Bach's Christmas Oratorio

Since the Middle Ages, the Christian world has performed the story of the birth of Jesus in some dramatised and musical form in the run-up to Christmas. One of the best known today is Bach's Christmas Oratorio, which he wrote in 1734, when he was 50 years old. The work consists of six cantatas in all, and here cantatas 1, 2 and 3 are performed, dealing with the story of the birth of the infant Jesus, the shepherds in the field and all the well-known scenes from the Christmas Gospel. The Christmas Oratorio is one of Bach's greatest works and alternates between recitatives, beautiful arias and splendid choruses. Two choirs, four international soloists and Aalborg Symfoniorkester mark the coming of Christmas in atmospheric fashion under the baton of conductor Nicolas McGegan. The concert can also be experienced in Thisted Kirke on Friday 11 December 2026.