CONCERT: J S Bach's Chirstmas Oratorio

UWA Choral Society present's THE CHRISTMAS STORY as told by J.S. Bach in the CHRISTMAS ORATORIO

The Christmas season brings a vast range of musical offerings, J S Bach's Christmas Oratorio is a gorgeous piece and not often performed in Perth. Most large choirs prefer to perform the Messiah, but UWA Choral Society has decided to break with tradition and present this work to provide our audience with a different experience this Christmas season. Unlike the oft-performed Messiah, Bach’s work was intended for performance at Christmas time. The choir last performed this work four years ago. This wonderful music will once again be performed by the one hundred-voice University of Western Australia Choral Society and chamber orchestra in the splendid surrounds and acoustic beauty of Winthrop Hall, UWA, on Sunday 21 December, 6.30pm.

Christmas Oratorio is a masterful combination of musical story-telling and reflection. Johann Sebastian Bach masterwork consists of six Church Cantatas, which together tell the story of Jesus’ birth through to his Presentation in the Temple. As always in a major-length piece by Bach, the sheer variety of musical forms is as breathtaking as the music itself. The various movements of the Oratorio create a wide range of moods as the familiar story is recounted. With the splendour of trumpets and drums, the soulfulness of horns and the clear tones of woodwinds, the use of orchestral colour is another major feature of this piece. Much is demanded of solo and choral singers – both expressiveness and ability to bring off quickly-running lines of music. And throughout the work there appear Chorales – the hymn tunes of the German Church – which bring the music back to a familiar level for the listener.

All these elements go together to make a superb evening of Christmas music for the Festive Season. Soloists for this concert are: Emma Person, Soprano; Emma Foster, Alto; Stuart Haycock, Tenor; and Andrew Moran, Bass. Tickets are priced at $28, and $25 for concession holders, and are available from the Octagon Theatre, UWA, on ph 9380 2440, or at the door.