Poster Cantus
Cantus
Curtis Johnson
Performance Today®

Christmas with Cantus

The PT Artists in Residence, the men of the vocal ensemble Cantus, join host Fred Child for conversation and a selection of holiday tunes. Everything from the ancient "Veni, Veni Emmanuel" to the dark Russian sound of Sergei Rachmaninoff's "Come Let us Worship," to a Cantus mash-up that they call "Pat a Drummer," a pairing of "Patapan" and "The Little Drummer Boy." Plus, we'll hear Bruce Adolphe's latest creation, "Santa and Isolde," a brilliant and hilarious collage of Christmas tunes and opera highlights.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Michael Convertino and Loreena McKennitt: The Bells of Christmas
The West Edge String Quartet

Traditional Irish: Jezebel Carol
Ensemble Galilei
Beaches Fine Arts Series, Jacksonville, Florida

Franz Schubert: Ave Maria, D. 839
Marc-Andre Hamelin, piano
92nd Street Y, New York City

Harold Darke: In the Bleak Midwinter
The Brigham Young University Concert Choir, Rosalind Hall, director
DeJong Concert Hall, Provo, Utah

David Lang: Dearest Heart, from the Little Match Girl
Passion Theatre of Voices, Paul Hillier, director

Michael Praetorius: Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming
VocalEssence, Philip Brunelle, director
Plymouth Congregational Church, Minneapolis

Richard Dirksen: Christ, Mighty Savior
The St. Olaf College Choirs and Orchestra, John Ferguson, conductor

Bruce Adolphe: Santa and Isolde
The Metropolitan Opera Brass

Orlande di Lassus: Hodie Apparuit
In Mulieribus, Anna Song, director
St. Philip Neri Catholic Church, Portland, Oregon

Traditional Welsh: Suo-Gan (Sleep my Baby)
The Northland Youth Choir, Melissa Downes, director
Davis Concert Hall, Fairbanks, Alaska

Traditional English (Arranged by Elizabeth Poston): The Boar's Head Carol
Chanticleer
Memorial Church, Stanford, California

Ralph Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on Greensleeves
The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Jacques Lacombe, conductor
New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Newark, New Jersey

Hour 2

Franz Biebl: Ave Maria
Cantus

Traditional French: He is Born, the Divine Christ Child
The Salt Lake Children's Chorus, Ralph B. Woodward, director
Cathedral of the Madeleine, Salt Lake City, Utah

Marc Antoine Charpentier: Excerpts from In Nativitatem D.N.J.C. Canticum, H. 414
Les Arts Florissants, William Christie, director

Francois Couperin: Second movement from Pieces de Clavecin, Book 4: 27th Ordre in B Minor
Juho Pohjonen, piano
Berwaldhallen, Stockholm, Sweden

Traditional: Veni, Veni Emmanuel
Cantus
First Lutheran Church, Columbia Heights, Minnesota

Paul Manz: E'en So, Lord Jesus
Cantus
First Lutheran Church, Columbia Heights, Minnesota

Sergei Rachmaninoff: Priidite, Poklonimsya
Cantus
First Lutheran Church, Columbia Heights, Minnesota

Traditional French (Arranged by Michael McGlynn): Noel Nouvelet
Cantus
First Lutheran Church, Columbia Heights, Minnesota

Michael Praetorius: Psallite
Cantus
First Lutheran Church, Columbia Heights, Minnesota

Brian Schmidt: O Magnum Mysterium
Cantus
First Lutheran Church, Columbia Heights, Minnesota

Traditional (Arranged by Gary Ruschman and Chris Foss): Pat a Drummer
Cantus
First Lutheran Church, Columbia Heights, Minnesota

Johann Sebastian Bach: Sheep May Safely Graze
Joshua Smith, flute, Cynthia Phelps, viola
Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Studio, St. Paul

Traditional Scottish/Irish: Selected Christmas Carols
David Greenberg, violin, Ken Kolodner, hammer dulcimer, the Chris Norman Ensemble
Beaches Fine Arts Series, Jacksonville Beach, Florida

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