At a certain radio station I worked at for nearly 30 years, until I was knocked out of the box by COVID, we put together “theme streams” for holidays and “round” musical birthdays. (I recall participating in streams dedicated to Bruckner, Mahler, and Bernstein, and one devoted to masses!) These involved recording hour-long segments which ran continuously for a set period of time and could be accessed through the station website.
For holidays, we started with Christmas, and of course, I went bananas with it. I can’t tell you how many hours I recorded, and the music was not all the usual stuff – although naturally I interleaved plenty of familiar carols, in interesting arrangements, some by notable composers, some performed by luminous choirs, and some caressed or belted out by the great opera singers. I have a very broad concept of what constitutes Christmas music, and there were plenty of sleigh-rides and wintry scenes interleaved with hundreds of years of classical Christmas works and more popular melodies.
In 2015, we added a Hanukkah stream, which ran for eight days prior to the Christmas stream. I came across this two-hour playlist I compiled, while searching through some old emails yesterday. Of course, I continue to learn new music and listen to new recordings all the time, and had we continued with the theme streams, and if I were still employed there, unquestionably I would have contributed additional hours.
It occurs to me that I probably have the audio for all these produced segments around here somewhere. But for now, on the first day of Hanukkah, I thought you might enjoy running an eye over my playlist for that first Hanukkah theme stream. Keep in mind, there were other segments produced by other hosts, so this is not intended to be comprehensive. But I tried my best with the limited material I then had at my disposal to keep the two hours varied and festive.
Chag sameach!
SEGMENT 1
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RAYMOND GOLDSTEIN – B’rakhot L’hanukka (4:56)
Cantor Simon Spiro/Coro Hebraeico/Neil Levin NAXOS 8.559410
JOHN DUFFY – Heritage: Three Jewish Portraits (10:00)
Milwaukee Sym./Zdenek Macal KOSS CLASSICS 1022
SRUL IRVING GLICK – Suite Hebraique No. 5 (15:15)
Suzanne Shulman, flute; James Campbell, clarinet; Andrew Dawes, violin; Daniel Domb, cello CBC 1046
JOSHUA JACOBSON – Chanukah Variations (7:02)
Zamir Chorale of Boston/Joshua Jacobson HZ 901
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN – 12 Variations on a Theme from Handel’s “Judas Maccabaeus” (11:47)
Mischa Maisky, cello; Martha Argerich, piano DG 437 514-2
VAR./TRAD. – A Taste of Chanukah (11:48)
New England Conservatory Jewish Music Ensemble/Theodore Bikel, Judith Berkson, Elizabeth Parvin, Rebecca Shrimpton, Cantor Morton Shames, vocals ROUNDER 3165
JOHN LEVENTHAL – 1902 (3:49)
John Leventhal and The Mels SIX DEGREES 162-531 069-2
SEGMENT 2
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JEFF WARSCHAUER – Dem Helfland’s Tants/The Elephant’s Dance (4:46)
Ensemble/Jeff Warschauer, mandolin; David Harris, trombone OMEGA 3027
LUKAS FOSS – Salomon Rossi Suite (7:48)
Brooklyn Philharmonic/Lukas Foss NEW WORLD 375-2
SALAMONE ROSSI – Psalm 118 (4:49)
The King’s Singers WORLD VILLAGE 468052
SERGEI PROKOFIEV – Overture on Hebrew Themes (7:53)
Chamber Orchestra of Europe/Claudio Abbado DG 429 396-2
ABRAHAM ELLSTEIN – Hassidic Dance (5:07)
David Krakauer, clarinet/Berlin Radio Sym./Gerard Schwarz NAXOS 8.559403
ABRAHAM ELLSTEIN – Oygn/Eyes (4:02)
Elizabeth Shammash, mezzo-soprano/Vienna Chamber Orch./Elli Jaffe NAXOS 8.559405
ZAMIR BAVEL – Hanukkah Fantasy (12:52)
Tuscon Sym./George Hanson ZPBI 2000
MICHAEL ISAACSON – Aspects of a Great Miracle (9:58)
Souhern Chorale, University of Southern Mississippi/Tim Koch NAXOS 8.559410
LAZAR WEINER – Yosl Klezmer/Yosl the Musician (2:13)
Raphael Frieder, baritone; Yehudi Wyner, piano NAXOS 8.559443
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PHOTO: Chicago Habonim dancers celebrate the first day of Hanukkah in 1958
