There are many ways to observe the countdown to Christmas. The most soulful is through music, an indispensable aspect of religious services and secular celebrations alike.
J.S. Bach’s Cantata for Advent
Martin Luther’s hymn, “Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland” (“Savior of the Nations, Come”), is a staple in Lutheran services during the Advent season. It’s actually based on an earlier hymn by St. Ambrose. The first stanza of the 1860 English translation by William Reynolds reads:Savior of the nations, come, Virgin’s Son, make here your home. Marvel now, O Heav'n and Earth, That the Lord chose such a birth.
Johann Sebastian Bach was not yet 30 years old when he set Luther’s words to music, but BWV 61 already demonstrated the young composer’s mastery of form. Bach, a concertmaster in Weimar, first performed the cantata on the first Sunday in Advent, 1714. He employed appropriate effects to dramatize the anticipation of Christ’s arrival. He drew on the style of French royal overtures for Jesus’s entrance into Jerusalem. Plucked strings symbolize Joseph knocking on doors.
Praetorius’s ‘In Dulci Jubilo’
Michael Praetorius was an influential German composer of sacred music in the early 17th century. He composed works for the Christmas season that are available today in a number of recordings. One of these, “Michael Praetorius: Advent and Christmas Music,” performed by the Bremer Barock Consort and conducted by Manfred Cordes, offers a good selection of compositions for the holiday season.One of the pieces performed by this ensemble is “In Dulci Jubilo,” (“Now Sing We, Now Rejoice”) a medieval carol dating to the 14th century that celebrates the nativity. Praetorius’s music is often considered more light-hearted than the work of his contemporaries like Schutz or Buxtehude, and this setting of “In Dulci Jubilo” reflects a joyous, festive spirit.
A Christmas Mass by Palestrina
Much of the best music for the Christmas season, perhaps not surprisingly, dates to the time when composers were employed by churches. To put things in perspective, the writing of sacred vocal compositions spans many centuries, from the time of plainchant to the Baroque era when Praetorius was writing. The period of instrumental “classical music” that modern people are typically more familiar with, in contrast, developed over a much shorter time.Among the most sophisticated composers of this vocal era of music was Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (circa 1525–1594). During the High Renaissance, he developed polyphonic vocal music to an unrivaled level of complexity.
In one of his most popular works, he took an old plainchant, “Hodie Christus natus est” (“Today Christ is Born”), and arranged it as a Mass for double choir.
Tchaikovsky’s ‘The Nutcracker’
Unlike the other selections here, “The Nutcracker Suite” is a fairy tale, not a religious work. But any discussion of music about the holiday season would be incomplete without this musical rendition of a young girl’s Christmas toy that comes alive to battle an evil Mouse King.Most people are familiar with this music through the “The Nutcracker Suite,” the more distilled version of Tchaikovsky’s lengthier ballet.
One of the most iconic movements, “The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy,” featured a strange new instrument that Tchaikovsky’s original audience had never heard before: the celesta. Invented by a French organ-maker in 1886, the Russian composer discovered it during a trip to Paris five years later, describing it as a cross between “a miniature piano and a Glockenspiel” that produced “a divinely wonderful sound.” Wanting to defer the considerable costs involved in purchasing and transporting the instrument, he solicited his publisher: “I’m hoping you’ll order this instrument for me.”
Many people who casually listen to the opening of “the Sugar Plum Fairy” probably think they are just hearing bells. But while the celesta does make bell-like sounds, these are actually produced by striking felt hammers against metal bars. The result is a series of ethereal twinkles evoking the magic of Christmas.
One of the most popular adaptations of Tchaikovsky’s work today is “The Nutcracker on Ice,” which employs dramatic feats of ice-skating rather than traditional ballet dancing. Whatever format of the Nutcracker you choose to enjoy, you won’t be disappointed. Public adoration for it during the Christmas season is so great that only one other work rivals it.
Handel’s ‘Messiah’
One can’t write a list of this sort without paying homage to the greatest oratorio of all time, the “Messiah” by George Frideric Handel.Although the first part of Messiah is about the birth of Jesus, making it an appropriate fixture for Advent, it was first performed during Lent. It was during the Victorian period, that it started to be put on at Christmastime.
If you attend a live performance of the work today, it’s customary for the audience to stand during the famous “Hallelujah” chorus. This tradition supposedly originated during the work’s 1743 London premiere, when King George II was moved enough to rise to his feet, prompting the crowd to do likewise.
Despite George II’s enthusiasm, though, the “Messiah” was initially a failure. The work followed a long period of personal difficulties for Handel, in which he battled a mental breakdown and financial ruin. It was later revived to great success, though, and within Handel’s lifetime the work became famous.
This fame was in no small part due to the patronage of Handel’s biggest sponsor, the House of Hanover. King George III was an even bigger fan of the composer than his predecessors, George I and II. Shortly before his own death, Handel said that “While that boy lives, my music shall never want a protector.” The king did not disappoint, and on the 25th anniversary of Handel’s death in 1784, George III put on a lavish performance of the “Messiah” with 525 musicians at Westminster Abbey.
The enthusiasm continues today. The “Messiah” is one of the most frequently performed musical works in the world, especially during the holidays.
Which work do you prefer more—“Messiah” or “Nutcracker”? In many ways, of course, they are incomparable. Why not see or listen to them both?
