An des bittern Kreuzes Stamm’ ( on the wood of the bitter cross ) in the first recitative and chorale of part four also deserve to be mentioned.

The second and third parts of the Christmas Oratorio celebrates the goodwill of the shepherds - the common people, who visited and adored the new born baby in the manger. The music of these two parts have a distinct pastoral character. In fact, the second part begins with a sublime pastoral symphony - an instrumental movement, which counts among Bach’s best loved pieces. Oboes represent the shepherds whilst flutes and violins represent the angel and the heavenly host. Everything is peaceful and idyllic. Life is closer to nature. Wasn’t this familiar to Bach? After all he too was a true son of the common people.

Wise Men of the East

The sixth and final part of the Christmas Oratorio was written for the feast of Epiphany, which falls on January 6th. Epiphany commemorates the adoration of the baby Jesus by the Wise Men from the East ( die Weisen vom Morgenlande ). It is true that the biblical text of both fifth and sixth parts of Oratorio narrate their visit. But, it is the fifth part, and not the sixth, that in fact expresses musically the innocent piety of the visitors from the east. Musically speaking, the sixth part tells an altogether different story – a tale of defiance and militancy. Further, it is worth noting that Bach wrote these pieces in an age , in which the rich and powerful of the western world were ravaging and plundering the east, from which the wise men came!

The spirit of the sixth part of the Christmas Oratorio sharply contrasts to the joy of the first, the idyllic of the second and third, and the piety of the fourth and fifth parts. In the sixth the battle lines are drawn and ranks closed. The enemy ( Feinde ) is found. They are Herod, the high priests ( Hohenpriester) and the scribes ( Schriftgelehrten ), who belong to the camp of death ( Tod ), devil ( Teufel ), sin ( Suend ) and hell ( Hoelle). It is certain that Bach would have comprehended them in terms of the Herods, high-priests and scribes of his own time – the social and spiritual oppressors of the day. The battle against evil is partly won. The sixth part, and the entire Oratorio for that matter, is brought to close by a wonderful choral movement of irresistible gaiety. On this piece Albert Schweitzer wrote, "The final chorale " Nun seid ihr wohl gerochen" is a song of triumph of inimitable grandeur".

It cannot be denied that the dominant spirit of the Christmas Oratorio is one of joy – joy with a difference. The music is intensely beautiful. It is a happy blend of the sensuous and the spiritual. The Christmas Oratorio reveals Bach’s deep spirituality and artistic realism. Further, it stands testimony to Bach’s broad humanism, sense of justice and his instinctive feel for the common people and their struggle. It ends with the words " Das menschichen Geschlecht," which means ‘ Mankind’. The Christmas Oratorio is certainly one of Johann Sebastian Bach’s outstanding creations.