Seasons Greetings from the team at RNZ Concert. We wish you a merry Christmas and hope for a peaceful and pleasant new year. Thank you for listening to us in 2021, we appreciate it.
Before some of us head away on holiday, we want to let you know about some of the special programming we have created to keep you company on Christmas Day.
On Christmas Eve we'll be listening to A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols: The Centenary Service from the Choir of King's College Cambridge, directed by Stephen Cleobury from 8pm in Music Alive.
Your Christmas Morning host from 6am on RNZ Concert is Carey McDonald with a beautiful selection of Christmas music from top performers from around the world, spiced with good company to start your day.
At 10 am we bring you the RNZ Concert recordings of the recent Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra's Christmas Cheer performance. Happily the orchestra was able to come together to perform for the first time in several months as Auckland started opening up in December.
At 11am join our ecumenical Christmas Service of readings, prayers, reflections and Christmas music - it is full of spirit and safely socially distanced!
Christmas Afternoon
David Morriss is your guide to Christmas Afternoon, with a wonderful mix of local and overseas compositions appropriate to the season. Highlights include performances by the Central Band of the Royal New Zealand Airforce, Sol3 Mio, Voices New Zealand, Margaret Nielsen (piano), and Helen Webby (harp) among others.
It wouldn't be Christmas without Handel's Messiah. At 1pm you can hear the NZSO with Anna Leese (soprano), Sarah Court (mezzo), Frederick Jones (tenor), Robert Tucker (bass),and The Tudor Consort, conducted by Gemma New, as recorded by RNZ Concert at the Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington in 2020.
Soprano Anna Leese at NZSO Messiah 2020 Photo: Screenshot NZSO/Latitude Creative
At 4pm we offer something a little different: Apollo's Fire presents Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain: An Irish-Appalachian Celebration, featuring ancient Celtic folk carols that were brought to America by the Irish immigrants, and then transformed into soulful Appalachian carols. This is a glowing and joyful collection featuring medieval harp and vielle, wooden flutes, fiddles and lutes, along with children’s voices and the acclaimed Apollo’s Singers.
There's more American music with the Inside Out Christmas Special at 5pm featuring carols from Arturo Sandoval, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong and Rahsaan Roland Kirk.
Whanau Voices of Aotearoa Christmas singers in St George’s church. Photo: Filipe Manu
Christmas Evening
Presenter Clarissa Dunn keeps you company from 6pm with He Koro Koro Tui - A Christmas Waiata - a selection of festive waiata and summer songs "as sweet throated as the Tui"; and a seasonal set from the Whānau Voices of Aotearoa recorded at St George’s church, London.
Around 7pm listen out for some of composer Claire Cowan's pieces from Hansel and Gretel, which recently won an Aotearoa Music Award - it's fun for all the family!
We'll also hear Oscar Natzka (bass), and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa (soprano), before Music Alive at 8pm when NZSO: Christmas Brass marches in with a dazzling selection performed by the brass and percussion sections of the NZSO conducted by Brian Buerkle.
From 9:30 pm Sound Lounge surfs the slipstream of Santa's sleigh to Eastern Europe for Ukranian Christmas Symphonies - masters of contemporary classical music created these symphonic interpretations of the most beloved carols from their country. They are performed by the National Orchestra and the National Opera company of Ukraine.
From then until midnight there is plenty of opportunity to sing along with some beautiful Christmas music, or just let it wash over you as the big day comes to a close.
Boxing Day
Hymns on Sunday features listeners' requests through summer, starting today at 7:30 am. You can sing along with the lyrics provided on the web page for each episode of Hymns on Sunday.
The Musical Omnivore with David Morriss at 3 pm focuses on Mozart, while Opera on Sunday features the APO's Opera in Concert - Fidelio by Beethoven from 6pm.
