Sunday, December 14, 2025
7:00 PM
On WCRB In Concert with GBH Music, celebrate the season with Illuminate Bach: A Holiday Celebration! This festive concert program showcases the radiant spirit of J.S. Bach’s music — from sacred works that evoke the wonder and reverence of the holidays like Part Five of his Christmas Oratorio, to the lyrical charm of his Oboe Concerto in D minor. The concert also features “Winter Breviary,” a set of three carols by Reena Esmail that draw on cultural traditions of Indian and Western themes in music.
Ryan Turner, Emmanuel Music Artistic Director
Emmanuel Music
Corrine Byrne, soprano
Krista River, alto
Matthew Newshouse, tenor
David Thomas Mather, bass
Heather Braun-Bakken, violin I
Rose Drucker, violin II
Joan Ellersick, viola
Rafael Popper-Keizer, cello
Nathan Varga, bass
Jennifer Slowik & Catherine Weinfield-Zell, oboes / d'amore
Michael Beattie, harpsichord
J. S. BACH Lobet den Herrn (Praise the Lord) BWV 230
BACH Oboe Concerto in D minor BWV 1059R
Reena ESMAIL A Winter Breviary
BACH Ehre sei dir, Gott, gesungen (Let honor be sung to you, O God) BWV 248
This concert was recorded on December 3, 2025 at GBH's Fraser Performance Studio.
"illuminate Bach: A Holiday Celebration!" will air on local television throughout the season, premiering on Friday, December 19th at 9pm on GBH 2 and NEPM. It repeats on December 20th at 8pm on GBH 44, and twice on December 25th: at 4pm on GBH 2, and at 6pm on GBH 44. View a complete TV schedule.
After the first TV broadcast, "Illuminate Bach" will also be available to watch on GBH Passport and here on classical.org.
Learn more about Emmanuel Music.
This program was made possible by the Mattina R. Proctor Foundation.