Ring in the Yuletide season with a jubilant burst of music by Bach

Last performed by Tafelmusik in 2015, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio bears the unmistakable hallmark of the composer’s genius. The enduring story of Jesus’ birth unfolds in a sequence of energetic choruses, richly harmonized chorales, and poetic arias, while the tenor Evangelist provides a continuous narrative arc. A full range of Bach’s orchestral colours is punctuated by jubilant trumpets and timpani.

Superb vocal soloists making their Tafelmusik debuts—Hélène Brunet, soprano; Cecilia Duarte, mezzo-soprano; and Jesse Blumberg, baritone—bring extra depth and expressiveness to both the human and divine aspects of the story. Renowned English tenor Charles Daniels brings his “technically brilliant, impassioned, and lyrically supple” voice (BBC Music Magazine) to the role of the Evangelist.

Sung in German, the oratorio is a compilation of six cantatas originally sung at services in Leipzig over the Twelve Days of Christmas. Performed by Tafelmusik Chamber Choir and directed by Ivars Taurins in the intimate setting of Jeanne Lamon Hall, the music balances joy and exuberance with tenderness and simplicity, perfectly capturing the wonder of the nativity story.