
The next day, St. Cecilia's Day (also Thanksgiving!), is an opportunity to really celebrate music. In Europe St. Cecilia has been the center of festivities since the 15th and 16th centuries. (The Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome has been turning out great musicians -- like Cecilia Bartoli and Daniel Barenboim -- since 1585.) Listening to and making no music the day before would make those festivities all that much sweeter. If you decide to go a whole day without music (good luck, you'll probably find it harder than you think!), here's a list of works written in honor of St. Cecilia that you may want to use to relieve the silence afterwards:
Henry Purcell: Hail, Bright Cecilia
Alessandro Scarlatti: Messa di Santa Cecilia - Gloria
George Frideric Handel: Alexander's Feast, an Ode for St. Cecilia's Day - Revenge, Timotheus cries
Fanny Mendelssohn: Zum Fest der heiligen Cäcilia
Charles Gounod: Messe solennelle de Sainte Cécile - Sanctus
Benjamin Britten: Hymn to St. Cecilia