YouTube video by Noson Lawen Côr Aelwyd Chwilog gyda Ffion Emyr a Caryl Hughes - Ar Hyd y Nos

And an arrangement in the treble clef for those who prefer that timbre:

YouTube video by vecinoslacalavilla Welsh choir Côr Meibion Pontarddulais Male Choir. Ar Hyd Y Nos (All through the night) HD stereo

Year of Wonder, Day 60: "Ar hyd y Nos"

Among everything else happening, it's St. David's Day today.
"We'll put our weak light together, all through the night."

One can hear him reach for something sacred and the layered harmonies achieve what he has wanted. But there are also some familiar opera-buffa bones peeking through parts of the music, a sneaking betrayal of his more remunerative work.

Burton-hill includes a Leap Day piece, by a composer born on Leap Day. Those who have only heard Rossini's music in Looney Tunes shorts (classics though they may be) may be both intrigued and amused by his setting of a sacred text.

YouTube video by Amsterdam Sinfonietta Gioachino Rossini - Kyrie from Petite messe solennelle | Amsterdam Sinfonietta

#YearOfWonder2026 Day 59-b: the Kyrie from Rossini's "Petite Messe Solennelle"

This symphony, written in memory of Edward VII, and paired here with footage of his 1910 funeral procession, puts aside pomp and in its place delivers richness of grief not only for a king, but for personal friends whom Elgar had recently lost. Burton-Hill describes it as "unleashed" and so it is.

Elgar is one of the most-played composers for one reason and one reason only. Graduation Day "Pomp and Circumstance".

YouTube video by vinteui1 Elgar/Second Symphony/Larghetto + King Edward VII's Funeral

#YearOfWonder2026 Day 59, Elgar's 2nd Symphony, mov. 2. Larghetto

YouTube video by Jonathan Randazzo Borodin String Quartet No. 2 (Nocturne)

And here's a bonus video of the same piece played as a trombone quartet, because Borodin died in 1887 and it's our music while we're here.

This piece is a nice reminder of two things:
1. The night is not always calm.
2. Acoustically created music doesn't belong solely to tux-wearers in concert halls.

YouTube video by Brooklyn Classical Borodin - String Quartet No. 2: Nocturne (Dover Quartet)

#YearOfWonder2026 Day 58: Alexander Borodin's String Quartet No. 2, mov. 3. Nocturne

It is rare in classical music to find an official video on a composer's official youtube channel, so how could I not choose this one to share? The words from director Yulia Mahr about her techniques for the video are also interesting.

YouTube video by MaxRichterVEVO Max Richter - Vladimir's Blues (Official Video)

#YearOfWonder2026 Day 57: "Vladimir's Blues" by Max Richter

An immediate classic for a reason. And in the hands and bow of Sheku Kanneh-Mason (with his sisters), absolutely irresistible. Sheku makes the cello sing so well, it becomes an extension of his musculature, his musicality, and his humanity.

YouTube video by ShekuKannehMasonVEVO Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals - The Swan

#YearOfWonder2026 Day 56: Saint-Saens' "Carnival of the Animals - The Swan"

So much music relies on virtuosic fireworks, high volume, heavy percussion, it's a remarkable thing to create a piece that holds stillness and fullness in equal measure. This particular performance is also complemented by aerial choreography. Just breathe with it for ten minutes.

YouTube video by Amsterdam Sinfonietta Spiegel im Spiegel with the amazing ISH Dance Collective | Amsterdam Sinfonietta

#YearOfWonder2026 Day 55: "Spiegel im Spiegel" by Arvo Pärt

Lush, romantic, one of the best film composers, but like the best film scores (or indeed the best video game scores or theatre scores) stands alone as a piece of art on its own.

YouTube video by Warner Classics Morricone: Theme from Cinema Paradiso (Renaud Capuçon)

#YearOfWonder2026 Day 54: Ennio Morricone's Love Theme from "Cinema Paradiso"

The piano is by its nature and breadth primarily a solo instrument, so it's nice to see multiple played together.

This is also apparently the piece used in researching whether Mozart's music could help rewire our brain toward regulation.

"The research is freely available online." - Burton-Hill

YouTube video by Ruth Bright Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Sonata for Two Pianos in D major, K 448 375a 2 Andante

Year of Wonder, Day 53: Mozart's "Sonata for Two Pianos", 2. Andante

YouTube video by Terry Stoneberg Brahms Requiem Movement 1

Bonus video: An English translation performed by a smaller number of people in Providence, because it may be called "A German Requiem" but Burton-Hill notes that Brahms later said he could just as well called it "A Human Requiem":

For my money, this is the finest requiem written to date. I know there are fans of Mozart and Fauré and Verdi. You can keep them. I don't love some of the vowels in this London Philharmonic video, but I love the sheer number of humans performing, and the softness of the sound they are able to make.

YouTube video by London Philharmonic Orchestra Brahms: A German Requiem – 1. Blessed are they that mourn – London Philharmonic Orchestra

#YearOfWonder2026 Day 52: Movement 1 of Brahms' "Ein Deutches Requiem"

YouTube video by Chad Vindin Percy Grainger plays Handel In The Strand with orchestra

Here's a bonus video of the composer playing it on the BBC 70 years ago:

Played here by the UMich Symphony Orchestra, Burton-Hill says sometimes you just need a piece of music that makes you smile. May this bring a bit of light-hearted energy to those who need it.

YouTube video by umsymphonyband UMich Symphony Band - Percy Aldridge Grainger- Handel in the Strand

#YearOfWonder2026, Day 51: "Handel in the Strand" by Percy Grainger

May I offer you:

A lot of classical music pieces are named for their form and key, often numbered, sometimes nicknamed. This title is just as accurate as any of those, evoking a wholly cosmic sense of something greater than our little wet rock.

YouTube video by maestroz25 Sunrise Mass - I Spheres - Ola Gjeilo

#YearOfWonder2026 Day 50: "The Spheres" from Ola Gjeilo's "Sunrise Mass"