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Christmas is the festival of Christ's birth. Birth of any child in this world is celebrated with the accompaniment of music. Christ was the child whose birth changed the lives of numerous people round the globe. It is said that Christ was send by God to put an end to the sufferings of humanity. Christmas music is about divinity and about everything we owe to God. In this article on Classical Christmas music Christmasonnet has thrown light on the brief history of Christmas music.
Any celebration is inchoate without music. People around the world celebrate each and every religious or non-religious festival with music. Music has an important role to play in |
religious festivals, because music played in such occasions has a greater role to play than merely praying or narrating the anecdotes related to God. Classical Christmas music touches the very core of people's heart irrespective of their religion.
The celebration of Christmas gets started with Advent and is almost over till Epiphany (December 6th). Christmas is the best time for fun and frolic, because people enjoy the best kind of weather almost all over the world and children get vacations. The festival brings friends and relatives living in different places together. This togetherness is often reflected from their modes of enjoyment. Classical Christmas music is the integral part of the celebration of Christmas.
The birth anniversary of Lord Jesus is marked by a celebration which is incomplete without Christmas music. The present generation has reduced the celebration of Christmas into indulgence consisting of enjoying lip-smacking food, wine and festivity. But Christmas music or carols have not lost their charm yet. Classical Christmas music has a rich history. Christmasonnet is going to share it with its readers.
Most of the litanies, chants and hymns were composed in Latin. Those songs were too theological for layman. Francis of Assisi has a considerable amount of influence in the initiation of Christmas carol in the13th century. The word Carol has been derived from the Greek word "Choraulein". Choraulein was a type of circle dance performed in ancient days with the accompaniment of flute. The credit of combining circle dance with songs goes to the English, in the middle Ages. This combination was called the carols. Carol has come a long way since and now the word means a particular genre of devotional songs, steeped in religious thoughts. During the rule of the British Commonwealth government under Oliver Cromwell, carol was banned, because singing carol got regarded as following pagan rituals. Christmas carol occupies a large part of the history of Classical Christmas music.
Classical Christmas music owes a lot to George Frederick Handel who ruled the world of classical Christmas music from1685 to 1759. "Messiah" is a masterpiece by this man. He composed this one sometime in the summer of 1741. This work is now regarded as one of the classics in the history of Christmas music. Christmasonnet gives a list of Christmas music which became immensely popular. Those classical Christmas music are Little Drummer Boy, Joy to the World, Nutcracker Suite, Oh Come All Ye Faithful, Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer, Silent Night, Holy Night, etc. Get ready to be over powered by the trance of devotional music.
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