Christmas oratorio facts for kids
A Christmas oratorio is a special kind of musical story, like a play told with music, that is written especially for the Christmas season. It's usually performed without costumes or acting, focusing on the singing and music.
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What is an Oratorio?
An oratorio is a large musical work for an orchestra, a choir, and solo singers. It's like a big concert that tells a story, often from the Bible. Unlike an opera, there are no sets or costumes, and the singers usually stand still.
Christmas Oratorios as a Series of Cantatas
Sometimes, a Christmas oratorio is made up of several shorter musical pieces called cantatas. A cantata is a smaller musical work for voices and instruments. These cantatas might be performed on different days during the Christmas season, telling parts of the story over time.
Bach's Famous Christmas Oratorio
One of the most famous Christmas oratorios is by Johann Sebastian Bach. It's simply called the Christmas Oratorio. Bach's work is actually a set of six cantatas. These were first performed in Leipzig, Germany, from December 25, 1734, to January 6, 1735. Each cantata was meant for a different day of the Christmas celebrations.
Other Cantata Collections
Other composers also wrote Christmas oratorios made of several cantatas. For example, Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel created a Christmas oratorio called Das Volck so im Finstern wandelt (which means "The People who Walk in Darkness"). This was first performed in 1728. Another work by Stölzel, Ach, dass die Hülfe aus Zion über Israel käme (meaning "Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion"), was put together from ten of his cantatas and performed in 1736-1737.
Other Notable Christmas Oratorios
Not all Christmas oratorios are collections of cantatas. Some are single, longer pieces of music.
Heinrich Schütz's Christmas Story
One of the earliest known Christmas oratorios is the Christmas Story by Heinrich Schütz. It was likely first performed around 1660. This piece tells the story of Jesus's birth using different voices for characters like the Angel, Herod, and the Shepherds.
Camille Saint-Saëns' Oratorio de Noël
In 1858, the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns wrote his Oratorio de Noël. This beautiful work is known for its gentle and peaceful music, often performed by choirs and orchestras today.
A Modern Christmas Oratorio
More recently, in 2009, Fredrik Sixten composed A Swedish Christmas Oratorio. This shows that composers continue to write new musical works for the Christmas season, keeping the tradition alive.
