You want to celebrate Christmas in style but want to stay away from the mainstream? We have a few suggestions for you!

Jazz for Chrismas (Lorraine Desmarais and Jean-Pierre Zanella). For those who like to enjoy the holiday season with an unusual, fresh, jazzy approach, this is the album for you. Listen to the album…

Looking for an original and musical way to wish a Merry Christmas to your friends and family! The Merry Chrismas card + CD from Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà do it for you!  Listen here…

How about avoyage with multicultural overtones, having as a backdrop the wonderful feast of Christmas-this is what Les Petits Chanteurs du Mont-Royal invite you to. Listen here…

Looking for something really off the beaten tracks? Listen to Benjamin Britten’s Ceremony of Carols here…

And of course, don’t forget to download Alain Lefèvre’s Petit Noël, absolutely free of charge, here…

A very Merry Christmas to all and may your holidays be brightened by music! I’ll see you all in 2010.

Tradition has it that King George II of England was so overwhelmed when he first heard this chorus at its London premiere in 1743 that he immediately rose to his feet. Audiences the world over still follow this tradition. What is that piece of music? But the “Hallelujah” from Handel’s Messiah, of course!

In July 1741, Händel became discouraged by the lack of interest in his two most recent operas and decided to focus his energies instead on oratorios. Händel’s friend Charles Jennens suggested a new libretto, based on the King James Version of the Bible. Händel was enthusiastic about the project—so inspired, in fact, that he finished the work in three weeks. Messiah has three parts, covering the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Händel’s talent as a composer of opera enabled him to capture the dramatic quality of each text in his music. As he composed the “Hallelujah Chorus”, he is reported to have said: “I did think I did see all Heaven before me and the great God Himself.” A magnificent vision, judging by the splendour of this music!

Händel gave the work its first public performance in Dublin, Ireland, on April 12, 1742. The concert was held to raise money for the city’s prison and two of its hospitals. The event was highly publicized by the newspapers of the time, and 700 people crammed the hall on the night of the concert. The announcement asked ladies to come without their hooped petticoats and the gentlemen without their swords, so that more people could squeeze into the hall. The evening was a brilliant success. Since then, Messiah has never lost its popularity, and it has become one of the most famous choral works in the world.

You can listen to the “Hallelujah” on the Luciano Pavarotti Christmas at Notre-Dame DVD. The details here…

As the year is coming to a close, some journalists are sharing lists of favourite moments. Jessica Duchen, from the British magazine Standpoint , goes all the way with a somewhat goofy collection of 2009 hits. Roll out the cyber carpet and click her to learn more…

You feel like going out tonight and hearing some Christmas music? Here are a few suggestions!

• Enjoy a Christmas concert with Angèle Dubeau & La Pietà at Salle André-Prévost in St-Jérôme at 8 p.m.
• Join the Lorraine Desmarais Trio & Jean-Pierre Zanella at Upstairs in Montreal for some jazzy Christmas cheer.
• If you’re in Toronto, go listen to Shannon Mercer singing Handel’s Messiah with the Toronto Symphony at Roy Thomson Hall.

More details in the Analekta Website’s events section…

It is yesterday in Poland that was held the press conference “The Year 2010: Launch of the Chopin Route – Investing in Young People’s Cultural Education – Great Artistic Events”. What are some of the headlines revealed?

We learned that the Folle journée de Nantes would of course be devoted to the Polish composer. Concerts will be held in Bilbao, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro and, of course, Warsaw, from June 10 to 13 juin 2010. The working title for this event, la Folle Journée – Chopin Open. In total, 1500 concerts are scheduled.

Marking the bicentenary of Fryderyk Chopin’s birth, at the turn of January and February 2010, the Norwegian town of Tromsø will resound with the composer’s music during the Arctic Frontiers Conference and the Northern Lights Festival, that will include no less than seven Chopin concerts.

Between February 22 and March 1, 2010, i.e. the two hypothetical dates of the composer’s birth, Warsaw will be hosting a splendid array of the world’s pianism, with performances by Martha Argerich, Daniel Barenboim, Piotr Anderszewski, Leif Ove Andsnes, Rafał Blechacz, who will open the celebrations, Dang Thai Son, Evgeny Kissin, Garrick Ohlsson, Janusz Olejniczak, Murray Perahia, Ivo Pogorelich and Yundi Li.

A series of open-air concerts modelled on the Chopin recitals held in the Royal Lazienki Park in Warsaw will also be taking place from 20th June through to 27th July 2010 in the Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris.

All the details here…

To listen to Chopin, performed par André Laplante, it’s there…