Christmas Around the World

December 18, 2023, 5:00 pm

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decorations on display in a festive Christmas market

Each day this week at 5:00 pm, Candice Agree invites you to celebrate the season with a musical holiday journey, filled with carols, holiday folk melodies, and classical Christmas traditions from far and wide.

Recordings are courtesy of the European Broadcasting Union, of which Classical WFMT is proud to be an Associate Member.

Playlist

Monday, December 18: Ukraine

Traditional (arr. Kirill Grigoryevich Stetsenko): Good evening to you, Master
Platon Maiboroda Academic Choir of Ukrainian Radio; Viktor Skoromnyi, conductor

Traditional (arr. Kirill Grigoryevich Stetsenko): A New Joy Has Been Revealed
Platon Maiboroda Academic Choir of Ukrainian Radio; Viktor Skoromnyi, conductor

Traditional (arr. Oleksandr Yakovchuk): Heaven and Earth Now Are Celebrating
Khreshcatyk Chamber Choir, Larysa Bukhonska, conductor

Traditional (arr. Kirill Grigoryevich Stetsenko): Oh, the Grey Cuckoo
Choir of the Ukrainian National Tchaikovsky Academy of Music: Pavlo Muravskyi, conductor

Traditional/Mykola Dmytrovich Leontovych: Carol of the Bells
Platon Maiboroda Academic Choir of Ukrainian Radio; Yuliia Tkach, conductor

Tuesday, December 19: Portugal

Traditional: Eu hei de m’ir ao presépio/ Natal de Elvas (I must go to the Nativity Scene/Christmas in Elvas)
Lisbon Chamber Choir: Teresita Gutierrez Marques, conductor

Pedro de Cristo: Ay mi Dios
Lisbon Chamber Choir: Teresita Gutierrez Marques, conductor

Traditional: Olhei para o céu (I looked at the sky)
Coro Autêntico: Gonçalo Lourenço, conductor

Traditional: Ó meu menino (Oh, my little boy)
Gulbenkian Chorus: Jorge Matta, conductor

Wednesday, December 20: Hungary

Zoltán Kodály: Angels and Shepherds
Cantemus Choir of Nyíregyháza: Dénes Szabó, conductor

Péter Tóth: Vivo. Sing merrily, zithers! from Christmas Cantata
Hungarian Radio Children’s Chorus, Budapest; Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Budapest: János Kovács, conductor

Gregorian Chant (arr. Zoltán Kodály): Veni, Veni Emmanuel
Pécs Chamber Choir: Aurél Tillai, conductor

Thursday, December 21: Finland

Leevi Madetoja: Cast Away All Your Everyday Worries
Helsinki Chamber Choir: Timo Nuoranne, conductor

Pekka Juhani Hannikainen: Shine, oh you little Christmas stars
Dominante: Seppo Murto, conductor

Traditional: For Shepherds at Night
Key Ensemble: Teemu Honkanen, conductor

Jean Sibelius: Give me no splendor
Ville Urponen, organ; Helsinki Chamber Choir: Timo Nuoranne, conductor

Friday, December 22: Austria

Michael Haydn: Excerpt from Lauft ihr Hirten, MH 217 (Run, Ye Shepherds, to the Light)
Bettina Meiners, soprano; Collegium Vocale of the Salzburg Bach Society; Andreas Gassner, organ; Müllner Instrumental Ensemble: Albert Hartinger, conductor

Melchior Rauchenbacher: Selections from Sonata Pastoralis:

  • Ach, ihr Himmel, lasset fließen
  • Seynd die Himmel denn aus Eysen
  • Himmel ob uns ausgespannet

Andreas Gassner, organ; Müllner Instrumental Ensemble: Albert Hartinger, conductor

Traditional: Es wird scho glei dumpa (it’s about to go downhill)
Phil Blech Wien: Anton Mittemayr, conductor

Leopold Mozart: Musikalische Schlittenfahrt, Divertimento (Musical sleighride)
Phil Blech Wien: Anton Mittemayr, conductor


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