California Bach Society annual holiday concerts are a beloved Bay Area tradition and a popular way to
start the season. This year’s program features Weihnachtshistorie (The Christmas Story), Artistic Director
Paul Flight’s compilation of sacred works by the brilliant yet often overlooked Baroque composer Johann
Rosenmüller—whose music combines the grand Venetian style of Monteverdi with the monumental
German style of sacred music leading up to Bach—along with compositions by early Baroque master
Heinrich Schütz. These pieces for chamber choir and Baroque strings, winds, brass, and continuo weave
together moments of sweet simplicity, dazzling choral and instrumental counterpoint, and flamboyant
theatricality in a magical musical experience—a perfect way to welcome the spirit and joy of the
holidays.