2022 HOLIDAY SPECIALS
***TUESDAY 12/27***
10am – The Spanish Hour: Spanish Renaissance Christmas
The Spanish Siglo de Oro -- Golden Age -- witnessed an astonishing musical flowering. Enjoyworks for the nativity by the greatest of Spain's composers from teh 16th century: Tomás Luis de Victoria, Francisco Guerrero, Alonso Lobo, Cristóbal de Morales, and Mateo Flecha "the Elder."
11am - Winter Holidays Around the World
Winter holidays are celebrated around the world, and their music is wonderful to hear, regardless of which tradition you observe. Celebrated educator, performer, conductor, and composer and host of the WFMT Radio Network’s Exploring Music Bill McGlaughlin gathers this spirited selection that starts in the 12th century with Nova Stella, medieval Italian Christmas music from Saint Francis of Assisi’s staging of the nativity; jazz pianist Dave Brubeck’s classical composition La Fiesta de la Posada, evoking a Mexican Christmas celebration; and Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on Christmas Carols. We will enjoy this time of year in Paris with music from Debussy, and then travel to Polynesia for a traditional hymn, Anau Oia Ea. And then ending with an excerpt from Gian Carlo Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors from the original television production.
3pm – A Very Blues Christmas
With host Hans Ahlstrom
***WEDNESDAY 12/28***
10am - A Choral Christmas With Stile Antico
Celebrate Christmas with the sound of soaring voices. Stile Antico, the award winning choir from London, pays a visit to St. Paul’s church on Harvard Square for a concert of radiant sacred music for the Christmas season by the most acclaimed composers of the renaissance. Hear the group’s luminous blend of voices sing the intricately woven music of Thomas Tallis and William Byrd. Hosted by Cathy Fuller of WGBH. Presented by NPR Music.
11am - Canadian Brass: Christmastime is Here
Hosted by WQXR’s Jeff Spurgeon, this program features arrangements of music by Vince Guaraldi and Luther Henderson as well as traditional favorites from "A Charlie Brown Christmas," "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas," "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," "Frosty the Snowman" and more – timeless classics infused with jazz and lush harmonies. The selections on this program are featured on the quintet's latest album, "Christmas Time is Here."
3pm - Tinsel Tales 4: NPR Christmas Stories Told Through Song
NPR revisits interviews with musicians about their Christmas albums. Some, like Katie Melua and Sting, celebrate tradition and winter mystery in their Christmas songs. Others, like Kenny Rogers and Amy Grant, find spirituality and stability in holiday music. Jon Batiste and Anthony Hamilton bring new energy to old favorites on their Christmas albums. Hosted by Lynn Neary.
***THURSDAY 12/29***
10am – Wind & Rhythm: Winds of Christmas
Do you have a favorite Christmas band composition? On this holiday episode of Wind & Rhythm, we discover music composed for, or arranged for, band. We’ll hear Gustav Holst's “In the Bleak Midwinter”, Alfred Reed’s “Russian Christmas Music”, and more, all right here at the gathering place for people who love band music.
11am – Apollo’s Fire presents Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain
In this one-hour special, the listener is transported from Christmas Eve in medieval Scotland to the folk carols and shape‐note hymns at a toe‐tapping Christmas gathering in Virginia. The people of the Appalachian Mountains welcome Christmas with LOVE, SINGING, DANCING, and PRAYER
***FRIDAY 12/30***
10am – An Afro Blue Christmas
Join us for a very special holiday concert with Howard University's premiere vocal ensemble Afro Blue and special guest pianist Cyrus Chestnut. Hear the a-cappella group perform a variety of holiday songs including African-American spirituals, jazz and pop tunes, and classical repertoire. The joyous celebration includes one of a kind arrangements on traditional holiday songs plus new compositions…music perfect for the holidays and the spirit of Christmas. Hosted by Michele Norris.
11am – The Ballad of the Brown King and Other Music for Christmas by Black ComposersDr. Louise Toppin, a noted performer and scholar who specializes in the concert repertoire of African American composers, presents the world premiere recording of Margaret Bonds’s The Ballad of the Brown King. With a libretto by Langston Hughes, this Christmas cantata which focuses on Balthazar, the dark-skinned king who journeyed to Bethlehem to witness the birth of Jesus Christ, is beautifully interpreted by New York City-based The Dessoff Choirs and Orchestra, soloists soprano Laquita Mitchell, mezzo-soprano Lucia Bradford and tenor Noah Stewart, led by Malcolm J. Merriweather. The special will also include music for the season selected by Dr. Toppin.
3pm - Joy To The World – A Holiday in Pink
The internationally acclaimed “little orchestra" Pink Martini bedecks the airwaves with festive holiday songs from across the globe. From timeless classics to rarely heard gems, hear a multi-denominational, multi-cultural jubilee, overflowing with enough holiday spirit to warm your entire family. Hosted by All Things Considered’s Ari Shapiro.
8pm – Peninsula Performances Holiday Specials
Hear excerpts from Marquette Choral Society’s Angelic Voices concert to round out the month of December. You’ll hear selections from Ottorino Respighi’s Laud to the Nativity of the Lord and Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s Midnight Mass.
11pm - Jazz Night In America: A Holiday Celebration
This year's Jazz Night in America holiday special will feature drummer Matt Wilson's Christmas Tree-O; a ruckus band recorded at Jazz at Lincoln Center that flip seasonal songs on their head while inserting humor and joyful swing. and new takes on classics in this special episode. Christian McBride hosts.
***SATURDAY 12/31***
4pm - The Film Score: Music for the Winter HolidaysChicago Tribune film critic Michael Phillips is your host for The Film Score: Music for the Winter Holidays, an hour-long special devoted to holiday and wintertime movie music. In addition to beloved standards (“White Christmas” from “Holiday Inn” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” from “Meet Me in St. Louis”), Michael shares an eclectic mix of wintry film scores, ranging from “It Happened in Sun Valley” (from “Sun Valley Serenade”) to Alexandre Desplat’s folk-inspired score for “The Grand Budapest Hotel” to Bernard Herrmann’s bracing sleigh ride accompaniment composed for the Orson Welles drama “The Magnificent Ambersons.” Bundle up and enjoy The Film Score: Music for the Winter Holidays!
10pm - Toast of the Nation
An NPR tradition every New Year's Eve since the 1970s, Toast of the Nation is the perfect audio complement for the occasion. It's festive jazz you can party to, all night long. Hear sets from Ibrahim Maalouf, Lizz Wright, Ranky Tanky and Chucho Valdés.
***SUNDAY 1/1***
11am - New Year's Day From Vienna 2022 (2 hours)
The ever popular annual New Year’s Day Concert will be performed by the Vienna Philharmonic under the baton of Franz Welser-Most. With this concert it is not only the desire of the Vienna Philharmonic to provide musically definitive interpretations of the masterworks of this genre, but also, as musical ambassadors of Austria, to send people all over the world a New Year's greeting in the spirit of hope, friendship and peace. Hosted by WBUR's Lisa Mullins.
