Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) wrote his Oratorio de Noël in a matter of weeks, completing the work ten days before it premiered on Christmas in 1858 in Paris. Written and structured in a style that resembles the oratorios of the early Baroque period, Saint-Saëns' study of choral music from composers such as Bach, Handel, Mozart, and others, had a great influence on the work. Instrumentation: Harp: Organ: Str (4-4-3-3-3 in set): Soli SSATB: Chorus. Study score.