Merry Christmas! I always find it impossible to choose just one beautiful piece of music for Christmas Day, and this year, I’m not even going to try! Instead, you are getting four carols and an oratorio – and it’s all…
Author: Cate Sings
Advent Calendar Day 24: Quem Vidistis Pastores – Poulenc
Alright, I am going to tear myself reluctantly out of the baroque era and leap forward into the middle of the 20th century, where we find the French composer, Francis Poulenc bringing a more mysterious and spooky flair to the…
Advent Calendar Day 23: Behold I Bring you Glad Tidings – Purcell
So this one is completely and shamefully serendipitous. I actually don’t know what I typed into Google that produced a Christmas Oratorio by Purcell, and I also don’t know how on earth I missed the fact that Purcell wrote such…
Advent Calendar Day 22: Jauchzet! Frohlocket! – JS Bach
From quiet joy to drums and drama! And yes, I’m just taking you on a tour of my favourite composers now. But if that isn’t something you like, what on earth are you doing here? This piece is a total…
Advent Calendar Day 21: Behold, I bring you glad tidings – Gibbons
Only five days left until Christmas morning, so I think we are about ready for some glad tidings of great joy! And, as you may have gathered, few things bring me more musical joy than a verse anthem by Orlando…
Advent Calendar Day 20: The Lamb – Tavener
From medieval lyrics with a modern melody to a very modern lullaby, and from the 18th century to the 20th. John Tavener apparently wrote this piece as a birthday present for his three year old nephew. My niece is three,…
Advent Calendar Day 19: O Little One Sweet *and* Schlafe, mein Liebster – JS Bach
I knew I wanted some Bach in this bracket, but I couldn’t decide whether to go with O Little One Sweet, which is a standalone carol, or Schlafe, Mein Liebster, the lullaby from Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. But then I realised…
Advent Calendar Day 18: Coventry Carol (Anon)
I think the most well-known of all the lullay-themed carols for a modern audience is the Coventry Carol. The melody is, in fact, one of the first things I learned how to play on the recorder when I was at…
Advent Calendar Day 17: Lullay myn lyking – Lawson
Lullay myn lyking is a slightly more traditional form of the text from yesterday’s piece, but with a far more modern arrangement. This particular text dates from a 15th-century manuscript (from which the lyrics to Adam Lay Y Bounden and…
Advent Calendar Day 16: I saw a maiden sitten and sing – Trad. Basque
Much as artists throughout the ages have been inspired to paint the Madonna and Child, composers have been similarly inspired to write songs depicting Jesus on Mary’s knee. Many of these include a lullaby chorus, and I think that these…