1734: Bach defies the Leipzig city council by rehearsing the Xmas Oratorio with his choir to prove he can enthrall the congregation. But the performance is canceled. Bach's wife Anna uses her connections to help change the council's edict.

Leipzig, December 1734. The ambitious composer and cantor Johann Sebastian Bach, who is controversial among the city's leaders, wants to outdo himself with his Christmas Mass: God's word as a musical work of art. The powerful city councilor Stieglitz puts him in his place: Bach should not compose "operatic" music again. Bach dares to take the dangerous step of contradicting the authorities. He finds support in his wife, the talented singer Anna "Magdalena" Bach, who wisely turns to Stieglitz's wife Maria. Eight-year-old Elisabeth gets the Christmas tree on her own. The closer the performance gets, the more the composer needs the support of his family, but it is only when the patriarch trusts in the talent of his son Emanuel, whom he despises, that the ambitious work is successful. The Bachs work day and night to perform the Christmas Oratorio in St. Thomas Church - until ten-year-old Gottfried suddenly disappears without a trace.—ADR Das Erste