The days are getting shorter, the cold is setting in and the holiday hubbub is descending on us like the Grinch down hillside in his overburdened sled.
But don’t let the darkness get you down. Join me for the Holiday Happy Hour, Christmas Eve at noon and Christmas Day at 10 a.m. on Classical 101.
I crafted the playlist for Classical 101’s Holiday Happy Hour, both with the intention of scaring away the holiday doldrums and with some of the most uplifting music around. Simply put, the Holiday Happy Hour is one happy hour of happy music — to make you happy.
No holiday happy hour would be complete without a cup of wassail, so we’ll start off with one in the company of the fabulous Dale Warland Singers. Later in the hour, we’ll continue the merriment with William Walton’s jaunty Make We Joy Now in This Fest and the rousing drinking song from Giuseppe Verdi’s opera La Traviata.
Bach’s beloved Brandenburg Concertos are perfect music for the holidays — bright, sparkling and joyous! The Holiday Happy Hour will showcase the Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, with a bright and shiny trumpet part that will bring your Christmas that special bit of brilliance and send your holiday mood to the stratosphere.
The period-instrument ensemble Arion will give you a beautiful performance of one of French baroque composer Michel Corrette’s elegant and festive Carol Symphonies. And the inimitable Chanticleer will blow the roof off with their renditions of two funky Spanish Christmas carols.
This year, my gift to you is a Christmas full of fun and joy. Make merry with me during the Holiday Happy Hour at noon Sunday, Dec. 24 and 10 a.m. Monday, Dec. 25 on Classical 101.
