Brenda Tremblay, Weekday Morning Host
When I get up at 4:00 a.m., the world is pretty quiet. I scan the roadsides for restless creatures as I drive to the WXXI studios. I imagine other people waking up. Nurses on their way to work. Baristas grinding fresh coffee. Here we are, alive in this world together. You are reading these words and breathing. Amazing. For me, the holiday song “Walking in the Air” by Howard Blake captures this miracle. Take a listen.
Steve Johnson, Weekday Midday Host
I have fond memories of hearing Julie Andrews sing “Deck The Halls” in a 1966 arrangement for voice and orchestra by Andre Previn. It was on the 1985 album A Christmas Treasury of Classics from Avon that my grandmother gave my mother at some point, and that quickly became a staple of our family’s Christmas celebrations. It has some heroic horn solos, impressively technical string passages, and to top it all off, Dame Julie Andrews!
Mona Seghatoleslami, Music Director and Weekday Afternoon Host
“The minor chord, the major lift.” Songs in minor keys (with the lowered third degree of the scale) are often on the sadder or more mysterious side. There are some really wonderful minor-key Christmas Carols! My favorite ones feature a sudden brightness at the end - a last-minute major chord, called the “Picardy Third.” Two very different songs that I love that feature this transformation are The Coventry Carol (“Lully, Lullay”) and “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.” Listen, and you’ll hear what I mean! Bonus track: "Ocho Kandelikas” by Flory Jagoda is a top recommendation for your Hanukkah playlist.
John Andres, Sunday Morning Host
There are so many wonderful holiday Christmas pieces for all to hear. Some might be brand new or come from many decades or centuries ago.
My favorite selection for Christmas is “Joy to the World”. “Joy to the World” is an original English hymn and Christmas carol. It was composed in 1719 by an English minister Isaac Watts. Later in 1848 American composer Lowell Mason arranged the piece based on George Frederic Handel’s lyrics of Psalm 98 and Genesis 3.
Since the early 20th century, ”Joy to the World” holds the record for being the most-published Christmas carol in North America. As of 2009,it was published in over 1,300 hymnals. You may even hear some familiar notes from Handel’s Messiah or of Charles Wesley’s hymn “O Joyful Sound of Gospel Grace” in this work.
I selected this piece because of the melody, the lyrics and the positive message that it delivers at this time and all throughout the year. ”Joy to the World” has four verses. It tells about heaven and nature, of fields and blessings and of wonders and love. Perhaps this is a favorite song of yours, too. Enjoy this music and so much more this holiday season. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
Marianne Carberry, Saturday Afternoon Host
Three favorites which come to mind for me are Irving Berlin's "White Christmas," John Rutter's "Candlelight Carol," and Gustav Holst's "In The Bleak Midwinter." All three carols for me capture the quiet, poignancy, and nostalgia that is Christmas.
Joshua Bassette, Sunday Afternoon Host
One of my favorite Christmas Carols is In the Bleak Midwinter with text by Rossetti and music by Holst. I love the way it paints a winter scene in the first verse, outlines the Christmas story throughout the middle, and then ends with a simple call to love. Its unadorned melody and rich harmonies paint a beautiful image of the holidays. My honorable mentions would be Carol of the Bells, Lo How a Rose E'er Blooming , and What Sweeter Music by John Rutter.