Jeffrey Biegel shared this on FB. Wonderful classical Christmas Music on an internet station

If it only comes up on the radio station, go to the top and click on Holiday.

http://www.wqxr.org/#!/playlists/show/wqxr-holiday-stream-2012/2012/dec/18/

Speaking of Jeffrey, again, I am enjoying his wonderful Christmas CD - A Steinway Christmas Album which he released last year.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005GL89OM/ref=pe_58730_27375510_pe_vfe_dt1

So, what are you listening to? Your CD's? Your favorite broadcast station? Internet station?

Celebrate the upcoming Solstice and Happy Holidays to all! LL

Aside from background music at stores or on TV, I listen to most of my Christmas music when either I or my kids are playing it.

Apart from playing through Liszt's Weihnachtsbaum, I listen to BBC Radio 3 where at this time of the year there's lots of classical Christmas music - several collegiate and professional choirs have sung live on the In Tune evening program, there was a live broadcast of Messiah last week, and Bach's Christmas Oratorio is due in a few days, the Advent Carol Service from St John's College, Cambridge was broadcast a couple of weekends ago, and last weekend there was 'Christmas around Europe' - Christmas music (classical and ethnic) from Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Spain, Latvia, Bulgaria.....what more could one want?

Oh, and there's of course the forthcoming Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from King's College Chapel, Cambridge (live on Radio 4 Christmas Eve, repeated on Radio 3 on Christmas Day).

The harmonies, entrances, cutoffs, and rhythmic precision = PERFECT
The diction =

But it's still enjoyable to listen to

"Glory to God in the Hyatt"? What room rate is He getting?

Seriously, though, folks, I find the above just too repetitive to be of any musical interest, although the precision is laudable.

Along with the requisite "Messiah" and "Christmas Oratorio" classical works, my Christmas music listening consists of very, very traditional (what else did you expect from me, what?) music on CD sung by well-trained, beautifully balanced choirs and groups (most English)
- (King's College, Westminster Abbey Choir, Anonymous 4, Choir of New College Oxford, Clare College Choir, St John's College Choir, Tallis Scholars, Taverner Consort), and a few operatic soloists (Sutherland, Schwartzkopf, Pavarotti).

Please spare me the pop singers and their Christmas endeavours.

Regards,

Thanks for the chuckle Bruce. I don't think I could hear any other word there now!

I haven't been listening to Christmas music. I'm not a grinch. I just don't happen to celebrate Christmas.

I've been listening to a jaw-dropping CD of Rene Fleming singing a variety of arias. I picked it up at a used bookstore for about $5 U.S. and I can't understand why anyone would part with it. Her voice and the emotions she puts into the music give me goosebumps!

ive been listening to Christmas music through my KRK Studio Monitors, which are connected to a external audio interface and my computer has a usb going to the interface. mostly listening through iTunes and watching some youtube performances.

heres a pic:

How I am listening to "my" Christmas music is, so far, completely incidental to shopping, so maybe it's not really mine.

Funny, I'd never thought of it as "incidental music" before, but it can be sort of seen that way - music to shop by. And it doesn't have to be Christmas shopping - almost any kind of shopping this time of year will get that soundtrack.

What? -- No Chanticleer?????

It wouldn't be Christmas without it!

I have Sirius-XM satellite radio, and channel 75, the lighter classical channel, is playing all xmas music now, but along the line of the artists that Bruce mentioned above. There is also plenty of Chanticleer, Libera, The King's Singers, Canadian Brass, Apollo's Fire, and lots of other great musicians and music.

I saw that album on Itunes and am considering it. I have a large collection of Christmas music on my ipod.

Liszt's magisteral oratorio: Christus.



That's part one, the 'Christmas' part. It's also probably the weakest although it's still wonderful.

Always King's College at this time of year.

One of my favourite pop seasonal songs is 'Christmas Time is Here', and Vince Guaraldi and Rosemary Clooney are particularly special!

You're right, it's not of great musical interest, but I love the ostinato.

The choirs you named are fantastic. Do you know Harry Christophers and The Sixteen? Or even better, Kamer Youth Choir?

Am I the only person who is sick of Christmas music? Seems like half the year here is about Christmas.

Bach's Weihnachtsoratorium, BWV 248 isn't a work you hear everyday. Nor Saint-Saëns's Oratorio de Noël. Nor a lot of other Christmas music. Not even Liszt's Weihnachtsbaum.

Unlike Chopin.....

In our neck of the woods, Christmas decorations (in stores) tend to be put up on November 1st - and holiday "canned music" starts getting piped through the loudspeakers......

Fortunately I spend very little time in the malls these days - so it isn't an issue.

Our local classical music station starts playing "holiday" music a couple of weeks before Christmas. At least I can switch that off if I reach the saturation point.

BUT - the five church services I'm participating in this coming Sunday through Tuesday (as chorister and accompanist) are and entirely different matter....... Making music is a joy !!

Though I'm an atheist, I miss singing in a choir in carol services, like I used to do at school. There have been so many wonderful contemporary carols composed in recent years, like John Tavener's The Lamb, and Jan Sandström's Det är en ros utsprungen.

That's especially true when Christmas is not one's holiday!

The only recording I have of Christophers is a BBC Music recording of Messiah. And when it comes to listening to that work, I always turn to my recording with Trevor Pinnock (Auger, von Otter, Chance, Crook, Tomlinson) and the English Concert.

Regards,

Good point !!!!!

But compared to Thomas Beecham's all out Verdian assault, Pinnock sounds almost prim and proper.

Last Christmas, I went to a concert in the Royal Festival Hall in London while The Sixteen were giving a Christmas concert next door in the Queen Elizabeth Hall. I heard that after their concert, they would be singing carols in the foyer, so I popped into the QEH after my concert to hear them - people gathered around as they sang for half an hour several well-known carols. The audience also joined in, with Christophers's encouragement, and we all had a great time.

Try listening to NPR - they've been interspersing choice pieces of underplayed Christmas music with their regular classical fare. Nice mix.

Watched some of Michael Buble last nite. Nice voice, but I couldn't stand watching him. So many phony 'stage presence' smiles and cocking his head. The Washington Christmas was a little better.

Anything else to recommend for watching?

BTW, I guess I don't get too tired of Xmas music since I don't hit the malls, and usually only listen to NPR so I don't get the old ho hum stuff (thank goodness!) I like that the station mentioned above plays the more unusual and hardly repeats.

Haven't been able to get past that pop sounding Christmas. Although, I'd really love to get into some of the more heavier stuff you'd find from a more classical period.

Perhaps I could get some suggestions for this "heavier stuff" here. Whenever I think of great Christmas music, I think of Handel's "Messiah." This isn't written for piano, but that's the style I'd like to go for. Any suggestions?

If you look at the last piece in this collection by Alkan, you'll find that it is a transcription of the Pastorale (Pifa) from Handel's Messiah. The listings at IMSLP give no indication that it exists, but it does.

I've been listening some carols (and the christmas oratorio) in youtube. I've also been playing the arrangements I made for school (I actually think they're quite good). I've tried to avoid the pop stuff.

Apart from my suggestions above of the Christmas Oratorios by Bach and Saint-Saëns (a very charming piece with prominent use of harp), there's also Corelli's Christmas Concerto and Berlioz's L'enfance du Christ (The Childhood of Christ) which contains the famous 'Shepherd's Farewell', often sung by itself as a carol.