What's Christmas without a carol? Jesus without a jingle? The holidays without a hallelujah? No event in recorded history has inspired a larger body of music than the birth of Yeheshua/Joshua/Jesus in the West Bank town of Bethlehem some 2007 years ago. Actually, it probably was only 2004 years ago and it was celebrated in July until the early church cleverly Christianized Northern Europe's pagan winter solstice Yule celebrations.
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Eileen Ivers. Photo by Clay Patrick McBride
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Listed here are some of the most delightful holiday musical treats. They may pay lip service to Hanukkah and Kwanzaa and whatever the Moslems celebrate, but Christmas is the Big Enchilada. Performances are listed alphabetically. Times are listed only if they aren't standard evening performance hours. Addresses are given if the presenting group and venue name are different. Phone numbers are listed, but tickets also can be purchased online for all attractions. Prices are for an adult ticket. Almost all events offer discounts for kids and seniors. Ask.
Amahl and the Night Visitors, Chamber Opera Chicago, Nov. 30-Dec. 2. This is a fully-staged production of Gian Carlo Menotti's beloved 1951 one-act Christmas opera, staged by no less an authority than the composer's adoptive son, Francis Menotti ( who studied at Chicago's Goodman School of Drama ) . Victoria Bond conducts the orchestra and cast. Performed at the Harold Washington Library Center ( enter at 401 S. Plymouth ) ; 312-951-7944; $10-$25.
Bella Voce Chamber Choir, Dec. 18 only. Chicago's premier a cappella choir offers a program of rarely-heard old and new holiday choral music from the Baltic Sea region of Northern Europe, which might mean music from Sweden, Finland, Russia, Poland, Latvia, Estonia and/or Lithuania. Among the works are Magnificat by Einojuhani Rautavaara and O Antiphons by Arvo Part. Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph; 312-334-7777; $40.
Caroling at 'the Bean,' Friday nights through Dec. 21. OK, so it's really Caroling at Cloud Gate, the iconic sculpture in Millennium Park. Each Friday evening at 6 p.m., a top local choir will sing its buns off for 50 minutes to put you in a festive spirit. For instance, this Friday, Nov. 30, the Chicago Gay Men's Chorus is the bun-singing group. You can listen or join in the fun. There's complimentary peppermint hot chocolate, peppermint mocha, and Christmas blend coffee courtesy of Starbucks, and everyone will be invited to light a holiday candle to reflect off Cloud Gate. Concerts will run about 50 minutes and are FREE! Choral groups to perform on later dates include Bella Voce ( Dec. 7 ) , the Chicago Mass Choir ( gospel, Dec. 14 ) and the Chicago Children's Choir ( Dec. 22 ) .
Carols by Candlelight: A Holiday Sing-Along, Chicago Chamber Choir, Dec. 16-20. Three performances in three different locations of this annual vespers-inspired 90 minutes holiday program, by one of Chicago's oldest choral organizations. Admission to this family-friendly program includes a post-concert reception with the singers and refreshments. Dec. 16, St. Gregory's Episcopal Church, Deerfield, 4 p.m.; Dec. 17, Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church, Chicago, 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 20, Unity Lutheran Church, Chicago; 7:30 p.m.. 312-409-6890; $20.
Concert for Peace, Fulcrum Point New Music Project, Dec. 11 only. For the 10th year, Fulcrum Point dedicates its holiday season concert to peace. This year, it presents three regional premieres of contemporary works exploring the nature of love and war through music and poetry. Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph; 312-334-7777; $20.
Duke Ellington's Sacred Concert, Chicago Jazz Ensemble, Dec. 14 only. Ellington felt his Sacred Concerts—composed between 1965 and 1973 and combining elements of jazz, classical, blues, dance, spirituals and gospel—were his most important works. For this holiday-centered concert, the Chicago Jazz Ensemble will be joined by a gospel choir, tap dancer Bill Barrett and vocal soloists Bobbi Wilsyn, Maggie Brown and Paris Delane. Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph; 312-344-6000 or 312-334-7777; $15-$45.
Holiday Brass and Choral Concerts, Music of the Baroque, Dec. 13-14, 22-23. The justifiably celebrated Music of the Baroque presents its annual holiday concerts of joyful carols, solemn chants and soaring brass choirs to ring the rafters, all under the baton of Edward Zelnis. Dec. 13, Grace Lutheran Church, River Forest; Dec. 14, St. Michael's Church, Chicago; Dec. 22-23, Divine Word Chapel, Techny/Northbrook; 312-551-1414; $25-$65.
In the Dark of Winter's Night, New Classic Singers, Dec. 16 only, 4 p.m. For their 26th Christmas Album concert, the New Classic Singers welcome harpist Stephen Hartman in a family-friendly program of carols old and new. McAninch Arts Center ( the MAC ) , Glen Ellyn, 630-942-4000; $22.
An Irish Christmas—An Nollaig, Eileen Ivers and Immigrant Soul, Dec. 13 only. Celebrate the holidays, the peace and beauty of Christmas, and the festivities of that unique British tradition, Boxing Day ( Dec. 26 ) , with pipes, drums and fiddler Eileen Ivers, described by the New York Times as 'the Jimi Hendrix of the violin as Ivers blends her Celtic roots with African and Latin traditions. McAninch Arts Center ( the MAC ) , Glen Ellyn; 630-942-4000; $38.
An Irish Christmas in Chicago, Irish American Heritage Center, Dec. 15 only. Local favorites Jamie O'Reilly and Paul Amandes offer a family-friendly concert of carols, folksongs and stories, among them a musical setting ( by folk composer Michael Smith ) of O. Henry's The Gift of the Magi. 773-282-7035; $18/advance-$20/at door. Holiday sweets will be served to all by the Chicago Chapter of Celtic Women International.
The Messiah, Apollo Chorus of Chicago, Dec. 16 only, 3 p.m.. Chicago's oldest musical organization in one of Chicago's very oldest Christmas traditions. This ain't your sing-along Messiah; this is the one where you sit and listen to the 140-voice Apollo Chorus with soloists and baroque orchestra. This concert always sells out. Harris Music and Dance Theater, 205 E. Randolph; 312-334-7777; $25-$48.
La Noche Buena, San Antonio Vocal Arts Ensemble, Dec. 15 only. Presented by Milwaukee's excellent Early Music Now, the seven singer/instrumentalists of the San Antonio gang present the very first Christmas music composed in the New World in diverse dialects and rhythms combining Aztec, Incan, Mayan, African and European influences. At the St. Joseph Center Chapel, Milwaukee, 5 p.m.; 414-225-3113; $20 ( general ) -$38 ( reserved section ) .
Welcome Yule!, Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Dec. 14-16, 21-23; times vary. For the 13th year, the vocal and instrumental forces of the fabulous CSO assemble for festive family concerts of classic and contemporary Christmas favorites peppered with new vocal, instrumental and dance delights and costumed holiday characters. ( Even Santa will be there! ) As if the CSO weren't enough, the Welcome Yule! Dance Ensemble and Midwest Young Artists Voices Rising will also take part. Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan; 312-294-3000; $26-$70.
