Photo: WFIU
Our gift to you: enjoy a variety of holiday programming this year!
Saturday, December 15 and 22, 8 p.m.
Folk Sampler
A two-part special: “Christmas: New” and “Christmas: Old.”
Monday, December 17, 10 p.m.
Pipedreams: An American Organist’s Christmas
Performers, composers, arrangers, and instrument builders join in providing music for the holiday celebration.
Wednesday, December 19, 7 p.m.
Welcome Christmas!
This year’s program puts the focus on old French carols, alongside two world premieres in the annual VocalEssence-American Composers Forum Christmas carol contest. The new carols call for the intriguing combination of men’s chorus with English horn.
Wednesday, December 19, 8 p.m.
St. Olaf Christmas Festival Concert
A service in song and word that has become one of the nation’s most cherished holiday celebrations. Tickets to the event, which takes place at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, are always gone months in advance. The festival includes hymns, carols, choral works, and orchestral selections celebrating the Nativity and featuring more than 500 student musicians who are members of five choirs and the St. Olaf Orchestra.
Thursday, December 20, 7 p.m.
Connections
George Bizet used an Old Provencal carol to open his L’Arlesienne Suite. A British hymn writer borrowed the tune from a now-forgotten work by Felix Mendelssohn to create one of the most famous of all Christmas songs. In this hour, classical works that have inspired carols, and carols that have found their way into works by Bizet, Respighi, and Liszt.
Thursday, December 20, 8 p.m.
Christmas with the Rose Ensemble
Slavic Wonders is a program of gems from the libraries and monasteries of Krakow, Prague, and Moscow. A mixture of chant, carols, and glorious polyphony, the concert includes 12-part Baroque motets from the Russian Orthodox tradition, Medieval Latin chants for Slavic saints, and double-choir works from the Polish Renaissance.
Thursday, December 20, 9 p.m., and Sunday, December 23, Noon
Harmonia: Christmas Carols, Chant, and Legend
This week’s program is a celebration of Christmas with music from a variety of traditions. We explore the original tunes of two well-known carols, hear music based on legends of Saint Nicholas, and sample Byzantine chant sung during the Christmas season. In our featured release, the Baroque orchestra Apollo’s Fire offers a gift of Celtic holiday music.
Thursday, December 20, 10 p.m.
A Chanticleer Christmas
A celebration of the season as told through the glorious voices of Chanticleer, the twelve-voice San Francisco-based men’s choir. The program spans the globe and the centuries, from England in the 14th century to new arrangements of classic and contemporary carols.
Friday, December 21, 11 p.m.
Jazz at Lincoln Center: Kim Burrell’s Gospel Jazz
Vocalist Kim Burrell fills The Allen Room with the sounds of holiday spirit. Her festive ensemble includes musical director Damien Sneed, Leon Lacy & Orchestra, and special guests. They offer soulful renditions of holiday classics including “Silent Night,” “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” and “The Little Drummer Boy.”
Saturday, December 22, 9 p.m.
Celtic Connections: Celtic Christmas
Music of the Christmas season has been an integral part of the Celtic cultures of Western Europe. We celebrate that tradition with songs in many languages in this week’s annual Celtic Christmas show.
Sunday, December 23, 1 p.m.
With Heart and Voice: Christmas
We ring in the Festival of Christmas with spectacular choral and organ music from around the country and around the world.
Sunday, December 23, 4 p.m.
Peace Talks Radio: Peace on the Battlefield
A look at two instances when peace broke out on the field of battle, including the impromptu Christmas Truce of 1914 in the early months of World War I fighting in Europe.
Sunday, December 23, 8 p.m.
Carols the World ‘Round
A celebration of the music and traditions that make up the Christmas season from the plains of Africa to the hills of Appalachia and beyond.
Monday, December 24, 8 p.m.
A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols
Michael Barone hosts this music and spoken-word service featuring the King’s College Choir, with Biblical readings and music, recorded live that day at the chapel of King’s College in Cambridge, England.
