Respighi’s Lauda per la Natività del Signore Rimsky’s opera, which is based on a story by Gogol, enjoyed its first performance in 1895 and he later distilled some of its finer moments into an equally enjoyable orchestral suite. Head instead, then, for Rimsky-Korsakov’s jolly romp, which tells of Vakula the blacksmith’s bid to win the affection of the lovely Oksana by stealing and bringing her the Empress’s slippers, an adventure that comes complete with a night-time ride through the stars to St Petersburg. Rimsky-Korsakov’s Christmas Eveįestive operas are surprisingly thin on the ground, and the two most famous ones set partly on Christmas Eve – Puccini’s La bohème and Massenet’s Werther – have thoroughly miserable, unseasonal outcomes. His oratorio is a comparatively restrained affair, interspersing the Christmas narrative with reflective texts, though the uplifting final ‘Tollite hostias’ chorus always leaves the listener with a spring in the step. Saint-Saëns’s ten-movement piece is shorter and more compact than Bach’s, though is lushly orchestrated for soloists, chorus, strings, harp and, of course, organ – at the time, the composer held the post of organist at La Madeleine in Paris and was a renowned player. When the 25-year-old Camille Saint-Saënswrote his Christmas Oratorio in December 1858, he clearly had one eye on Bach’s notable predecessor, as there are little stylistic nods to the great man throughout the piece.
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