Music of Christmas 29

For my final installment of “Music of Christmas” for 2015, I offer two pieces.

I’ve always loved Miklos Rozsa’s score for the movie Ben Hur.  And his “Star of Bethlehem” is, in my opinion, one of its two highlights:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0cFMotGzUs

I heard a wonderful arrangement of it not long ago, performed by Jenny Oaks Baker.  But I can’t find a version of that that I can use online.

And J. S. Bach’s O Jesulein süss (“O, sweet little Jesus”) powerfully evokes the spirit of an old German Christmas, from back in the days when Germany was still a more or less Christian land:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWuuT2-E0fE

 Posted from Richmond, Virginia