Performance Today®

St. Cecilia is known as the patron saint of music. So when French hornist Martina Snell decided to give up her orchestral career and enter an order of Benedictine nuns, it's perhaps not surprising that she chose a new name for herself: Cecilia. She may have left her orchestra job behind, but she never gave up music. Now Mother Cecilia Snell and her fellow Benedictines have a surprising top-ranked CD, called Advent at Ephesus. Today we'll hear from Mother Cecilia, and hear highlights from this remarkable new CD.

Ever wonder what makes some music great? It's maybe not as subjective as it seems. Music commentator Rob Kapilow (pictured) joins host Fred Child today to talk about some of the techniques that George Frideric Handel used in his "Hallelujah Chorus," techniques that make it a choral masterpiece. And conductor Harry Christophers leads a performance of the Messiah, from a concert in Germany.

Today, the women's vocal quartet Anonymous 4 joins host Fred Child for music and conversation. They'll sing an assortment of early English and American carols, including "The Cherry Tree." That tune tells the story of a little bit of marital strife between Mary and Joseph on the way to Bethlehem, and how Joseph received his comeuppance through the miracle of the cherry tree.

The women of Anonymous 4 joined PT at the Church of St. Bernard in St. Paul for terrific performances of early English and American carols all written about the Christmas story of the Cherry Tree.

Watch classical guitarist Eva Beneke perform two pieces live in the PT studio.

St. Cecilia is known as the patron saint of music. So when French hornist Martina Snell decided to give up her orchestral career and enter an order of Benedictine nuns, it's perhaps not surprising that she chose a new name for herself: Cecilia. She may have left her orchestra job behind, but she never gave up music. Now Mother Cecilia Snell and her fellow Benedictines have a surprising top-ranked CD, called Advent at Ephesus. Today we'll hear from Mother Cecilia, and hear highlights from this remarkable new CD.

It's Christmas Eve, and there's a big party. Young Clara gets a special present, a nutcracker. At midnight, the Christmas tree grows magically, the Nutcracker turns into a dashing prince, and takes Clara on a tour of his kingdom. It's "The Nutcracker," by Peter Tchaikovsky, a holiday favorite. We'll hear highlights, from a concert by Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony.

Cellist Zuill Bailey describes his unusual concert with the orchestra of an Alaskan women's prison.

Robin Ticciati is an up-and-coming young British conductor. When Ticciati was a teenager, he studied conducting with Sir Colin Davis. Ticciati remembers Davis guiding him through Edward Elgar's "Enigma Variations" during conducting lessons in Davis' garden. When they got to the gravely beautiful "Nimrod" variation, Davis stopped and said, "This is what music should mean to you." In today's show, Ticciati fills in for the ailing Colin Davis in a performance of, you guessed it, Elgar's "Enigma Variations," from a concert in London.