In 1840, composer Felix Mendelssohn submitted two works for a celebration of the 400^th anniversary of Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press.

The first was his Symphony No. 2.  The other was a now-forgotten work for male chorus, whose tune would be borrowed 16 years later by a British hymnist to create one of the most famous of all Christmas carols--"Hark, the Herald Angels Sing."

In the next hour, classical works like Mendelssohn’s that have inspired Christmas songs--and traditional Christmas songs that have found their way into works by Respighi, Liszt, Bizet, Orff, and many others.

 

 

FEATURED RECORDINGS 

Work Title	Group/Artist	Recording	Label
Symphony No. 2	BBC National Orchestra & Chorus of Wales	Mendelssohn Symphony No. 2	BBC Music MM306
Liebgesang	Kolping Chor Stuttgart	Mendelssohn Lieder mid und ohne Worte	Bauer Studios SACD9196
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing	Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus	The Many Moods of Christmas	Telarc CD-80087
The Adoration of the Magi	Philharmonia Orchestra	Respighi Orchestral Works	Cala CACD 1007
The Three Kings	Robert Shaw and Robert Shaw Chamber Singers	Songs of Angels	Telarc CD-80377
L'arlésienne - Suite N°1 - Ouverture	London Festival Orchestra	Bizet L’Arlesienne Suite	PMG CD 160 205
Weihnachtsbaum, IV. Adeste fideles	Roland Pontinen	Liszt: Weihnachtsbaum, etc.	BIS CD-1164
Santa Claus Symphony	.Royal Scottish National Orchestra	Fry: Santa Claus Symphony	Naxos 8.559057
Patapan	Deller Consort and Instrumental Ensemble	Orff: From Heaven Above	RCA Victrola (LP) VICS-1376
Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming	New York Choral Artists	O Come All Ye Faithful	EMI CDC 7 49908 2
Weihnachts Musik	Arditti String Quartet	Schoenberg: Weihnachts Musik	Naïve Classics MO 782160
Une Cantate de Noel	BBC Concert Orchestra & Singers	Christmas Music	BBC Music MM236
In the Bleak Midwinter	Jessye Norman	Jessye Norman: Christmastide	Philips 420 180-2
Carol Symphony IV: Allegri Energico	Pro Arte Orchestra	Hely-Hutchinson: Carol Symphony	EMI Classics CDM7641312