Und es waren Hirten in derselben Gegend, BWV 248 II

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Und es waren Hirten in derselben Gegend, BWV 248II, is a 1734 Christmas cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach as the second part of his Christmas Oratorio. Bach was then Thomaskantor, responsible for music at four churches in Leipzig, a position he had assumed in 1723.

Autograph of the beginning of the Sinfonia

Maria Josepha, the dedicatee of BWV 214, in a 1720 painting by Rosalba Carriera

Angels Announcing the Birth of Christ to the Shepherds by Govert Flinck, 1639

First two pages of the libretto of Bach's Christmas Oratorio, as printed in 1734

Annunciation to the shepherds

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The annunciation to the shepherds is an episode in the Nativity of Jesus described in the Bible in Luke 2, in which angels tell a group of shepherds about the birth of Jesus. It is a common subject of Christian art and of Christmas carols.

This late 15th-century Flemish miniature shows the annunciation to the shepherds.

Rembrandt The Angel Appearing to the Shepherds, 1634

Abraham Bloemaert (Manner of) - Announcement to the shepherds c.1600

This 1663 painting by Abraham Hondius has a matching painting of the Adoration of the shepherds.