For many people, Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without a performance of Handel's "Messiah." We'll bring you one of the best, a recent concert by Boston's Handel and Haydn Society Chorus and Orchestra, with Harry Christophers conducting. Handel's "Messiah" has been a hit ever since it premiered in Dublin in 1742. So much so that, in early performances, ladies were asked not to wear hoop skirts and men were advised to leave their swords at home, in order to accommodate more concertgoers in the hall.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
David Conte: "Charm Me Asleep"
Chanticleer
Karin Rehnqvist: "Don't be Afraid of the Darkness"
The Swedish Radio Chorus with conductor Andreas Hanson
Berwaldhallen, Stockholm, Sweden
William Beckstrand: Winter Solstice Carol
The National Lutheran Choir with conductor David Cherwien and the Bell of the Lakes Handbell Choir with conductor Bill Mathis
Basilica of St. Mary, Minneapolis
Frederic Chopin: Nocturne in D-flat, Op. 27, No. 2
Pianist Jonathan Biss
Union College, Schenectady, New York
Antonio Vivaldi: "Autumn" and "Winter" from "The Four Seasons"
Violinist Suzanne Beia with members of the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society of Wisconsin
Overture Center Playhouse, Madison, Wisconsin
Traditional: "Bring a Torch, Jeanette Isabella"
Chanticleer
Memorial Church, Stanford, California
Henry Du Mont: "When I am Away from You"
Viola da gambists Erin Headley and Anne-Marie Lasla and organist Kristian Bezuidenhout
Boston Early Music Festival, Boston
Joseph Haydn: "Then Breaks that Great and Glorious Day," from "The Seasons," Hob. XXI:3
The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Berlin Radio Chorus with soprano Christiane Oelze, tenor John Mark Ainsley, baritone Thomas Quasthoff; and conductor Simon Rattle
Culture and Congress Center, Lucerne, Switzerland
Hour 2
George Frideric Handel: Air with Variations from "The Harmonious Blacksmith"
The London Brass
Franz Gruber: "Silent Night"
Ensemble Galilei
Beaches Fine Arts Series, Jacksonville, Florida
Ernest Bloch: Andante from Three Nocturnes for Violin, Cello and Piano
Violinist Amy Schwartz Moretti, cellist Robert deMaine, and pianist Adam Neiman
Seattle Chamber Music Society Summer Festival, Seattle
George Frideric Handel: Excerpts from "Messiah"
The Handel and Haydn Society Chorus and Orchestra with bass-baritone Matthew Brook, tenor Tom Randle, countertenor Daniel Taylor, soprano Suzie LeBlanc, and conductor Harry Christophers
Symphony Hall, Boston
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