Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) wrote his Oratorio de Noel 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: Soli SSATB: Chorus: Piano.