On this Christmas Eve, as Santa gets ready for his biggest night of the year, we'll take a musical look at Santa through the centuries. We'll hear everything from 13th century song of praise to St. Nicholas, to the adorable Tokyo FM Boys' Choir, singing "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus." And a collection of lullabies for the Christ child, from concerts all around the world.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Traditional Seattle Early Music Guild, Seattle: Vieni, Vieni (Come, Come)
The Toronto Consort, David Fallis, director
Traditional English (arranged by Joseph Jennings): O Come All Ye Faithful
Chanticleer
Stanford Memorial Chapel, Stanford, California
Traditional Croatian (arranged by Igor Kuljeric): Croatian Christmas Carols
Soloists, the Croatian Radio and Television Chorus and Symphony Orchestra, Tonci Bilic, conductor
Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Zagreb, Croatia
Traditional Italian: Ninna, Nanna Sopra la Romanesca
L'Arpeggiata
Carnegie Hall: New York City
Anonymous: Gaudeat Ecclesia
The Rondellus Early Music Ensemble, Robert Staak, director
St. Nicholas Church, Tallinn, Estonia
Tommie Connor: I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
The Tokyo FM Boys' Choir, Etsuyo Tachikawa, director
Tokyo FM Hall, Tokyo, Japan
Johann Strauss, Jr.: Unter Donner und Blitz (the Thunder and Lightning Polka), Op. 324
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Manfred Honeck, conductor
Fernand Lindsay Amphitheatre, Joliette, Quebec
Leroy Anderson: Sleigh Ride
The Dallas Wind Symphony, Jerry Junkin, conductor
Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas
Perfchat with Eva Beneke: Perfchat
Johann Sebastian Bach: Siciliana from Solo Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Minor, BWV 1001
Eva Beneke, guitar
Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Studio, St. Paul
Traditional (arranged by Eva Beneke): Es Ist Ein Ros Entsprungen (Lo How a Rose E'er Blooming)
Eva Beneke, guitar
Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Studio, St. Paul
Franz Xaver Gruber: Silent Night
Eva Beneke and Scott Tennant, guitars
Silesian Folk Tune (arranged by F. Melius Christiansen): Beautiful Savior
The St. Olaf Combined Choirs, Anton Armstrong, director
St. Olaf Christmas Festival, Northfield, Minnesota
Hour 2
Traditional (arranged by Stephen Cleobury): Once in Royal David's City
George Wimpeny, singer, King's College Choir, Stephen Cleobury, director
A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, Cambridge, England
Eric Whitacre: Lux Aurumque
The Seattle Marimba Quartet
Classical KING FM, Seattle
Irish Reel (arranged by Sylvain Bergeron and Jeannette Sorrell): Christmas Eve
Apollo's Fire, Ensemble La Nef, Jeannette Sorrell, conductor and harpsichord
St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Traditional (arranged by Roger Harvey): Sing Lullaby
Burning River Brass
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
Traditional Welsh: Ar hyd y nos (All Through the Night)
Bryn Terfel, bass-baritone, Llyr Williams, piano
Verbier Festival, Verbier, Switzerland
English Carol: Lullay my Child - This Ender Nithgt
Ruth Cunningham, soprano
Spivey Hall, Morrow, Georgia
Traditional Scottish: Christ Child Lullaby
Ensemble Galilei
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Wilhelm Stenhammar: Interlude from Sangen (the Song)
The Baltic Youth Philharmonic, Kristjan Jarvi, conductor
Baltic Sea Festival, Stockholm, Sweden
Francois Couperin: Mysterious Barricades, from Pieces de Clavecin, Sixieme Ordre in B-flat
Angela Hewitt, piano
Spivey Hall, Morrow, Georgia
Franz Xaver Gruber: Silent Night
The Middle East Peace Orchestra, Danish Radio Vocal Ensemble, Henrik Goldschmidt, conductor
Christianskirken, Copenhagen, Denmark
Matthew Peterson: Dawn: Redeeming, Radiant
The St. Olaf Orchestra, Steven Amundson, conductor
St. Olaf Christmas Festival, Northfield, Minnesota
Franz Xaver Gruber: Silent Night
The Pro Arte Singers, Jacqui Kerrod, harp, Eric Trudel, organ, Arthur Sjogren, director
First Presbyterian Church, New Canaan, Connecticut
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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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