The first conductor who saw Sergei Rachmaninoff's All-Night Vigil thought it was too difficult. Singers who can actually sing it, he said, are "as rare as asparagus at Christmas." On Thursday's Performance Today, we have a delicacy for Christmas Eve; the Kansas City and Phoenix Chorales performing highlights from the All-Night Vigil.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Kenneth Jennings: Noel: Christmas Eve
St. Olaf Choir
My Soul's Been Anchored in the Lord
St. Olaf 2396
Traditional Indian (arr. Yolanda Kondonassis): Huron Indian Carol
Yolanda Kondonassis, harp; Jurij Konje, percussion
Dream Season
Telarc 80446
Traditional English (arr. Yolanda Kondonassis): Masters In This Hall
Yolanda Kondonassis, harp
Dream Season
Telarc 80446
Eric Whitacre: little tree
Elora Festival Singers; Noel Edison, conductor
Eric Whitacre Choral Music
Naxos 559677
Niels Gade: Christmas Eve Suite
Orchestra of the Mill; Andrew Penny, conductor
Scandinavian String Music
Lydian 18132
Samuel Barber: Christmas Eve: A Trio with Solos
Charlotte McKechnie, soprano; Emma Dowd, alto; Christian Lane, organ; Choral Fellows of the Harvard University Choir; Edward Jones, music director, conductor
Memorial Church, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Jan Jirasek: At Midnight on Christmas Eve
Jitro Children's Chorus; Jiri Skopal, conductor
Jirasek: Czech and Moravian Christmas Carols
Navona 6010
Danny Elfman: Making Christmas
Vitamin String Quartet
Vitamin String Quartet Performs The Nightmare Before Christmas
Vitamin Records 1104
Sergei Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil: 1. Come, Let Us Worship; 5. Lord, Now Lettest Thou; 6. Rejoice, O Virgin
Kansas City Chorale and Phoenix Chorale; Charles Bruffy, music director
Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil
Chandos 5148
Hour 2
Henri Pensis: Fantasy on Two Christmas Carols
Miramar Sinfonietta; Henri Pensis, conductor
Twentieth Century "Contrasts"
Albany 509
Elizabeth Poston: Jesus Christ The Apple Tree
Owen Lewis, boy soprano; St. Paul's Choir School; John Robinson, conductor
Cathedral Church of St. Paul's, Boston, MA
Christmas in Harvard Square
London/Decca 20969
Aaron Jay Kernis: Musica Celestis
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; Matthew Halls, conductor
Royce Hall, Los Angeles, CA
Traditional (arr. Christopher Dobrian and Pepe Romero): El Noi De La Mare
Pepe, Celin, Lito, Celino and Angel Romero, guitars
Christmas with Los Romeros
DG 17474
Paul and Ruth Manz: E'en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come
Cantus
That Eternal Day
Cantus 1210
Traditional (arr. Catherine McMichael): A Lyric Noel: II. Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella
The National Flute Choir; Amy Rice Blumenthal, conductor
Here We Come a'FLUTING
ALRY 27
Traditional: O Come, O Come Emmanuel/ What Child Is This/ The Boar's Head Carol/ Good King Wenceslas/ God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen/ Now the Holly Bears a Berry
Kirkmount: Alex Bigney, harp and bones; Samuel Bigney, fiddle; Simeon Bigney, cello and bodhran
Mittens for Christmas
Dorian 93236
Victor Herbert: March of the Toys
New York Pops; Skitch Henderson, music director
Christmas In The Country
Angel/EMI 54891
Max Reger: Maria Weingenlied (Mary's Lullaby), Op. 76, No 52 and Weihnnachtstraum (Silent Night), Op. 17
Gregory Brown, piano
University of Georgia, Hodgson Concert Hall, Athens, GA
Adolphe Adam (arr. Mack Wilberg): O Holy Night
Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra; Mack Wilberg, conductor
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Mormon Tabernacle Choir 1020
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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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