#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalChristmas Week 5

For the past four years, the #ClassicsaDay team has adopted  Classical Christmas as its theme for December. And why not? We have a rich body of music related to the season dating back to the Middle Ages. A good deal of it is religious, but not all -- many works are simply inspired by the time of year. 

As always, I tried to select music that I hadn't shared before while avoiding the obvious (like Vivaldi's "Winter"). Here are my posts for the fifth and final week of #ClassicalChristmas

12/28/20 Paul Hindemith - The Long Christmas Dinner

This 1931 opera traces the history of a mid-western family through 90 years of Christmas dinners in the same home.

12/29/20 Delius - Winter Night

This is the second of the "Three Small Tone Poems" written by Delius. Originally, this 1890 cycle was to have one movement for every season, but Autumm's was never written.

12/30/20 Bristow - Winter's Tale Overture

George Frederick Bristow was an early advocate of American classical music. His 1856 overture was for a Broadway production of Shakespeare's play.

12/31/20 Hymn to St. Nicholas

Saint Nicholas is a very important figure in the Eastern Orthodox Church. He's the subject of many traiditional carols, such as this one from Carpathia.

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalChristmas Week 4

For the past four years, the #ClassicsaDay team has adopted  Classical Christmas as its theme for December. And why not? We have a rich body of music related to the season dating back to the Middle Ages. A good deal of it is religious, but not all -- many works are simply inspired by the time of year. 

As always, I tried to select music that I hadn't shared before while avoiding the obvious (like Vivaldi's "Winter"). Here are my posts for the fourth week of #ClassicalChristmas

12/21/20 Alessandro Scarlatti - Christmas Cantata

Scarlatti is credited with developing this form. Unlike most music performed in the church, the Christmas Cantata was sung in the vernacular, rather than Latin.

12/22/20 Rimsky-Korsakov - Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was a four-act opera Rimsky-Korsakov finished in 1895. In 1904 he created an orchestral suite from the opera's music.

12/23/20 Adolphus Hailstork - Christmas Everywhere

"Everywhere, Everywhere Christmas Tonight!" was written by Rev. Phillps Brooks in the 1880s. Hailstork set the poem in 1993.

12/24/20 John Knowles Paine - Christmas Gift, Op. 7

Paine composed this piano work in 1862. It's one of his earliest published works, written when he was 23.

12/25/20 Margaret Bonds - Ballad of the Brown King

Langston Hughes wrote the libretto for this 1954 cantata. It uses Balthazar to "reinforce the image of African participation in the Nativity story."

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalChristmas Week 1

For the past four years, the #ClassicsaDay team has adopted  Classical Christmas as its theme for December. And why not? We have a rich body of music related to the season dating back to the Middle Ages. A good deal of it is religious, but not all -- many works are simply inspired by the time of year. 

As always, I tried to select music that I hadn't shared before while avoiding the obvious (like Vivaldi's "Winter"). Here are my posts for the first week of #ClassicalChristmas 

12/1/20 Johann Kuhnau - Magnificat in C major 

Kuhnau was Bach's predecessor at Leipzig, holding the post for 21 years. This Magnificat would have been performed during Advent.

12/2/20 Felix Mendelssohn - Weihnachten

"Weihnachten" (Christmas) is part of Six Motets written in 1843. The text is by Martin Luther.

12/03/20 Williams Billings - Shiloh

Billings is considered the first American choral composer, beginning his career around 1770. "Shiloh" is one of several Christmas carols he composed.

12/04/20 Moravian Christmas music

Missionaries of the Moravian Church arrived in American in 1735 and established two enclaves in Pennsylvania and North Carolina. Music is a strong tradition in the church, as are trombone choirs.