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Enjoy the seasons most loved classical music

Take time out with a 30-minute soundscape of seasonal classical music from your favourite composers such as Bach, Britten and Tchaikovsky.

Take time out with a 30-minute soundscape of seasonal classical music. Tonight's classical mixtape begins with Max Richter's take on Vivaldi's Winter. The sound of the harp drifts through this wintery night in Salzedo's emphatic study for harp, shortly followed by the harrowing and thought-provoking Coventry Carol. Tchaikovsky reminds us what December sounds like in his version of The Seasons for solo piano and Katia Beaugeais sonically paints the sound of snowdrops in her piece for string orchestra - Like Snowdrops You Will Shine. We hear the innocent sound of the Westminster Cathedral Boy's Choir in Britten's Wolcum Yole! from his Ceremony of Carols, followed by Bach's Sinfonia from his Weihnachts-Oratorium. Tonight's mixtape finishes with John Gardner's jolly carol - Tomorrow shall be my dancing day - which we hope it certainly will be for all.

To listen on most smart speakers just say 'ask BBC Sounds to play Classical Mixtape'.

Producer: Zara Siddiqi

11 days left to listen

30 minutes

Last on

Christmas Eve 202519:00

Music Played

  • Max Richter

    Recomposed: Vivaldi - The four seasons: Winter 3

    Composer: Antonio Vivaldi. Performer: Daniel Hope. Orchestra: Konzerthaus Kammerorchester Berlin. Conductor: André de Ridder.
    • Recomposed By Max Richter: Vivaldi, The Four Seasons.
    • Deutsche Grammophon.
    • 13.
  • Carlos Salzedo

    Song in the Night (Chanson dans la nuit)

    Performer: Susann McDonald.
    • DELOS.
  • Anon.

    Coventry Carol

    Choir: Tallis Scholars. Director: Peter Phillips.
    • Christmas Carols and Motets.
    • Gimell.
    • 6.
  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    December: Christmas (The Seasons, Op 37b)

    Performer: Pavel Kolesnikov.
    • Tchaikovsky - The Seasons; Six Pieces.
    • Hyperion.
    • 12.
  • Katia Beaugeais

    Like Snowdrops You Will Shine

    Performer: Helena Rathbone. Ensemble: ACO Collective.
  • Benjamin Britten

    A Ceremony of Carols (This little babe)

    Choir: Westminster Cathedral Choir. Performer: Sioned Williams. Conductor: David Hill.
    • Hyperion.
  • Johann Sebastian Bach

    Christmas Oratorio, BWV.248 (Part 2, Sinfonia)

    Ensemble: English Baroque Soloists. Conductor: Sir John Eliot Gardiner.
    • JS Bach - Sacred Vocal Works.
    • DG archive.
    • 10.
  • John Gardner

    Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day

    Choir: Royal Choral Society. Orchestra: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Anthony Inglis.
    • Here Come The Classics, Christmas Classics, Vol. 2.
    • RPO.
    • 3.

Broadcast

  • Christmas Eve 202519:00

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