Philippe Herreweghe and the Collegium Vocale Gent are names inseparably linked with the interpretation of Bach. Leading figures in this repertoire and longstanding acquaintances of the Palau de la Música Catalana, over the years they have brought the Passions and other major works by the composer to its stage. They now return with the Christmas Oratorio, at a particularly fitting time of year to hear it and as a fitting culmination of this long-standing relationship with the Palau.

Bach conceived the six cantatas we now know as the Christmas Oratorio for different celebrations of the Christmas season, from Christmas Day to Epiphany. Herreweghe has selected four of them and brings together a quartet of soloists specialising in this repertoire — Dorothee Mields, Alex Potter, Guy Cutting and Johannes Kammler — alongside the choir and orchestra of the Collegium Vocale Gent. A combination of voices and performers especially well suited to rediscovering Bach in his most festive Christmas spirit, on the eve of the celebrations for which this music was originally composed.