Bach - Christmas Oratorio / Gardiner
This isn't an oratorio in the Handelian sense, but a series of cantatas  for various days from Christmas to Epiphany. Bach's music is loaded with treats:  an echo aria for soprano and oboe; a "pastoral" sinfonia; bravura  arias for tenor with flute and bass with trumpet; a giddy soprano-bass duet; a  transporting lullaby for alto. Then there are the choruses, featuring the  Monteverdi Choir at their best: exuberant full-orchestra choruses in parts one  and three; a lilting triple-time chorus with horns in part four; the joyful  skittering chorus in part five; and the triumphant opening and closing of part  six (with spectacular trumpet solos). John Eliot Gardiner's direction is  vigorous; the soloists, the best group you'll find on CD, include a terrific  young Anne Sofie von Otter.--Matthew Westphal