On Christmas Day, join us for a musical journey across the country and around the world. On Wednesday's Performance Today we're featuring our annual musical celebration of Christmas from concert halls, churches, and auditoriums near and far.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Michael Praetorius: Dances from Terpsichore from Christmas Vespers
Apollo's Fire Baroque Orchestra; Jeanette Sorrell, conductor
KOCH 7673
Benjamin Britten: A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28: 2. There is no Rose; 6. As Dew in Aprille; 7. This Little Babe; 11. Deo Gracias
Jacqui Kerrod, harp; Pro Arte Singers; Arthur Sjogren, conductor
First Presbyterian Church, New Canaan, CT
Selections for the Yuletide Season: Masters in the hall (Traditional) / Chrisimas Day (Lancashire Traditional) / Gaudete, Christus est Natus (Piae Cantiones 1582) / In Dir ist Freude (Johannes Lindemann)
The Baltimore Consort: Danielle Svonavec, soprano; Manne Ballard, viols, rebec; Mark Cudek, cittern, viol; Larry Lipkins, viol, recorder, gemshor; Ronn McFarlane, lute; Mindy Rosenfeld, wooden flutes,
Wesley United Methodist Church, Bethlehem, PA
The Piano Puzzler: This weeks contestant is Lee Kirk from Kalamazoo, MI
Richard Wagner: Siegfried Idyll
New York Philharmonic; Alan Gilbert, conductor
Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York, NY
Hour 2
Traditional Basque (arr. John Rutter): Gabriel's Message
Ruth Holton, soprano; The Cambridge Singers
The Cambridge Singers Christmas Album
Collegium 512
Antony Holborne: The Fairy Round
Goran Sollscher, guitar
Goran Sollscher: The Renaissance Album
DG 6497
Traditional: Adeste fideles
Czech Radio Children's Choir; Brno Radio Folk Instrument Orchestra; Frantisek Cerny, conductor; Blanka Kulinska, director
Vzlet Culture House, Prague, Czech Republic
Traditional Moravian: To Jesus in Bethlehem We Shall Go
Czech Radio Children's Choir; Brno Radio Folk Instrument Orchestra; Blanka Kulinska, director; Frantisek Cerny, conductor
Vzlet Culture House, Prague, Czech Republic
Katherine K. Davis & Paul Ferguson: The Little Drummer Boy
Burning River Brass
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Christian Onyeji: Amuworo ayi otu nwa (A Child is Born)
Chicago a cappella
Nichols Concert Hall, Evanston, IL
Arthur Honegger: Laudate Dominum from Une Cantate de Noel
Choir of the St. Andrew and St. Paul Church; Jordan de Souza, conductor
Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul, Montreal, Canada
Traditional French (arr. Julian Wachner): Les anges dans nos campagnes
Choir of the St. Andrew and St. Paul Church and audience; Jonathan Oldengarm, organ; Jordan de Souza, conductor
Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul, Montreal, Canada
Traditional: Den signade dag (This Blessed Day)
Swedish Chamber Choir; Simon Phipps, conductor
Christinae Church, Gothenburg, Sweden
Traditional: Franziskaner
Eismannsberger Strings
Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg, Germany
Traditional (arr. Kondonassis): Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella
Yolanda Kondonassis, harp
Dream Season: The Christmas Harp
Telarc 80446
Franz Adam Veichtner: Lento, Allegro di molto, from Symphony No. 1 in C
Collegium Musicum Riga Barogue Orchestra; Maris Kupcs, conductor
Small Guild Hall, Riga, Latvia
George Frideric Handel (arr. P. Halley): Joy to the World!
Jonathan Oldengarm, organ; Benjamin Raymond, trumpet; Frederic Gagnon, trumpet; Frederic Demers, trumpet; Angelo Munoz, trombone; Guy Bernard, trombone; Hughes Tremblay, percussion; Choir of the St. A
Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul, Montreal, Canada
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About Performance Today®
To find a station near you on our Stations Listings page, click here.
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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