Choral Stream

The Twin Cities Compline Choir gathers for a monastic service that dates from the 6th century, a service for the close of the day or Compline.

The St Olaf Choir celebrated its 100 anniversary with a mid-winter tour. The highlights of which are in this week's Regional Spotlight. Anton Armstrong leads the choir and orchestra of St Olaf College students in the Bach motet: Sing to the Lord a New Song, and the world premiere of a work written especially for the centennial celebration of the St Olaf Choir by St Olaf alumnus, Minnesota composer, Ralph M. Johnson: On Horizon's Brim.

Johannes Brahms, like all composers, had a "day job." Brahms was the music director of several singing societies in Vienna. Pouring all of his melodic gifts into numerous works for choir, the choral pieces from his late fifties are especially filled with a kind of nostalgic golden glow. The South Dakota Chorale led by Charles Bruffy brings a slow-burning, mature passion to a performance of Brahms Four Quartets Op 92. Their performance from January 14 at Dordt College is in this week's Regional Spotlight.

For the holiday, the first three parts of Johann Sebastian Bach's beloved Christmas Oratorio - from Dresden, where an annual performance of this inspired music is a treasured tradition. Tune in on Sunday, December 25 at 1:00 p.m. to hear this joyful work.

One of the nation's most cherished holiday celebrations, the St. Olaf College Christmas Festival includes hymns, carols, choral works, and orchestral selections celebrating the Nativity and more than 500 members of St. Olaf College's five choirs and the Orchestra. An encore presentation airs at 7 p.m. December 23.

We can't play 10,000 choirs--though it sometimes seems like Minnesota has that many. But for one hour, we will look at Christmas through the lens of Minnesota's rich choral culture: choirs from Concordia in Moorhead to Kantorei in the Twin Cities, from Bemidji to Rochester and more. Listen on December 21, 2011 at 7:00 p.m.

Tune in on Tuesday, December 20 at 8:00 p.m. to hear Ralph Vaughan Williams' Cantata, Hodie. His last major choral/orchestral work, it is a fun and beautiful piece for this Christmas season.

Moving selections of choral classics celebrating Christmas. The Dale Warland Singers provided magical performances to listeners across the country for over 30 years and were acclaimed as America's premiere choir. Their signature holiday concert - beloved by public radio listeners nationwide - was the annual Echoes of Christmas program. Drawing upon the archive of their live performances, Dale Warland and host Brian Newhouse create a very special Christmas musical treat on Thursday, December 22 at 7:00 p.m.

More than 600 student-musicians at Luther College celebrate the joy and traditions of Christmas with absolutely breathtaking music, capturing the wonder, awe and excitement of the season. This year's theme is 'Journey to the Light,' and the concert is part of a year-long celebration of the 150th birthday of Luther College, a journey in its own right that has transformed so many.

A Chanticleer Christmas is American Public Media's one-hour celebration of the season as told through the glorious voices of Chanticleer, the 12-voice San Francisco-based men's choir. The program spans the globe and the centuries -- from England in the 1300s to new arrangements of classic and contemporary carols.