Talk:Christmas Oratorio

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So does it consist of 6 cantatas or various chorales, ...., and cantatas?

Six cantatas, each containing several chorales (and choruses). Michael Bednarek 12:09, 23 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] This article needs a lot of work

I am very dubious about several assertions in this article.

  • written in 1734? Rather: written for the Christmas season of 1734/35.
  • text by Picander/Henrici? That's true for two other passions of Bach's, but not this one.
  • Everything in the section Music is either wrong or superfluous.
  • Wrong:
    • The music of the Weihnachtsoratorium (Christmas Oratorio) consists of various chorales, arias and cantatas.
    • ... and recitativos and choir pieces and one sinfonia.
    • Every sung text is accompanied by the chorus, contrary to the St. Matthew Passion.
    • Most recitativos and solo arias are not accompanied by the chorus.
    • There are also no big chorales in the Weihnachtsoratorium.
    • What's a big chorale? A chorale is a strophic hymn and is never very long. All chorales in this work are set in counterpoint, fully instrumented, sometimes elaborately so.
  • Superfluous:
    • Bach used many previous works in the Weihnachtsoratorium. He used at least 19 previously written pieces, for example BWV 213, 214 and 215.
    • This has already been mentioned at the beginning of the article.
  • It's not First piece but Part 1 or On the First Day of Christmas. If it only cites the German text of the first recitativo (with errors), this section might as well be omitted - less is more. If more is wanted, look at de:Weihnachtsoratorium (Bach).

Michael Bednarek 12:09, 23 August 2007 (UTC)