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- The Nutcracker – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The Nutcracker is something of a Christmas tradition. The festive tale of a toy soldier that comes to life has endured over the years and been subject to some radical retellings.
- Troika – Sergei Prokofiev. Taken from his Lieutenant Kijé, Prokofiev’s festive sleigh-ride of a piece is not only a mainstay in Christmas concerts around the world, but on hit radio stations too.
- Carol Symphony – Victor Hely-Hutchinson. Written in 1927, Victor Hely-Hutchinson’s festive shindig of a piece takes the listener on a tour of some of the best-loved Christmas carols including ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’, ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’ and ‘The First Noël’.
- L’Enfance du Christ – Hector Berlioz. Berlioz wrote the oratorio L’Enfance du Christ from 1854. It’s a huge work, which took four years to compose, and depicts not just the childhood of Christ but also Herod’s mass murder of infants in Judea, which led to the fleeing of Mary, Joseph and Jesus.
The best pieces of Christmas classical music. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. You’d have had to have set aside quite a chunk in your diary to hear the first performance of JS Bach ’s Christmas Oratorio – consisting of six parts, it was sung over six different feast days between Christmas Day 1734 and Epiphany on 6 January 1735.
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- Corelli’s Christmas Concerto
- Bach’s Christmas Oratorio
- Handel’s Messiah
- Mozart’s Sleigh Ride
- Berlioz’ L’Enfance Du Christ
- Saint-Saëns’ Oratorio de Noël
- Liszt’s Christmas Tree Suite
- Tchaikovsky’s December: Christmas
- Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker
- Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn’s Nutcracker Suite
Arcangelo Corelli was one of the finest violinists and composers in late 17th/early18th century Italy. The manuscript of this concerto bears the inscription “Fatto per la notte di Natale” (made for the night of Christmas), and ends with a pastoral finale that evokes the shepherds who came to see the newborn Jesus.
Bach composed this festive work for the Christmas of 1734. Each of its six parts would have been performed separately on feast days during the Christmas season. This work is a great next step for classical music lovers already familiar with the next piece on our list, Handel’s Messiah.
This is a big one. Handel’s Messiah has been one of the most popular pieces of classical music for hundreds of years, thanks in no small part to the famed Hallelujah Chorus. The tradition of performing it at Christmastime can be traced back to early nineteenth-century America, and today orchestras all over the world (including the Houston Symphony)...
Before Leroy Anderson’s Sleigh Ride, there was Mozart’s. This is the last of his Three German Dances K. 605, and was most likely composed for a ball at Vienna’s imperial court. Like many artists today, Mozart took a “just add sleigh bells” approach to creating a wintry atmosphere.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h1OOsUE_HM Technically this piece is a musical sequel to the Christmas story, since it picks up after the magi with King Herod’s plot to murder all boys under the age of two and the holy family’s consequent flight into Egypt. It does depict the shepherds saying farewellto them, so there is something Christmasy in th...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ktt7s7yDGxc Saint-Saëns’ completed his Oratorio de Noël in just two weeks in order to have it ready to perform on Christmas Day 1858. It may have been a rush job, but it still contains a lot of pretty music; the movements featuring the harp have some lovely effects.
Although he led a scandalous life as a young piano virtuoso, in his later years Franz Liszt joined the Third Order of Saint Francis and took several minor orders within the Catholic Church (including exorcist…). He wrote his “Christmas Tree” suite in 1881 for his granddaughter Daniela, who had the misfortune of being born on December 24; perhaps sh...
Tchaikovsky’s The Seasonsis a set of piano pieces in which each piece represents one of the twelve months of the year. They were written to be published in a magazine; subscribers would receive a new piece by Tchaikovsky each month in their copy. For December, Tchaikovsky wrote one of his graceful waltzes, and subtitled it “Christmas.” The magazine...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4aYH7YBwC8 Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcrackeris perhaps the most famous classical Christmas music ever. Every December one hears its best-known numbers everywhere, especially the Trepak, the Waltz of the Flowers, the March and the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. But every measure of the score is an enchanting and masterful...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22UvNbwsmZ8 OK, maybe this isn’t strictly classical, but it is a witty and ingenious take on Tchaikovsky’s music from jazz greats Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. Ellington and Strayhorn created this arrangement in 1960, likely as a result of the popularity of Balanchine’s revival of the ballet. Tchaikovsky’s star...
10 Essential Christmas Classics. Get into the Christmas spirit with ten classical festive favourites selected by the Radio 3 Essential Classics team! All of them can be heard in full on the BBC...
Dec 20, 2023 · Christmas is steeped in musical tradition, and its classical canon glistens with festive jewels. Our selection of the best classical Christmas music is a snapshot of many...
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In fact, little music appeared that identified either occasion. The second millennium, in contrast, witnessed a number of distinctly Christmas genres, notably the carol, which was not originally exclusive to Christmas. Read on as we investigate the origins of Christmas music.
