Program Notes | December 3, 2011 | Holiday Concert
Notes researched & written by Joan Olsson
J. S. BACH 1985-1750
Christmas Oratorio 1730s: Sinfonia
This oratorio with its festive arias, choruses, and recitatives is similar to an opera without staging or costumes. In the mid to late 1730s, the composer decided to preserve what he viewed as his best cantatas by rearranging them into three oratorios which contained festive arias, choruses, and recitatives.
The Christmas Oratorio was divided into six parts to be performed over the 13 days of Christmas beginning December 15 and ending January 6th. Part 2 for the Second Christmas Day begins with tonight’s performance of Sinfonia in the meter of a siciliano, a Baroque dance. The flutes pair with a “halo of strings’ to personify lovely angels, while oboes represent humble shepherds. The two sets of instruments eventually join together to portray divine forces entering and occupying our mortal realm.