Poster from the cover of the first edition of "A Christmas Carol"
Cover of the cloth first edition of "A Christmas Carol" (1843)
via Wikimedia Commons
Performance Today®

A Christmas Carol

In "A Christmas Carol," Ebenezer Scrooge hates Christmas and generosity itself... at least until three uninvited house guests demonstrate what greed might cost him. Join us today for a musical retelling of "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Traditional: Cold Frosty Morning/Old Christmas/Breakin' Up Christmas
Apollo's Fire Baroque Orchestra | Jeannette Sorrell, conductor
Album: Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain: An Irish-Appalachian Celebration
Avie 2396

John Jacob Niles: I Wonder As I Wander
Kirkmount: Alex Bigney, harp and bones | Samuel Bigney, fiddle | Simeon Bigney, cello and bodhran
Album: Mittens for Christmas
Dorian 93236

Georgy Sviridov: Molitva ("Prayer")
Chanticleer | Kory Reid, conductor
Concerts at St. Ignatius, Church of St Ignatius Loyola, New York, NY

Jaakko Mantyjarvi: Die Stimme des Kindes
Chanticleer | Kory Reid, conductor
Concerts at St. Ignatius, Church of St Ignatius Loyola, New York, NY

Ralph Vaughan Williams: Wassail Song from "Two Songs of Winter"
Judy Mason, piano | Spivey Hall Children's Choir | Martha Shaw, conductor
Spivey Hall, Clayton State University, Morrow, GA

Traditional: Child in a Manger/Gloucestershire Wassail
Kirkmount: Alex Bigney, harp and bones | Samuel Bigney, fiddle | Simeon Bigney, cello and bodhran
Album: Mittens for Christmas
Dorian 93236

Traditional: Fum, Fum, Fum!
Apollo's Fire Baroque Orchestra | Jeannette Sorrell, conductor
Album: Noels & Carols from the Olde World
Koch 7582

Traditional German: While by My Sheep (Als ich bei meinen Schafen)
Blake Eliason, Beth VanDam, James VanDam, soloists | Salt Lake Children's Choir | Ralph Woodward, conductor
Salt Lake Children's Choir, Cathedral of the Madeleine, Salt Lake City, UT

Traditional French: Il Est Ne / Masters in This Hall / Noel
Adagio Trio
Album: Winter Gift
Adagio Trio 2

Traditional, arr. David Wilcocks: Sweet was the Song the Virgin Sang
Choir of King's College, Cambridge | David Willcocks, conductor
Album: On Christmas Night
London/Decca 425499

Traditional: Maria durch ein Dornwald ging
Uppsala Academic Chamber Choir | Stefan Parkman, conductor
Album: Winter Sounds
Footprint 85

Harold Darke, arr. Ken Gist: In the Bleak Midwinter
Adagio Trio
Album: Winter Gift
Adagio Trio 2

Alan Silvestri: A Christmas Carol: I'm Still Here from the film
Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestra
Album: A Christmas Carol Original Soundtrack
Walt Disney 49208

Alan Silvestri: A Christmas Carol: Ride On My Good Man from the film
Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestra
Album: A Christmas Carol Original Soundtrack
Walt Disney 49208

Vijay Singh: A Glimpse of Snow and Evergreen
Oregon Chorale | Jason Sabino, conductor
Album: A Glimpse of Snow and Evergreen
SELF PROD

Hour 2

James Pierpont/Traditional, arr. Canadian Brass: Jingle Bells/O Come All Ye Faithful/Joy to the World
Canadian Brass
Album: Christmas Tradition
Opening Day 7345

Lee Mendelson and Vince Guaraldi, arr. Caleb Nei: Christmas Time is Here
Caleb Nei, piano
Album: Imagine Christmas
Sono Luminous DSL-92216

Vince Guaraldi, arr. Brandon Ridenour: Skating
Canadian Brass
Album: Christmas Time Is Here
Steinway & Sons 30027

Leroy Anderson, arr. Imani Winds: Sleigh Ride
Imani Winds
Album: Imani Winds: This Christmas
Koch 7748

Mark O'Connor: One Winter's Night
Mark O'Connor, violin | Chris Thile, mandolin | Bryan Sutton, guitar
Album: An Appalachian Christmas
OMAC 16

Giovanni Gabrieli: Magnificat á 12
Grand Teton Music Festival Chamber Ensemble
Grand Teton Music Festival, Walk Festival Hall, Jackson Hole, WY

Giacomo Carissimi: Quasi aquila provocans ad volandum
James Reese, tenor | Tempesta di Mare | Gwyn Roberts and Richard Stone, directors
Tempesta di Mare Philadelphia Concert Series, Episcopal Cathedral, Philadelphia,PA

Engelbert Humperdinck: Hansel and Gretel Overture (Live)
Deutsche Radio Philharmonie | Pietari Inkinen, conductor
Album: Festklange
SWR Music 19131

Englebert Humperdinck, arr. Kenneth Woods: Der Kleine Sandmann/Abendsegen (The Little Sandman/Evening Prayer) from Hansel and Gretel
April Fredrick, soprano | English Symphony Orchestra | Kenneth Woods, conductor
English Symphony Orchestra, Wyastone Concert Hall, Monmouth UK

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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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