Poster from the cover of the first edition of "A Christmas Carol"
Cover of the cloth first edition of "A Christmas Carol" (1843)
via Wikimedia Commons
Performance Today®

A Christmas Carol

In "A Christmas Carol," Ebenezer Scrooge not only hates Christmas, he hates generosity itself... at least until a three uninvited house-guests demonstrate what greed might cost him. On today's show, join us in a musical retelling of "A Christmas Carol," by Charles Dickens.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Sasha Margolis: Wallachian-Appalachian Scratchin'
Big Galut(e)
Central Vermont Chamber Music Festival in partnership with the Chandler Center for the Arts, Chandler Center for the Arts, Randolph, VT

Traditional: Hanukkah
Symphony Nova Scotia; Howard Cable, conductor
Seasons Celebrations
CBC 5226

Traditional (arr. Paul Schoenfield): Al Hanisim
Essential Voices USA; Paul Schoenfield, piano; Judith Clurman, conductor
Cherished Moments: Songs of the Jewish Spirit
Dorian 92182

Stephen Schwartz (arr. Ryan Nowlin): Hanukkah Song "We Are Lights"
Essential Voices USA; Judith Clurman, conductor
Season of Light
Dorian 70006

Scott Robinson: Great is the Miracle (Hanukkah Medley)
Eaken Piano Trio
I'll Be Home for the Holidays
Naxos 554714

Alexander Krein: Caprice Hebraique, Op.24
Noah Bendix-Balgley, violin; Orion Weiss, piano
Seattle Chamber Music Society, Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya Hall, Seattle, WA

Joel Engel: Freilakhs, Op.20, No.2
Noah Bendix-Balgley, violin; Orion Weiss, piano
Seattle Chamber Music Society, Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya Hall, Seattle, WA

Traditional (arr. David Krakauer): Der Gasn Nign (The Street Song)
David Krakauer, clarinet; Nurit Pacht and Kelly Hall-Tompkins, violin; Melissa Reardon, viola; Aron Zelkowicz, cello
Pittsburgh Jewish Music Festival, Levy Hall at Rodef Shalom Congregation, Pittsburgh, PA

Hour 2

Traditional: Cold Frosty Morning/Old Christmas/Breakin' Up Christmas
Apollo's Fire Baroque Orchestra; Jeannette Sorrell, conductor
Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain: An Irish-Appalachian Celebration
Avie 2396

John Jacob Niles: I Wonder As I Wander
Kirkmount: Alex Bigney, harp and bones; Samuel Bigney, fiddle; Simeon Bigney, cello and bodhran
Mittens for Christmas
Dorian 93236

Georgy Sviridov: Molitva ("Prayer")
Chanticleer; Kory Reid, conductor
Concerts at St. Ignatius, Church of St Ignatius Loyola, New York, NY

Jaakko Mantyjarvi: Die Stimme des Kindes
Chanticleer; Kory Reid, conductor
Concerts at St. Ignatius, Church of St Ignatius Loyola, New York, NY

Ralph Vaughan Williams: Wassail Song from "Two Songs of Winter"
Judy Mason, piano; Spivey Hall Children's Choir; Martha Shaw, conductor
Spivey Hall, Clayton State University, Morrow, GA

Traditional: Child in a Manger/ Gloucestershire Wassail
Kirkmount: Alex Bigney, harp and bones; Samuel Bigney, fiddle; Simeon Bigney, cello and bodhran
Mittens for Christmas
Dorian 93236

Traditional: Fum, Fum, Fum!
Apollo's Fire Baroque Orchestra; Jeannette Sorrell, conductor
Noels & Carols from the Olde World
Koch 7582

Traditional German: While by My Sheep (Als ich bei meinen Schafen)
Blake Eliason, Beth VanDam, James VanDam, soloists; Salt Lake Children's Choir; Ralph Woodward, conductor
Salt Lake Children's Choir, Cathedral of the Madeleine, Salt Lake City, UT

Traditional French: Il Est Ne / Masters in This Hall / Noel
Adagio Trio
Winter Gift
Adagio Trio 2

Traditional (arr. David Wilcocks): Sweet was the Song the Virgin sang; Ding Dong Merrily on High
Choir of King's College, Cambridge; David Willcocks, conductor
On Christmas Night
London/Decca 425499

Traditional: Maria durch ein Dornwald ging
Uppsala Academic Chamber Choir; Stefan Parkman, conductor
Winter Sounds
Footprint 85

Harold Darke (arr. Ken Gist): In the Bleak Midwinter
Adagio Trio
Winter Gift
Adagio Trio 2

Alan Silvestri: A Christmas Carol: I'm Still Here from the film
Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestra
A Christmas Carol Original Soundtrack
Walt Disney 49208

Alan Silvestri: A Christmas Carol: Ride On My Good Man from the film
Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestra
A Christmas Carol Original Soundtrack
Walt Disney 49208

Vijay Singh: A Glimpse of Snow and Evergreen
Oregon Chorale; Jason Sabino, conductor
A Glimpse of Snow and Evergreen
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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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