Forget jingle bells: here’s Christmas with bagpipes and a cornetto

The holiday season is a time for glitter, warmth, and revelry, so what could be more fitting than the color, warmth, and occasional raucousness of Renaissance music played on Renaissance instruments? Piffaro’s annual Christmas concert has been a high point of my holiday traditions for over 25 years. I don’t think I’ve missed a single edition. This year they’re doing Christmas music from 16th-century Naples — a city renowned for its musical life. Masterworks by Monteverdi and Gabrieli will mingle with the Italian tradition of shepherd music played on bagpipes. Soprano Laura Heimes will provide the vocals, and another favorite, Kiri Tollaksen, will add the special sound of that irresistible trumpet/recorder hybrid, the cornetto.

Piffaro will present “Mediterranean Holiday” on Friday, December 19, at 8pm at Trinity Center for Urban Life, 22nd and Spruce Streets, Philadelphia; Saturday, December 20 at 8pm at Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, 8855 Germantown Ave, Philadelphia; and Sunday, December 21 at 3pm at Sts Andrew & Matthew Episcopal Church, Wilmington. Preferred seating front-row tickets are $40, and general admission is $35 (seniors get a $5 discount; $15 for students). Tickets are available at 215-235-8469, online, and at the door.