In the second cantata of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio - recorded here for All of Bach with Shunske Sato - we are with the shepherds in the field. In a colourful patchwork of recitatives, arias, choruses, chorales and even an instrumental section, Bach tells how a host of angels appears to a group of shepherds tending their flocks in the field. Just for a moment in the biblical narrative by Luke, Jesus is not the main character. Instead, the focus is on a group of ordinary people who are receiving the tidings of the birth of Jesus.
For more information on BWV 248 and credits of this production go to https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en/bwv/bwv-248-2/
For the documentary on Bach's Christmas Oratorio go to https://youtu.be/dFcr7jKZWYk
Recorded for the project All of Bach on January 4th 2023 at Muziekcentrum voor de Omroep, Hilversum. If you want to help us complete All of Bach, please subscribe to our channel https://bit.ly/2vhCeFB and consider donating https://bit.ly/3J5uprM.
All of Bach is a project of the Netherlands Bach Society, with the aim to perform and record all of Bach's works and share them online with the world for free. Visit our online treasury for more videos and background material on https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en/allofbach. For concert dates and tickets go to https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en/concerts.
Netherlands Bach Society
Shunske Sato, violin and direction
Viola Blache, soprano
Ulrike Malotta, alto
Daniel Johannsen, tenor
Matthias Helm, bass
0:00 Sinfonia
5:06 Und es waren Hirten (Rezitativ)
5:52 Brich an, o schönes Morgenlicht (Choral)
6:54 Und der Engel sprach (Rezitativ)
7:36 Was Gott dem Abraham (Rezitativ)
8:18 Frohe Hirten, eilt (Arie)
11:59 Und das habt zum Zeichen (Rezitativ)
12:24 Schaut hin (Choral)
13:03 So geht denn hin (Rezitativ)
13:52 Schlafe, mein Liebster (Arie)
22:40 Und alsobald war (Rezitativ)
22:51 Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe (Chor)
25:09 So recht, ihr Engel (Rezitativ)
25:32 Wir singen dir in deinem Heer (Choral)