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Christmas Around Europe

A day-long festival of Christmas music and singing from across Europe in the European Broadcasting Union’s ever-popular annual Christmas music day.

Christmas Around Europe - a ten hour celebration in a feast of concerts taking us from Barcelona to Reykjavík.

Every year classical music radio stations from across Europe come together to celebrate Christmas with a series of concerts from around the continent. Featuring special performances of Christmas music, many of them broadcast live, the celebration covers a wide variety of music from 16th Century motets and carols from Spain, through traditional seasonal folk music from Finland to Christmas Jazz from Germany and everything in between. This ten hour celebration promises to be a journey of discovery to delight the ears and soul.

Andrew McGregor and Hannah French are your musical tour guides to lead you through the day.

1200pm Saarbrücken, Germany. The German Radio Philharmonic Orchestra plays Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 1 in G minor, op. 13 ('Winter Daydreams'), Dohnányi: Variations on a Children's Song op. 25 and Christmas music by Korngold and Tchaikovsky.

1.00pm Barcelona, Spain. Christmas music from 16th and 17th Century Spain by Joan Cererols, Miquel López and Tomás Luis de Victoria in a reconstruction at Barcelona's Palau de la Música of Compline as it might have been heard during Spain's Golden Age.

2.00pm Prague, Czech Republic. Baroque and Classical chamber music by Zelenka, Anton Zimmermann and Antonín Reichenauer and some Czech traditional music for Christmas played by members of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra at the Suk Hall of Prague's Rudolfinum.

3.00pm Copenhagen, Denmark. The Danish Radio Vocal Ensemble perform Christmas choral music by Poulenc and Villette and Benjamin Britten's A Ceremony of Carols at the Garrison Church, Copenhagen.

4.00pm Vilnius, Lithuania. The Baltic Way String Quartet perform music by Peteris Vasks, Arvo Pärt, Mikolajus Konstantinas Ciurlionis and Teisutis Makacinas.

5.00pm Munich, Germany. The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus perform Respighi's Lauda per la Natività del Signore and arrangements of traditional Sicilian Christmas carols from ‘Canti Religiosi del popolo siciliano.’

6.00pm Cologne, Germany. Christmas jazz concert with Lynne Fiddmont and the WDR Big Band.

7.00pm Dresden, Germany. The Dresden Chamber Choir perform works by composers including Michael Praetorius, Eccard , Mendelssohn, Brahms and Arvo Pärt.

8.00pm Helsinki, Finland. Emma Salokoski sings traditional seasonal Finnish folk music with the Ilmiliekki Quartet at the Kallio Church, Helsinki.

9.00pm Reykjavík, Iceland. Hallgrím's Church Choir and the Brák Baroque Ensemble perform choral and orchestral music by JS Bach including, soprano Harpa Ósk Björnsdóttir in the cantata Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen and the harpscihordist Halldór Bjarki Arnarson in Bach's Keyboard Concerto in D minor.

Release date:

9 hours, 59 minutes

On radio

Sun 15 Dec 2024 12:00

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  • Sun 15 Dec 2024 12:00

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