December is a time of traditions. And the Classics a Day feed is no different. We continue our tradition of making Classical Christmas our December theme. 

The challenge is to post music related to the season. So sacred works for Advent and Christmas, secular works about winter, or even just music written and/or premiered in December. 

Here are my posts for the third week in December.

12/19/22 Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck: Hodie Christus natus est

Quite a few composers used this Gregorian chant as a starting point. For Sweelinck, it was an opportunity to explore the possibilities of polyphony.

12/20/22 Giovanni da Palestrina: Hodie Christus natus est

This setting comes from Palestrina’s third volume of sacred motets. This collection was published in Venice in 1575.

12/21/22 Giovanni Gabrieli: Hodie Christus natus est

Gabrieli set this traditional Christmas liturgical text in 1615.

12/22/22 William Byrd: Hodie Christus natus est

Byrd’s setting was published in Gradualia ac cantiones sacra, Liber 2, which came out in 1607. This volume featured 4-voice sacred music for Christmas and Epiphany.

12/23/22 Healey Willan: Hodie Christus natus est

Canadian organist and composer Willan wrote more than 800 works, most of them for voice. His setting of this text comes from 1935.

Tags: #ClassicalChristmas, #ClassicsaDay, Classical music, Giovanni da Palestrina, Giovanni Gabrieli, Healey Willan, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, Twitter, William Byrd