Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Merry Christmas to all of our followers! We hope this Christmas season has been a wonderful one for you and your families!

Of course, Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without music! Please enjoy these 3 famous Christmas pieces, written by classical composers Tchaikovsky, Handel and Mendelssohn! 

The Nutcracker – Tchaikovsky

The Nutcracker was premiered on December 18, 1892 at Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Surprisingly, the ballet met with disapproval at its debut. However, The Nutcracker gained fantastic popularity in the late 1960’s, and has been a favorite of all ages ever since. In fact, major American ballet companies generate around 40 percent of their annual ticket revenues from performances of this ballet. The music of The Nutcracker is famed all across the world – especially at Christmas time. Enjoy this performance of The Nutcracker, performed in its very own Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Pertersburg.

The Messiah – Handel

Handel’s Messiah is possibly the most genius work of music ever written. The more-than-two-hour-long piece was composed in only 24 days! One of the most famous movements (the 44th) is the Hallelujah Chorus and is often played around Christmas time.

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing – Mendelssohn (melody)

In 1739, Charles Wesley’s Christmas carol, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, appeared in the book Hymns and Sacred Poems. Actually, Mr.Wesley’s original words for his carol were “Hark! how all the welkin rings / Glory to the King of Kings. The carol was eventually given the words that we know today by George Whitefield. But did you know that the melody was composed by neither Wesley nor Whitefield? In 1840, Felix Mendelssohn composed a cantata to commemorate  Johann Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press, and the music from this cantata, adapted by the English musician William H. Cummings, is the melody we know today.

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We hope you enjoyed these wonderful pieces! Merry Christmas to one and all!

– Cammi and Maggie