Bach Christmas Oratorio

The Abbey Choir and leading period-instrument orchestra St. James' Baroque herald the start of the Christmas season with a performance of Johann Sebastian Bach's magnificent Weihnachtsoratorium (Christmas Oratorio). Members of the Abbey Choir sing the solo parts in Parts I, II and III of Bach’s seasonal masterpiece, telling the Christmas story from the Birth of Jesus to the Adoration of the Shepherds, while the concert opens with Arcangelo Corelli’s sparkling Christmas Concerto.

The Choir of Westminster Abbey is renowned worldwide as one of the finest ensembles of its type, its repertoire extending from plainsong and Renaissance polyphony to twentieth-century masterpieces and new commissions. In addition to singing the daily services, as it has done since the fourteenth century, the Choir plays a central role in the many royal and state occasions which are held in the Abbey, as well as reaching a wider audience through its programme of broadcasts, recordings and international tours.

This concert takes place thanks to the generous support of David Keltner and the late Patricia Owen Keltner.