Tired of the same old, same old?

Join me this Thursday morning on WPRB, as we tread the overgrown path of forgotten, overlooked, or neglected Christmas music (at least on the radio).

We’ll be all over the globe, touching on many traditions. Among the highlights will be a complete performance of John Adams’ Nativity oratorio “El Niño.” The texts are taken or adapted from poems by Rosario Castellanos, Gabriela Mistral, Hildegard von Bingen, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Rubén Darío, and Vicente Huidobro, as well as anonymous verses and passages from the Bible, the New Testament Apocrypha, and the Wakefield Mystery Plays.

In my opinion, this is one of Adams’ most consistently inspired works. And what a cast! We’ll hear soprano Dawn Upshaw, mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, and baritone Willard White. Listen to it for the first ten minutes, and you’ll be hooked.

I may even drop in a couple of pieces for Hanukkah, if I have anything worthwhile to contribute.

However you celebrate, enjoy this season of light. The music will be our beacon, this Thursday morning from 6 to 11 EST, on WPRB 103.3 FM and wprb.com. We’ll have plenty of batteries, bulbs, and candles on hand, on Classic Ross Amico.

The striking artwork of Yreina Cervantez that graces the cover of the Nonesuch recording of Adams’ “El Niño”