Music is a quintessential part of the holidays. Almost everywhere you go, you’ll hear Mariah Carey come out of hiding to sing about what she wants for Christmas, Charlie Brown and his friends going skating, and Bobby Helms rocking the night away. While these popular tunes engulf us in merriment all December long, let’s not forget about the Classical tradition! The Western classical music canon features an abundance of pieces that will undoubtedly stir the warm and joyful feelings of the holidays. Let’s take a look into some of the timeless selections you may stumble upon during this holiday season.
“The Nutcracker Suite Op. 71a” - Tchaikovsky
This suite is a selection of eight excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s eponymous ballet “The Nutcracker”. This ~25 minute reduction of the full-length ballet features some of its most memorable musical highlights, such as the enamoring Waltz of the Flowers, the ethereal Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, and the thrilling Trepak. What makes this music so special is Tchaikovsky’s ability to use sound as a means to capture all of the sparkling magic of the Nutcracker story, which brings it all to life.
Listen to the Waltz of the Flowers played by the Vancouver Symphony, led by Bramwell Tovey:
“Lieutenant Kije - Troika” - Prokofiev
Lieutenant Kije was Prokofiev’s first attempt at film music, written as a commission to accompany the 1934 Soviet comedy film of the same name. While Prokofiev was known at the time for his unconventional use of dissonance, this commission presented an opportunity for him to write more accessible music in popular styles. After the film was released, Prokofiev condensed the music into a five-movement suite. The Troika, which refers to a traditional three-horse Russian sled, features a quickly paced folk-song melody that will take you on a swirling, ambient sleigh ride through the snow.
Listen to the London Symphony Orchestra led by Yuri Ahnronovitch:
“Cranham” - Holst
±á´Ç±ô˛őłŮ’s Cranham, named after a village in Gloucestershire, is a musical setting of a poem called “In The Bleak Midwinter” by 19th century English poet Christina Rosetti. Originally published as “A Christmas Poem”, musical settings of this poem have rendered it a Christmas carol, and ±á´Ç±ô˛őłŮ’s beautiful arrangement is no different. Cranham remains one of the most famous settings of “In The Bleak Midwinter” carol.
Listen to the Choir of King's College, Cambridge:
“Fantasia on Greensleeves” - Vaughan-Williams
Greensleeves is a traditional English folk song whose melody you may recognize as the Christmas carol “What Child is This”. This piece by Vaughan-Williams originally appeared in his opera “Sir John in Love”, where he uses the Greensleeves melody and another folk song called Lovely Joan. Composer Ralph Greaves lifted these excerpts from “Sir John in Love” to arrange the Fantasia on Greensleeves.This flowing piece weaves these two folk tunes together to create a free-form pastoral, delicately scored for strings, harp, and two optional flutes.
Take a listen to this lovely arrangement featuring a viola and cello duet, performed by Herbert Downes and Jacqueline Du Pre.
“The Messiah - ±á˛ą±ô±ô±đ±ôłÜÂᲹłó” - Handel
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! A resounding chorus undoubtedly proclaimed each holiday season, Handel’s Messiah remains one of the most popular and well-known pieces of the Western Classical tradition. The Messiah is an oratorio, which is a large-scale concert piece for orchestra and choir often deriving its text from biblical sources. This genre rose to popularity in the late Baroque period as the Italian opera declined, and at the Messiah’s premiere in Dublin in 1742, audiences were stunned at Handel’s ability to display emotion and spectacle without operatic staging.
Take a listen to the triumphant finale of Handel’s landmark work, performed in Montreal’s very own Notre Dame Cathedral, lead by Kent Nagano.
Do you have any favourite Classical pieces for the holidays? Let us know! Email us at publicity.music [at] mcgill.ca.
