Today is the 100th anniversary of the birth of soprano Rita Streich. I’ve been listening to her recording of Josef Rheinberger’s “The Star of Bethlehem” a lot this year.
Sadly, it’s the kind of music you don’t hear much on the radio anymore. Most of the grand and contemplative Christmas works (Franz Liszt’s “Christus,” Vaughan Williams’ “Hodie,” Saint-Saëns’ “Christmas Oratorio,” Casals’ “El Pessebre,” Charpentier’s “Messe de Minuit,” Respighi’s “Laud to the Nativity,” Schütz’s “Christmas Story”) – basically, those that aren’t “Messiah” – are slipping away, as playlists pander to an increasingly A.D.D. society. When the listenership is trained to expect little more than consumer-friendly arrangements of the less-demanding carols, and even Beethoven symphonies are broadcast less and less frequently in their entirety (except perhaps the shorter ones), what are you going to do?
It all seems to have gone away so quickly.
But of course, Streich sang the carols beautifully, too.