Our Christmas and year-end programs go into full swing! Here are highlights. To stay abreast of all our Christmas offerings, follow DZFE on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
Three from WFMT
December 14 – December 31 (Wed 1300, Sat 1900*)
*The New York Philharmonic This Week moves to an earlier schedule (Sat 1500) until the end of the series.
Dr. Louise Toppin , a specialist in the concert repertoire of African- American composers, presents the world premiere recording of Margaret Bonds’ The Ballad of the Brown King (Dec 14, Wed 1300 / Dec 17, Sat 1900) with a libretto by Langston Hughes. The Christmas cantata takes the perspective of Balthazar as the kings journey to Bethlehem to witness the birth of Jesus Christ.
O Magnum Mysterium (Dec 21, Wed 1300 / Dec 24, Sat 1900) features a 2021 concert and debut of Music of the Baroque’s new Chorus Director Andrew Megill. Taking his inspiration from the ancient chant sung at midnight on Christmas in the medieval church, Megill has assembled a program of music by Tomás Luis de Victoria, Giovanni Gabrieli, Roland de Lassus, Hans Leo Hassler, Diego José de Salazar, and many more.
Going from sanctuary to the streets, the Newberry Consort and EnsAmble Ad-Hoc present A Mexican Christmas (Dec 28, Wed 1300 / Dec 31, Sat 1900), evoking both the solemnity and fanfare of Mexico City’s churches and plazas. Jubilant vocals and lively strings, guitars and percussion, organ, harp, bassoon and traditional instruments bring this celebration to life.
Staples
Music at year-end would be incomplete without these staples of the repertory.
On the Chicago Symphony Orchestra broadcast of Dec 21 (Wed 2000), Sir Georg Solti leads the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and a stellar cast of soloists in the Christmas portion of Handel’s Messiah, while Fritz Reiner closes this holiday celebration with selections from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker ballet.
Wait a few more days to hear more of Handel’s beloved oratorio: The New York Philharmonic This Week (Dec 24, Sat 1500) marks Christmas Eve with a presentation of Handel’s Messiah, returning to a 2004 performance led by then Music Director Alan Gilbert.
JS Bach’s Christmas Oratorio is actually a series of six cantatas which were first performed at St. Thomas and St. Nicholas churches in Leipzig in December 1734. These six Bach cantatas feature on Exploring Music (M-F 1000) Dec 26-30.
Splendor of Christmases Past
Only on DZFE will you hear centuries of Christmas music, and our early music programs serve up some of the best of the musical feast.
Early Music Now with Sara Schneider (Mon 1100 / further airs Thu 1600, Fri 100) on December 12, and Millennium of Music with Robert Aubry Davis (Tue 1400 / further airs Fri 1100, Sat 2300) on December 20, shine a well-deserved spotlight on a stunning new release featuring a Christmas Vespers service, as it may have been heard in San Marco, Venice, in 1616, with music by Monteverdi, Grandi, and Gabrieli, and reconstruction by the conductor Andrea Marcon.
Harmonia Early Music with Angela Mariani (Wed 1100 / further airs Sun 930, Tue 200) hoists a piñata of Renaissance- and Baroque-style music from Mexico together with selections from a Christmas album of music from Breslau, now Wrocław, Poland, the week of December 14.
New Year’s Eve with the Ninth
Join us as we welcome the new year together, as we have year after year — to the jubilant strains of the “Ode to Joy”! This year’s New Year’s Eve with Beethoven’s Ninth program (Dec 31, 2300) features a vintage recording of the iconic symphony led by Erich Kleiber.
The Christ of Christmas
What Did Jesus Do? A new Renewing Your Mind series (Sun 2000 / further airs Wed 1600, Fri 200) begins on Christmas Day. Most Christians understand the importance of Christ’s atoning sacrifice and the significance of his resurrection. But how many comprehend the significance of the life Jesus led prior? And it all began with his birth.
Similarly, many people see celebrating Christmas as little more than spending time with loved ones, enjoying holiday meals and feeling good about seasonal giving. Truth for Life (Sat 1130, Sun 2130) is “Navigating the Nativity” this December – considering the Scriptural account of the birth of Christ to understand how need a God who offers more than mere sentiment.
