For Christmas Eve day, we have a special mix of holiday music. From ancient to modern, from lively to reflective, it's a mix of familiar melodies and some new surprises. The haunting voice of Linn Andrea Fuglseth in a traditional Norwegian carol. A glass harmonica played in a limestone cave in Spain. The charming Tokyo FM Boys Choir singing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," in both English and Japanese. Plus much more. It's special holiday music from around the country and around the world.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Francisco Guerrero: Virgen Sancta
Chanticleer
Karin Rehnqvist: Do not Fear the Darkness
The Swedish Wind Ensemble, Katarina Andreasson, director
St. Clare's Church, Stockholm, Sweden
Johann Hieronymus Kapsberger: Arpeggiata
Rolf Lislevand, chitarrone
Ursuline Church, Varazdin, Croatia
Morten Lauridsen: Nocturnes, Night has Come, and Ave Maria
The Singers, Matthew Culloton, director
Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Church, St. Paul
Morten Lauridsen: O Magnum Mysterium
The Dale Warland Singers, Dale Warland, director
Traditional: Away in a Manger
The RTE National Symphony Orchestra and RTE Children's Choir, Gavin Maloney, conductor
National Concert Hall, Dublin Ireland
Gustaf Nordqvist: Yule, Yule, Radiant Yule
The Swedish Radio Chorus, Mika Eichenholz, conductor
Berwaldhallen, Stockholm, Sweden
John Rutter: The Donkey Carol
The RTE National Symphony Orchestra and RTE Children's Choir, Gavin Maloney, conductor
National Concert Hall, Dublin, Ireland
John Frederick Coots: Santa Claus is Coming to Town
The Tokyo FM Boys Choir, Megumi Yorita, piano
Tokyo FM Hall, Tokyo, Japan
Leroy Anderson: Sleigh Ride
The Virginia Symphony Orchestra, JoAnn Falletta, conductor
Chrysler Hall, Norfolk, Virginia
Chris Rogerson: Lullaby: No Bad Dreams
Benjamin Beilman, violin, Francis Perron, piano
Montreal International Music Competition, Montreal, Quebec
Traditional Austrian: Still, Still, Still
The Salt Lake Children's Chorus, Ralph B. Woodward, director
Cathedral of the Madeleine, Salt Lake City, Utah
Traditional Welsh (Arranged by Lawrence Wiliford): Suo-Gan (Sleep my baby)
Chanticleer
Stanford Memorial Church, Stanford, California
Franz Gruber: Silent Night
The Pro Arte Singers, Jacqui Kerrod, harp, Eric Trudel, organ, Arthur Sjogren, director
New Canaan Presbyterian Church, New Canaan, Connecticut
Hour 2
Benjamin Britten: Selections from a Ceremony of Carols
The American Boychoir, Vincent Metallo, director
Felix Mendelssohn: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Tarjei Hannevold, trumpet, the Swedish Radio Chorus and Orchestra, Mika Eichenholz, conductor
Berwaldhallen, Stockholm, Sweden
Mark Shepperd: Come Join Their Song
VocalEssence, Twin Cities Bronze, Philip Brunelle, director
Plymouth Congregational Church, Minneapolis
Traditional: Jolly Old St. Nicholas
The Canadian Brass, Eric Robertson, organ
Johann Sebastian Bach: Air on the G String
The Swedish Radio Chorus, Eva Kruse, double bass, Gustaf Sjokvist, director
Berwaldhallen, Stockholm, Sweden
Chick Corea: Crystal Silence for Glass Harmonica
Thomas Bloch, glass harmonica
Coves del Salnitre, Montserrat, Spain
Traditional Norwegian: Now all the Earth Rests in Peace
Linn Andrea Fuglseth, singer, Birger Mistereggen, percussion
Fitzgerald Theater, St. Paul
Daniel Godfrey: Romanza
The Cassatt String Quartet
Merkin Concert Hall, New York City
John Vergin: Carol: There is no Rose of Such Virtue
In Mulieribus, Anna Song, director
St. Philip Neri Catholic Church, Portland, Oregon
Johann Balthasar Konig and Michael Praetorius: This Night a Wondrous Revelation and Lo, How a Rose Eaâ¬â¢er Blooming
The St. Olaf College Choirs and Orchestra
St. Olaf Christmas Festival, Northfield, Minnesota
Franz Gruber: Silent Night
Ensemble Galilei
Beaches Fine Arts Series, Jacksonville, Florida
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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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