Bach's Christmas Oratorio
By Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Mani
By Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Mani
Johann Sebastian Bach was born in 1685 in Eisenach, in central Germany, and died in 1750 in Leipzig — indeed, blind. Shortly before his death, he dictated his final musical piece, whose theme was: “Before Your throne, Lord, I now draw near.” As is internationally known, he was a supreme composer who found rich inspiration in the texts of Holy Scripture.
Among his artistic works is also his noteworthy creation, the Christmas Oratorio. Bach has bequeathed to us three oratorios: the Christmas Oratorio, the Easter Oratorio, and the Ascension Oratorio — if we exclude the three surviving works titled Passions (according to Matthew, Mark, and John), which, although written in the oratorio form, together with other similar works came to constitute a distinct genre bearing the classical name Passions, such as those by Schütz, Telemann, Handel, and others.
