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Cosy classical music to curl up to by the fire

Enjoy three hours of cosy classical music, perfect for relaxing by the fire.

Enjoy three hours of cosy classical music inspired by wintry landscapes and seasonal relaxation, paired with festive soundscapes of crackling fire.

This collection includes arrangements of Good King Wenceslas, Joy to the World, and In the Bleak Midwinter as well as peaceful picks from Handel’s Messiah, Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, and Britten’s Ceremony of Carols.

Produced by Katie Hill
An Overcoat Media Production for BBC Radio 3 Unwind. MM.

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3 hours

On radio

Next Sunday06:00
BBC Radio 3 Unwind

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Peaceful Classical Sounds for Christmas

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A Winter Wander: Festive music for the cold outdoors

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Music Played

  • Alexander Glazunov

    The Seasons, Op. 67: IV. Winter: Variation 4, Snow

    Conductor: Alexander Anisimov. Orchestra: The Moscow Symphony Orchestra.
    • Winter.
    • Naxos.
    • 6.

  • Christoph Willibald Gluck

    Dance of the Blessed Spirits from Orfeo ed Euridice

    Orchestra: Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Johannes Wildner. Orchestra: Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra.
    • Adagio I: A Special 2 ½ Hour Collection of Orchestral Classics.
    • Celestial Harmonies.
    • 12.

  • Harold Edwin Darke

    In the Bleak Midwinter

    Lyricist: Christina Rossetti. Music Arranger: Martti Haapakoski. Choir: London Choral Sinfonia. Conductor: Michael Waldron.
    • Orchid Classics.

  • Edward MacDowell

    10 Woodland Sketches, Op. 51: No. 1, To a Wild Rose

    Orchestra: BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: John Wilson.
    • MacDowell: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1.
    • Chandos Records Limited.
    • 07.

  • Germaine Tailleferre

    Sonate pour harpe: II. Lento

    Performer: Lishan Tan.
    • Feminine Voices at Christmas.
    • Alpha Classics.
    • 13.

  • Joanna Marsh

    Winter's Garland: Hands and the Hour

    Composer: Jane Draycott. Choir: Chanticleer. Conductor: Tim Keeler.
    • Delos.

  • Philip Ledger

    A Spotless Rose

    Music Arranger: Catherine Winkworth. Conductor: Daniel Hyde. Choir: Choir of King’s College, Cambridge. Orchestra: Britten Sinfonia.
    • All the Stars Looked Down: A John Rutter Celebration.
    • King’s College, Cambridge.
    • 2.

  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    Waltz of the Flowers (From "The Nutcracker", Op. 71)

    Performer: Lara Somogyi.
    • Waltz of the Flowers (From \"The Nutcracker\", Op. 71).
    • Mercury Classics.
    • 1.

  • R. Nathaniel Dett

    Son of Mary

    Choir: London Voices.
    • Oxford University Press Music.

  • Ferruccio Busoni

    Nuit de Noël, BV 251

    Performer: Igor Levit.
    • Fantasia.
    • Sony Classical.
    • 4.

  • Jean Sibelius

    Andante festivo

    Ensemble: Metamorphose String Orchestra. Conductor: Pavel Lyubomudrov.
    • Pavel Liubamudrau.

  • Florence Price

    An Elf on a Moonbeam

    Performer: Anna Lapwood.
    • Luna.
    • Sony Classical.
    • 13.

  • Bob Chilcott

    Mid-Winter (version for chorus, flute and harp)

    Performer: Alice James. Performer: Tanya Houghton. Lyricist: Christina Rossetti. Conductor: Matthew Berry. Choir: Commotio.
    • Chilcott: The Rose in the Middle of Winter.
    • Naxos.
    • 10.

  • Duke Ellington

    3 Black Kings: No. 3, Martin Luther King

    Performer: Salvatore Andolina. Conductor: JoAnn Falletta. Orchestra: Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.
    • Ellington: Black, Brown & Beige.
    • Naxos.
    • 3.

  • George Frideric Handel

    Messiah, HWV 56, Part III: IX. Worthy Is the Lamb

    Conductor: David Hill. Orchestra: The Norwegian Wind Ensemble. Ensemble: BBC Singers.
    • Messiah, HWV 56 (Arr. for Wind Ensemble by Stian Aareskjold).
    • Resonus Classics.
    • 51.

  • Alexis Ffrench

    Simple Gifts

    Performer: Alexis Ffrench.
    • Christmas Piano with Alexis.
    • Sony Classical.
    • 20.

  • Claude Debussy

    En bateau (Petite suite)

    Orchestrator: Henri Büsser. Orchestra: Orchestre national de Lyon. Conductor: Jun Märkl.
    • Debussy: Orchestral Works, Vol. 6.
    • Naxos.
    • 1.

  • Hildegard von Bingen

    O viridissima, Virga

    Conductor: Christopher Lowrey. Ensemble: Ensemble Altera.
    • Feminine Voices at Christmas.
    • Alpha Classics.
    • 1.

  • Anna Sofia Nord

    When Christmas Morn Is Dawning

    Performer: Anna Sofia Nord.
    • When Christmas Morn Is Dawning.
    • Andante Piano.
    • 1.

  • George Gershwin

    Porgy and Bess, Act 2: "I Loves You, Porgy"

    Performer: Lucienne Renaudin Vary. Conductor: Bill Elliott. Orchestra: BBC Concert Orchestra.
    • Mademoiselle in New York.
    • Warner Classics.
    • 3.

  • Benjamin Britten

    A Ceremony of Carols: VII. Interlude

    Performer: Lucy Wakeford.
    • A Ceremony of Carols.
    • Signum Records.
    • 13.

