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

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 bonesSamuel Bigney, fiddleSimeon 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
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
SELF PROD NA

Hour 2

David Dickau: Love Came Down at Christmas
Choral Arts Ensemble; Barbara Depman, conductor
MPR Taste Of The Holidays, Vol. 4
MPR 20132

Xavier Montsalvatge: Cradle Song
Isabel Leonard, mezzo-soprano; Sharon Isbin, guitar
Alma Espanola
Bridge 9491

Felix Mendelssohn: Song without Words No. 36 "Cradle Song" Op. 67
Javier Perianes, piano
Lieder Ohne Worte
Harmonia Mundi 902195

Pietro Yon: Gesu Bambino
Massed Choirs of St. Olaf College; The St. Olaf Orchestra; Sigrid Johnson, conductor
The 2014 St. Olaf Christmas Festival, Skoglund Center Auditorium, St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN

Peter Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 1 "Winter Dreams" Movements 3 & 4
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra; Mariss Jansons, conductor
Tchaikovsky: The Complete Symphonies
Chandos 8672

Thomas Ravencroft , arr. Abbie Betinis: Remember, O Thou Man
Jacqui Kerrod, harp; Katharine Dryden, viola; Pro Arte Singers; Arthur Sjogren, conductor
First Presbyterian Church, New Canaan, CT

Matthew Peterson: Corde Natus
St. Olaf Orchestra; Steven Amundson, conductor
St. Olaf Christmas Festival, St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN

Traditional, J. Scott Irvine: I Saw Three Ships
True North Brass: Joan Watson, natural horn; Stuart Laughton, bodhran
A True North Christmas
TNB 4

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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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