On this first of two special Christmas editions of Baroque&Before, we are afforded the rare opportunity outside of Spain to hear the Mallorcan version of El Cant de la Sibil.la; the Song of the Sybil, as it has been re-enacted in the churches of Mallorca every Christmas Eve since the 15th century, as well as throughout Spain as early as the 10th. The program concludes with a Romanesque Mass for Christmas Day as it was sung in the prestigious setting of L’École de Notre Dame Paris, the cradle of western polyphony.
The recordings used on tonight’s program come from WFMT’s Richard and Mary L. Gray Music Library.