  • Max Richter

    On the Nature of Daylight (Arr. for Vocal Ensemble)

    Ensemble: VOCES8.
    • Nightfall.
    • Decca Music Group Ltd..
    • 7.

  • Jean Sibelius

    Suite from Belshezzar's Feast, op 51; iii - Nocturne

    Performer: Michael Cox. Orchestra: BBC Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Sakari Oramo.
    • Sibelius: Lemminkainen Suite, Spring Song & Suite from "Belshazzar's Feast".
    • Chandos.
    • 8.

  • Will Todd

    I Shall be an Angel of Peace

    Composer: Ben Dunwell. Performer: Sarah Sexton. Conductor: Harry Christophers. Ensemble: The Sixteen.
    • Angel of Peace.
    • CORO.
    • 3.

  • Margaret Bonds

    Of the three wise men (The Ballad of the Brown King)

    Singer: Noah Stewart. Orchestra: The Dessoff Orchestra. Choir: The Dessoff Choirs. Conductor: Malcolm Merriweather.
    • Margaret Bonds: The Ballad of the Brown King & Selected Songs.
    • AVIE Records.
    • 1.

  • Robert Schumann

    Kinderszenen, Op. 15: No. 7, Träumerei

    Performer: Kenji Miura.
    • Warner Classics.

  • Lowell Mason

    Joy to the World

    Composer: Isaac Watts. Music Arranger: Adam Brett Ward. Choir: Chanticleer. Conductor: Tim Keeler.
    • Delos.

  • Poppy Ackroyd

    Murmurations

    Performer: Anna Lapwood.
    • Firedove.
    • Sony Music Entertainment UK Ltd.
    • 12.

  • Franz Liszt

    Weihnachtsbaum, S613/R307: Bedtime

    Performer: Rebecca Turner. Music Arranger: Anthony Collins. Conductor: Barry Wordsworth. Orchestra: BBC Concert Orchestra.
    • Naxos Music UK Ltd.

  • Ernest Bloch

    Enfantines: IV. Elves

    Performer: Fabienne Sulser. Performer: Ruth Jahnke.
    • Licht und Schatten.
    • VDE-GALLO.
    • 18.

  • Richard Rodgers

    Good King Wenceslas - Little Girl Blue

    Performer: Tavian Cox. Music Arranger: Jared Graveley. Choir: Chanticleer. Conductor: Tim Keeler.
    • Delos.

  • Franz Liszt

    Liebestraume, S.541: III. Poco Allegro, Con Affetto

    Performer: Anna Pasetti.
    • Brilliant Classics.

  • Errollyn Wallen

    Pace

    Choir: Choir of King’s College, Cambridge. Conductor: Stephen Cleobury.
    • Errollyn Wallen: Peace on Earth.
    • Kings College Cambridge.
    • 3.

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Concerto for Flute and Harp, K. 299: II. Andantino

    Performer: Emmanuel Pahud. Performer: Anneleen Lenaerts. Conductor: François Leleux. Orchestra: Orchestre de chambre de Paris.
    • Mozart & Flute in Paris - Concerto for Flute and Harp, K. 299: II. Andantino.
    • Warner Classics.
    • 1.

  • Alexander Litvinovsky

    Le grand cahier: I. La forêt et la rivière

    Ensemble: Metamorphose String Orchestra. Conductor: Pavel Lyubomudrov.
    • Le Grand Cahier (Suite for String Orchestra).
    • Halidon.
    • 1.

  • Jobim Ffrench

    Together At Last

    Composer: Alexis Ffrench. Performer: Alexis Ffrench.
    • Christmas Piano with Alexis.
    • Sony Classical.
    • 3.

  • Franz Schubert

    Ave Maria, D. 839

    Performer: Yulia Stefanovich. Ensemble: Metamorphose String Orchestra. Conductor: Pavel Lyubomudrov.
    • Pavel Liubamudrau.

  • John Rutter

    All the Stars Looked Down

    Lyricist: Gilbert Keith Chesterton. Conductor: Daniel Hyde. Choir: Choir of King’s College, Cambridge. Orchestra: Britten Sinfonia.
    • All the Stars Looked Down: A John Rutter Celebration.
    • King’s College, Cambridge.
    • 15.

  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    Les saisons (the Seasons), Op. 37b: I. January: By the Fireside

    Performer: Ilya Rashkovskiy.
    • Naxos Music UK Ltd.

  • John Rutter

    Five Meditations for Orchestra: III. Candlelight

    Conductor: Daniel Hyde. Orchestra: Britten Sinfonia.
    • All the Stars Looked Down: A John Rutter Celebration.
    • King’s College, Cambridge.
    • 7.

  • Craig Armstrong

    Opening Titles from "Love Actually"

    Performer: Craig Armstrong.
    • Universal City Studios LLC.

  • Benjamin Britten

    A Hymn To The Virgin

    Performer: Patricia Forbes. Performer: Christopher Royall. Performer: Neil MacKenzie. Performer: Simon Birchall. Conductor: Harry Christophers. Orchestra: The Sixteen. Ensemble: The Sixteen.
    • Hodie - An English Christmas Collection.
    • Coro.
    • 5.

Broadcasts

  • Sat 13 Dec 202514:00
    BBC Radio 3 Unwind
  • Fri 19 Dec 202506:00
    BBC Radio 3 Unwind
  • Sun 21 Dec 202506:00
    BBC Radio 3 Unwind
  • Tue 23 Dec 202514:00
    BBC Radio 3 Unwind
  • Next Sunday06:00
    BBC Radio 3 Unwind

Featured in...

  • Mindful Mix

    Soothing classical music to help you unwind and relax