So, every Christmas Eve for the past few years I've been posting this diary in various forms.
We all (I hope) enjoy the music of this Holiday Season. However, while the popular songs are nice to listen to, I personally prefer to listen to Christmas music one doesn't normally hear on the radio stations that switch their format to all Christmas music. Those stations will play all sorts of different arrangements of the same several "standards" what everyone knows. They'll even play light classical like Leroy Anderson.
I'm talking about more serious Christmas music. The kind the classical music station would play.
And there’s a lot of it. From the old chants which became the earliest carols to larger, more symphonic works, classical composers have always composed music for Christmas. Some using old and familiar tunes, some writing original music. Most of what I’m going to post falls under the category of “old carols”. All melodies were written pre-Twentieth Century. Let us begin with Christmas music from the Arabic world:
That was written circa AD 700. As we move West, we turn to the ancient chants and carols of the Medieval and Renaissance periods:
Now, I'm going to play a lot of Christmas music written by and arranged by Ralph Vaughan-Williams. Included will be the opening of his monumental work Hodie. Please read this excellent diary discussing this masterwork. Vaughan-Williams was one of those composers who not only arranged old carols, but wrote his own original music as well.
"Greensleeves” is an example of a tune written about something else entirely that has had lyrics added to it to make it a Christmas song
The beginning of “Hodie”:
And now a digression based on "The Wassail Song": In "Olden Days", people used to celebrate the season by going door to door singing and wishing each other "waes hael". They would be rewarded with a mulled cider based beverage. This tradition, and the drink, became known as "wassailing". Naturally here follows a recipe for Wassail.
So: Take your largest crock pot. Add one gallon of pure apple cider (the good stuff), or hard cider like Strongbow, or your best ale. Chop up 2 or three apples (Fuji is preferable) and set in the cider. Stud two oranges with cloves (Not too many--they will overpower the other flavors) and add into the pot. Add 1/4 cup honey if desired. Add two whole nutmegs, 2 cinnamon sticks, 1/4 cup candied ginger and heat. Just before serving, add up to 750 ml of brandy. Drink. Sing. Fall asleep.
Back to carols: Here is Benjamin Britten's arrangement of old English carols, in Middle English.
Gustav Holst was another composer who masterfully took old tunes and arranged them. Here is his “Christmas Day”, full of old and familiar carols.
The noted concert band director and composer Alfred Reed also took old carols and arranged them. This is his monumental “Russian Christmas Music” for concert band
Next we have “original” Christmas music by classical composers. We’ll start with the seldom heard “Lauda per la Nativita del Signore” by Ottorino Respighi
Next, we move to the less seldom heard Saint-Saens Christmas Oratorio:
One of the most famous Christmas choral works is Bach’s Christmas Cantata. Here are some selections
Modern choral composers have also written original music for Christmas. This is from Morten Lauridsen:
Here are some arrangements of old carols from the recently deceased American composer Stephen Paulus:
I’ll finish up this LONG music diary with music from the most famous “Christmas” classical piece of all: Messiah. I have Christmas in quotes because Messiah is really meant to be performed at Easter time. However, the first part is all about the birth of Jesus, so Christmas has appropriated it. On a personal note, the choir in this recording is the choir I sing in. Sadly, this recording was made before I joined.
As always, please add your own additions in the comments. Sit back, turn the lights low, and let the glorious sounds of the season take you to a place of Peace.