Suzanne Bona

On Christmas Eve, today’s Beautiful Music is a concert recording of Part 1 of George Frideric Handel’s 1741 oratorio MESSIAH. The topic of the first section of MESSIAH is Advent, Christmas, and the life of Jesus. This excellent 2015 performance features Pacific MusicWorks Baroque and the University of Washington Chamber Singers, with conductor Stephen Stubbs. […]

Today’s Beautiful Music gives you a chance to sing along with one of the world’s great vocal ensembles! The King’s Singers have a series of performances presented with the score and lyrics. You can join them singing the Christmas carols Ding Dong Merrily on High, Silent Night, and O Little Town of Bethlehem.

The Huron Carol (aka Twas in the Moon of Wintertime) is a 17th century Christmas Carol written by Christian missionary Jean de Brébeuf. He lived among the Huron people in Canada, with lyrics in the Huron/Wendat language with the title Jesous Ahatonhia. Today’s Beautiful Music features Heather Dale singing The Huron Carol in three languages:

Happy Winter Solstice! Chloe Chua was just 11 years old in 2018 when she recorded today’s Beautiful Music. It’s the WINTER Concerto from Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Chloe Chua performs at the Menuhin Competition, where she was a first prize winner in the Junior Division. Born on January 7, 2007, the Singaporean musician has been

The familiar Christmas Carol WHAT CHILD IS THIS? came about when 19th century British businessman William C. Dix wrote lyrics to the tune of an old English folk song, GREENSLEEVES. Today’s Beautiful Music is the FANTASIA ON GREENSLEEVES by Ralph Vaughan Williams.

TOMORROW SHALL BE MY DANCING DAY is an English Christmas carol that dates back to at least the 16th century, and possibly even earlier. There are numerous original settings and arrangements of the song by composers including Gustav Holst, John Rutter, Igor Stravinsky and more. Today’s Beautiful Music is an arrangement by Cincinnati-based composer, arranger,

Today’s Beautiful Music will have you tapping your toes! CONVIDANDO ESTÁ LA NOCHE is a villancico by Mexican composer, singer, and viol play Juan García de Zéspedes. The performers include singers Hannah Celeste Lu, Cecilia Duarte, Eduardo Tercero, and Michael Kessler with Mercury Chamber Orchestra and the Houston Symphony Chorus Chamber Ensemble, led by Antoine

Today’s Beautiful Music is from a seasonal hymn with ancient origins. You can read more about “The Most Radical Chrstmas Carol” using the link below. And you can listen to excerpts from Johann Sebastian Bach’s MAGNIFICATS performed by soprano Hannah Morrison, mezzo soprano Eleanor Minney, and countertenor Reginald Mobley with the English Baroque Soloists… https://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2017/12/25/christmas-carol-william-bole

French harpsichordist and conductor Emmanuelle Haïm is a specialist in Baroque music. Her interest led her to found a period instrument ensemble, Le Concert d’Astrée, in 2000. Today’s Beautiful Music features Emmanuelle Haïm leading Chœur du Concert d’Astrée and Frankfurt Radio Symphony performing the beloved HALLELUJAH CHORUS from George Frideric Handel’s oratorio MESSIAH. (And because

Hanukkah — the Jewish Feast of Lights — ends tonight at sundown. Today’s Beautiful Music features two selections. First, the American operatic tenor Jan Peerce sings Oif’n Prepetschok. Second, Shalom Aleichem is performed by Dina Levin, Dima Graziani,Yuri Kaplunovich, Ernest Itzkovich, and Alexey Reznik.