We're celebrating Christmas around the world, our annual program of musical highlights from concert halls and churches all around the globe. Including ancient Byzantine carols from Romania, an over-the-top Christmas medley by Leroy Anderson, and two lovely settings of the Ave Maria. Plus, Bruce Adolphe's latest creation, "Santa and Isolde," a brilliant and hilarious collage of Christmas tunes and opera highlights.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Michael Convertino and Loreena McKennitt: The Bells of Christmas
The West Edge String Quartet
Traditional Irish: Jezebel Carol
Ensemble Galilei
Beaches Fine Arts Series, Jacksonville, Florida
Franz Schubert: Ave Maria, D. 839
Marc-Andre Hamelin, piano
92nd Street Y, New York City
Gustav Holst: In the Bleak Midwinter
The Brigham Young University Concert Choir, Rosalind Hall, director
DeJong Concert Hall, Provo, Utah
Michael Praetorius: Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming
VocalEssence, Philip Brunelle, director
Plymouth Congregational Church, Minneapolis
Richard Dirksen: Christ, Mighty Savior
The St. Olaf College Choirs and Orchestra, John Ferguson, conductor
Bruce Adolphe: Santa and Isolde
The Metropolitan Opera Brass
Traditional Welsh: Suo-Gan (Sleep my Baby)
The Northland Youth Choir, Melissa Downes, director
Davis Concert Hall, Fairbanks, Alaska
Traditional English (Arranged by Elizabeth Poston): The Boar's Head Carol
Chanticleer
Memorial Church, Stanford, California
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on Greensleeves
The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Jacques Lacombe, conductor
New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Newark, New Jersey
Hour 2
Traditional German: He Whom the Shepherds Praised
The Taverner Consort; Andrew Parrott, conductor
Traditional Polish: Infant Holy, Infant Lowly
The London Brass
Henry J. Gauntlett: Once in Royal David's City
Edward Moore, soloist, Choir of King's College, Cambridge, Benjamin Bayl, organ, Stephen Cleobury, music director
Anonymous: Three Spanish Carols
Cantoria Hispanica, Jose Hernandez Pastor, director
CaixaForum, Barcelona, Spain
Gaspar Fernandez: Xicochi
Seattle Pro Musica, Karen P. Thomas, conductor
Town Hall, Seattle
Ernani Aguiar: Ave Maria
Seattle Pro Musica, Karen P. Thomas, conductor
Town Hall, Seattle
Anders Hogstedt: O Viridissima Virga
The Swedish Wind Ensemble, Katarina Andreasson, director
St. Clare's Church, Stockholm, Sweden
Russian Chant: Today Christ is Born in Bethlehem
The Sirin Ensemble, Andrei Nikolayevich Kotov, conductor
Songs of our Roots International Early Music Festival, Jaroslaw, Poland
Sigvaldi Kaldalons: Ave Maria
Vikingur Heidar Olafsson, piano
University Cinema, Reykjavik, Iceland
Astor Piazzolla: Ave Maria
The Soave Duo
Mihail Jora Hall, Bucharest, Romania
Leroy Anderson: A Christmas Festival
The National Youth Orchestra of Romania, Cristian Mandeal, conductor
Romanian Athenaeum, Bucharest, Romania
Traditional Romanian (Arranged by Constantin Raileanu): The Eastern Star is Rising and Up in the Sky
The Anton Pann Early Music Ensemble, Anton Pann Byzantine Music Group, Lulia Popovici, soloist, Constantin Raileanu, director
Mihail Jora Concert Hall, Bucharest, Romania
Alessandro Piccinini: Canarios
Rolf Lislevand, chitarrone
Ursuline Church, Varazdin, Croatia
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Dance of the Tumblers from the Snow Maiden
The RTE National Symphony Orchestra, Gavin Maloney, conductor
National Concert Hall, Dublin, Ireland
George Frideric Handel: Joy to the World
The Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul's Choir, the CBC Sing-in Brass, Jean-Michel Malouf, conductor
Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul, Montreal, Quebec
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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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