Can one say anything about such a popular work as Bach's Christmas Oratorio that is not already known? Oh yes, certainly. It is enough to free one's gaze from what one is accustomed to seeing, or rather, hearing, and to forget what one believes to know about it. A private experience, where only the musical score and its observer stand in relation to each other, teaches attention to aspects that are usually obscured by performance and listening habits. No other art shares with music the disadvantage of presenting itself to its audience, like a dish, solely in a prepared form, making it difficult to discern what is attributable to the chef and what to the ingredients he used. However, from what the artist created, the meaning of the creation unfolds – and is this not the only thing that matters?.