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18th Century Christmas
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Performance Today®

Christmas Around the World

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, Edward Elgar's "Nursery Suite," written for the four-year-old Princess Elizabeth, now Queen Elizabeth II of England. And Bruce Adolphe stops by for a new Piano Puzzler.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Henri Pensis: Fantasy on Two Christmas Carols
The Miramar Sinfonietta, Henri Pensis, conductor

Felix Mendelssohn: Scherzo from Octet for Strings in G Minor, Op. 20
The New York Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert, conductor
Hanoi Opera House, Hanoi, Vietnam

Peter Tchaikovsky: Excerpts from Sleeping Beauty
The RTE National Symphony Orchestra, Gavin Maloney, conductor
National Concert Hall, Dublin, Ireland

The Piano Puzzler: This week's contestant is Lee Kirk from Kalamazoo, Michigan

Joan Szymko: I Dream a World
The San Francisco Girls Chorus, Susan McMane, director

James Pierpont: Jingle Bells
The Minnesota Boychoir, Todd E. Price, piano, Mark S. Johnson, director

Edward Elgar: Nursery Suite
The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Paul Goodwin, conductor
Ordway Center, St. Paul

Edward Elgar: Finale from the Starlight Express
The Virginia Symphony Orchestra, JoAnn Falletta, conductor
Chrysler Hall, Norfolk, Virginia

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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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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