Today's show features two great choral masterpieces for Christmas. We'll feature Cantata I of Bach's "Christmas Oratorio" from Stockholm, Sweden, and selections from Handel's "Messiah," featuring Apollo's Fire from Cleveland. In addition, we'll talk with Rob Kapilow, author of a series of commentaries called "What Makes it Great?" He'll explain what makes Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus" so great.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Morten Lauridsen: "Dirait-on" from "Les Chansons des Roses"
The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet
Peter Tchaikovsky: "The Waltz of the Flowers" from "The Nutcracker"
The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra with conductor Valery Gergiev
Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Anonymous: "Gaudens in Domino"
In Mulieribus with conductor Anna Song and soloists Heather Roszczyk, Shaelyn Schneider, and Catherine van der Salm
St. Philip Neri Catholic Church, Portland, Oregon
John Dowland: "The Earle of Essex, His Galliard"
The Royal Wind Music with conductor Paul Leenhouts
Boston Early Music Festival, Boston
Johann Sebastian Bach: Cantata I from "Christmas Oratorio," BWV 248
The Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Swedish Radio Chorus with conductor Peter Dijkstra, soprano Ditte Andersen, contralto Ann Hallenberg, tenor Jan Kobow, and bass Lars Johansson Brissman
Berwaldhallen, Stockholm, Sweden
Peter Tchaikovsky: "The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" from "The Nutcracker"
The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra with conductor JoAnn Falletta
Kleinhans Music Hall, Buffalo, New York
Morten Lauridsen: "O Magnum Mysterium"
The Dale Warland Singers with conductor Dale Warland
Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Studio, St. Paul, Minnesota
Georg Muffat: Giga from Concerto No. 7
The Holland Baroque Society with conductor Matthew Halls
Jacobikerk, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Hour 2
George Frideric Handel: Suite from "Judas Maccabaeus"
Solid Brass
Cecil Sharp: "The Holly and the Ivy"
The Imani Winds
Hugh Martin: "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"
The Imani Winds
George Frideric Handel: Selections from "The Messiah"
Apollo's Fire with conductor and harpsichordist Jeannette Sorrell, soprano Amanda Forsythe and mezzo-soprano Elizabeth Shammash
St. Paul's Church, Cleveland Heights, Ohio
George Frideric Handel: "Joy to the World"
The Philadelphia Brass Ensemble
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American Public Media’s Performance Today® is America’s most popular classical music radio program and a winner of the 2014 Gabriel Award for artistic achievement. The show is broadcast on hundreds of public radio stations across the country, including at 1 p.m. central weekdays on Minnesota Public Radio. More information about our stations can be found at APM Distribution.
Performance Today® features live concert recordings that can’t be heard anywhere else, highlights from new album releases, and in-studio performances and interviews. Performance Today® is based at the APM studios in St. Paul, Minnesota, but is frequently on the road, with special programs broadcast from festivals and public radio stations around the country. Also, each Wednesday, composer Bruce Adolphe joins host Fred Child for a classical musical game and listener favorite: the Piano Puzzler.
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