Music heralds the coming of Christmas and forms an essential part of the seasonal atmosphere… it is no less indispensable than turkeys, trees, crackers and credit card bills! In traversing the gamut of sublimity and kitsch, the music associated with Christmas never fails to dredge up that festive spirit! 
Benjamin Britten - A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: Written at sea en route from New York to Liverpool, Britten’s Ceremony of Carols has become a perennial part of the Christmas celebrations for many in the English-speaking world. Scored for the unusual combination of trebles and harp, the cycle shows Britten as a master of English song.
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Free Classical Christmas Music 19 November 2007 The Anthony Hawkins Column CMUK’s Classical Music for Christmas:
A good many of classical music’s great composers have been inspired to write works that derive their material from the themes of Christmas, both in its religious and secular manifestations, and often from its many traditional carols:
Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky – Nutcracker, Op. 71: The Nutcracker has become the ultimate Christmas ballet, with its annual plenitude of performances keeping many a ballet company from financial ruin! Drawn from E. T. A. Hoffmann' s, Der Nussknacker und der Mäuserkönig, this magical fairy tale tells of Clara, her Nutcracker doll and the magician Drosselmeyer, the Mouse King, and amazing adventures in the Land of Snow and the Kingdom of the Sweets. Tchaikovsky’s spellbindingly colourful music invigorates in a series of character dances celebrating Spanish chocolate, Arabian coffee, China tea, the Russian trepak and the bewitching Sugar Plum Fairy. Sample some of The Nutcracker’s delights online by visiting:
Witold Lutoslawski – Twenty Polish Christmas Carols: In 1946, Lutoslawski assembled twenty well-known Polish carols, many of which go back as far as five centuries. Originally arranged for solo voice and piano, the composer revisited the cycle four decades later and transcribed them for soprano, female choir and chamber orchestra. These piquant and unobtrusively sophisticated settings capture the essence of each carol with unfaltering elegance. CMUK recommends: Lutoslawski - (20) Polish Christmas Carols
Johann Sebastian Bach – Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248: J. S. Bach composed his oratorio to celebrate Christmas in the church year 1734 – 1735, to be performed on the six major feast days over the thirteen-day period from December 25 through January 6: the "First Day of Christmas," the "Second Day of Christmas," the "Third Day of Christmas," the "Feast of the Circumcision," the "First Sunday of the New Year," and the "Feast of the Epiphany." CMUK recommends:
Hear excerpts online at:
CMUK recommends: Penderecki: Symphony No. 2 "Christmas" Olivier Messiaen – Vingt Regards sur l'enfant Jésus, for piano, I/27: Messiaen’s “Twenty Contemplations on the Infant Jesus” is perhaps the quintessential Christmas suite for piano, a towering paradigm of twentieth century pianism. In it, the composer explores the depths of his Christian faith, presenting a theological drama of cosmic grandeur. Sample this work online at: Click here for a free excerpt MP3 of Messiaen - Vingt Regards sur I'enfant Jésus CMUK recommends:
Arcangelo Corelli - Concerto Grosso in G minor, Op.6, No, 8 ("Christmas Concerto"): The “Christmas Concerto”, published posthumously in 1714 as part of the Twelve Concerti Grossi, bears the inscription Fatto per la notte di Natale or "made for the night of Christmas" and is perhaps Corelli’s best-known work. Hear an excerpt online: Free MP3 Excerpt of Corelli's 'Christmas Concerto'
Béla Bartók - Romanian Christmas Carols for piano, Sz. 57, BB 67: Bartok’s rigorous study of Eastern European folk music had a profound effect on his compositional output, frequently incorporating folk tunes and styles. The composer set twenty Romanian carols for solo piano, divided into two sets and performed without pause between songs. Despite being sung at Christmastime, many of the carols’ texts depict ancient battles and folktales. CMUK recommends: Ralph Vaughan Williams: -
On Christmas Night: Originally titled A Christmas Carol, this festive ballet score, a potential bedfellow with The Nutcracker, derives from an adaptation of the Charles Dickens’ story.The First Nowell: This is a nativity play for soloists, chorus and small orchestra that features many traditional tunes, such as “On Christmas Night”, “The Cherry Tree Carol” and “God rest you merry gentlemen”. Incomplete when the composer died in 1958, the finishing touches were made by Roy Douglas, who had worked closely with Vaughan Williams over many years. CMUK recommends: Vaughan Williams - Fantasia on Christmas Carols
Hector Berlioz – L' Enfance du Christ, Op. 25: Many works lie dormant before receiving much-deserved performances at Christmas, an affliction that beleaguers Berlioz’s oratorio for soprano, two tenors, baritone, three basses, chorus and orchestra. With his inspiration deriving from the musical past, Berlioz employs the language of his predecessors, rekindled by way of his own highly original aesthetic. CMUK recommends: Now, how about some Christmas Carols?
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Krzysztof Penderecki – Symphony No.2 ("Christmas Symphony"): Despite the joyous connotations evoked by its subtitle, Penderecki’s second symphony, written during the years 1979 and 1980, is a near unremittingly dark work. The allusion to Christmas, the celebration of which was of some significance for the Christian composer, comes in the form of three quotations of the famous carol, “Silent Night”.
Fantasia on Christmas Carols: Written in 1912, the Fantasia on Christmas Carols is born out of the composer’s passion for the English folksong genre. Scored for baritone, chorus and orchestra, this simple and charming work captures the Christmas of English country folk, drawing on four lesser-known traditional carols: "The truth sent from above"; "Come all you worthy gentleman"; "On Christmas night"; and "There is a fountain".
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© Court Lane Music 2007