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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About Performance Today®
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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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