CONCERT: Bach's 'Christmas Oratorio'

The UWA Choral Society will perform Bach’s Christmas Oratorio in Winthrop Hall on Sunday December 18 at 6.30pm. Conducted by John Beaverstock and with an orchestra led by Daniel Ispas, the Christmas Week concert promises to start the traditional season with beautiful arias and cantatas.

Written in 1734 when Bach was 49-years-old, the Christmas Oratorio is a story in six-parts covering the 12 days of Christmas - but it isn’t the traditional 12 days of Christmas many of us bring to mind. For most of us, the 12 days of Christmas begin on December 13 and end on Christmas Day as we unwrap those final gifts. In Johann Sebastian Bach’s time, as well as in our own, the 12 days of Christmas for the Church began on Christmas Day and continued through to January 6, the Feast of Epiphany. That is the context in which Bach wrote the Christmas Oratorio and through a wonderful combination of choruses, cantatas and arias these Biblical stories are retold. This year UWACS will present all six parts in one concert, stepping aside from Bach’s tradition of conducting one part (or one cantata) at a time as six separate services of worship. Drinks and refreshments will be available by the Reflection Pool at the front of Winthrop Hall after the performance. Tickets cost $28 ($25 concession) from BOCS office in The Octagon Theatre UWA on 6448 2440 or at the door.