Christmas oratorio

A Christmas oratorio (German: Weihnachtsoratorium; French: Oratorio de Noël) is an oratorio written for Christmas or the Christmas season.

Christmas oratorios as a set of Christmas cantatas

Some Christmas oratorios consist of a collection of Christmas cantatas, to be performed during several days of the Christmas season. Examples include:^[1]

Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248, Johann Sebastian Bach's Weihnachtsoratorium, premiered from 25 December 1734 to 6 January 1735 in Leipzig.^[2]
Liebes-Andachten, nach dem Jahrgang aus denen Evangeliis eingerichtet, cycle of Christmas cantatas by Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel, first performed 25–27 December 1719 in Gotha (music lost).^[3]
Das Volck so im Finstern wandelt, Christmas oratorio by Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel, first performed 25–27 December 1728 in Gotha.^[4]

Ach, dass die Hülfe aus Zion über Israel käme, is a Christmas oratorio retroactively compiled from 10 cantatas by Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel, which were performed from 25 December 1736 to 6 January 1737 in Sondershausen (recorded 1999–2000).^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]

Other examples

Christmas Story, SWV 435, by Heinrich Schütz, likely first performed in 1660, partially published in 1664.
Vom Himmel Hock, MWV A 22, by Felix Mendelssohn, written in 1831.
Oratorio de Noël, Op. 12, by Camille Saint-Saëns, written in 1858.
A Swedish Christmas Oratorio, for 2 choirs, soprano solo and chamber orchestra, by Fredrik Sixten in 2009.
Christmas Oratorio, for soprano, baritone, chorus, and orchestra by James MacMillan, written in 2019.

References

^ (in German) Irmgard Scheitler. Deutschsprachige Oratorienlibretti: von den Anfängen bis 1730. Schöningh, 2005. ISBN 3506729551, pp. 338–345
^ Bach Digital Work 00314
^ Samantha Owens, Barbara M. Reul, Janice B. Stockigt Music at German Courts, 1715–1760: Changing Artistic Priorities. Boydell & Brewer, 2011 (reprint 2015). ISBN 9781783270583, p. 204
^ Texte zu einem Weihnachts-Oratorium 1728 – Texte zu einem Weihnachts-Oratorium 1728 at the Wayback Machine (archived 17 September 2016) at www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/mielorth/stoelzel
^ Abstracts von Aufsätzen zu Stoelzel Abstracts von Aufsätzen zu Stoelzel at the Wayback Machine (archived 17 September 2016) at www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/mielorth/stoelzel
^ Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel: Weihnachtsoratorium at operadata.stanford.edu
^ Kobow / Mertens / Remy / Schwarz / Stolzel / Voss – Gottfried Heinrich Stolzel: Christmas Oratorio; Cantatas 1–5 CD at www.cduniverse.com
^ David Vernier. Stölzel Christmas Oratorio at www.classicstoday.com

[Scheitler2005-1] (in German) Irmgard Scheitler. Deutschsprachige Oratorienlibretti: von den Anfängen bis 1730. Schöningh, 2005. ISBN 3506729551, pp. 338–345

[2] Bach Digital Work 00314

[Courts2011p204-3] Samantha Owens, Barbara M. Reul, Janice B. Stockigt Music at German Courts, 1715–1760: Changing Artistic Priorities. Boydell & Brewer, 2011 (reprint 2015). ISBN 9781783270583, p. 204

[CO1728-4] Texte zu einem Weihnachts-Oratorium 1728 – Texte zu einem Weihnachts-Oratorium 1728 at the Wayback Machine (archived 17 September 2016) at www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/mielorth/stoelzel

[CO1736-37-5] Abstracts von Aufsätzen zu Stoelzel Abstracts von Aufsätzen zu Stoelzel at the Wayback Machine (archived 17 September 2016) at www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/mielorth/stoelzel

[6] Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel: Weihnachtsoratorium at operadata.stanford.edu

[7] Kobow / Mertens / Remy / Schwarz / Stolzel / Voss – Gottfried Heinrich Stolzel: Christmas Oratorio; Cantatas 1–5 CD at www.cduniverse.com

[8] David Vernier. Stölzel Christmas Oratorio at www.classicstoday.com

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