Oratorio de Noël (PA)

Owing to its Latin text, Saint-Saëns’ Christmas Oratorio has found admirers all over the world. Saint-Saëns avoids theatrical effects in his church music and relies almost entirely on homophonic choral writing. Here theoperatic allusions so popular in his day have given way to a mixture of romantic élan and reminiscences of the Baroque. The subtitle reads “ dans le style de J. S. Bach” although the composer was unaware of Bach’s ChristmasOratorio.

In this unusual form the oratorio, of which the final movement is already a hit with many choruses, is well-suited for performance during the Advent and Christmas seasons, providing a welcome changefromBach.

The original orchestral parts have been transcribed into easy-to-play organ reductions whereby the contemporary tradition of such arrangements has been taken intoconsideration. In some cases, the original organ versions by the composer were used. The organ parts are presented on three staves. The choir and solo parts always remain true to the original. You need only one edition forsoloists, singers and organist alike.