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.