On the way for Christmas, 2011, we'll bring you some of the best and brightest holiday performances from all over the globe. From the magnificent concert halls of Europe, to churches large and small, to a warm and inviting Irish pub, it's our annual tour of Christmas Around the World.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Traditional: Lovely Vine and Joy to the World
The Boston Camerata, Joel Cohen, conductor
Anonymous: Exultemus et Laetemur
In Mulieribus, Anna Song, director
St. Mary's Cathedral, Portland, Oregon
Luca Marenzio: Scendi dal Paradise
The American Brass Quintet
Aspen Music Festival, Aspen, Colorado
Felix Mendelssohn: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
The Salt Lake Children's Choir, Kenneth Udy, organ, Ralph B. Woodward, director
Cathedral of the Madeleine, Salt Lake City
Anonymous: Vieni, Vieni (Come, Come) and Traditional Pastoral
The Toronto Consort, David Fallis, director
Town Hall, Seattle
Traditional French: Saltarello and Bring a Torch, Jeanette Isabella
Ensemble Galilei
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Philip Stopford: Lully, Lulla, Lullay
Kacee Cambron, soprano, the Utah State University Chamber Singers, Dr. Cory Evans, director
St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, Hyde Park, Utah
Leonard Bernstein: Waltz from Divertimento for Orchestra
The Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Barbican Hall, London, England
Hans Leo Hassler: Jubilate Deo
Conspirare, Craig Hella Johnson, director
Long Center for the Performing Arts, Austin, Texas
Johann Sebastian Bach: Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
Benjamin Moser, piano
Ramsey Concert Hall, Athens, Georgia
Felix Mendelssohn: A Star Shall Rise Up Out of Jacob
The Brigham Young University Combined Choirs and Philharmonic Orchestra, Rosalind Hall, conductor
deJong Concert Hall, Provo, Utah
Phillipp Nicolai: How Brightly Shines the Morning Star
The Brigham Young University Combined Choirs and Philharmonic Orchestra, Rosalind Hall, conductor
deJong Concert Hall, Provo, Utah
Traditional (Arranged by Darmon Meader): The First Noel
Chicago a cappella, Jonathan Miller, director
Wentz Concert Hall, Naperville Illinois
Edward Elgar: Finale from the Starlight Express
The Virginia Symphony Orchestra, JoAnn Falletta, conductor
Chrysler Hall, Norfolk, Virginia
Hour 2
Louis Couperin: Les Carillons de Paris (The Bells of Paris)
Andrew Lawrence-King, Baroque harp
Thomas Robinson: Twenty Ways upon the Bells
Rolf Lislevand, lute, Arianna Savall, harp
Schwetzingen Festival, Schwetzingen, Germany
Jon Thorarinsson: Bright and Glorious
The Hamrahlid Choir, Thorgerdur Ingolfsdottir, director
Hateigs Church, Reykjavik, Iceland
Karl-Johan Ankarblom: Christmas Eve Medley
The Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Per Hammarstrom, conductor
Berwaldhallen, Stockholm, Sweden
Tomas Luis de Victoria: O Magnum Mysterium
Stile Antico
Flanders Festival, Bruges, Belgium
Traditional (Arranged by Michaelis Brouzos and Giorgos Bechlivanoglou): Variations on Greensleeves
The Animacorda Guitar Duo
Pythagorion Amphitheatre, Anixi-Athens, Greece
Traditional: The Parting Glass and Reel - Christmas Eve
The Danu Ensemble
The Local Pub, Dungarvan, Ireland
Peter Tchaikovsky: Waltz of the Flowers, from the Nutcracker, Op. 71
The French National Orchestra, Kurt Masur, conductor
Theatre des Champs-Elysees, Paris, France
Maurice Durufle: Ubi Caritas
The Trinity Choir, guest choirs, Thea Kano, director
Trinity Church Wall Street, New York City
Traditional Polish: Improvisation on Lulajze Jezuniu
Bolette Roed, recorder
Music in Paradise Festival, Paradyz, Poland
Traditional (Arranged by Steven Stucky): Lulajze, Jezuniu
Chanticleer
St. Vincent de Paul Church, Petaluma, California
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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.
Hosted by Valerie Kahler, 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.
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