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November 2009
With music and stories for Thanksgiving, it's Giving Thanks: a Celebration of Fall, Food, and Gratitude.
This year, we remember the great American writer John Updike. From his 2002 Giving Thanks visit, Updike shares November reflections and holiday memories, including a Thanksgiving verse he wrote for his children. From his book Americana, he'll read a soaring poem of gratitude, "To a Skylark."
New for 2009:
- Writer, humorist, and All Things Considered commentator Kevin Kling reads a Thanksgiving story from his new book "Holiday Inn."
- Violinist Pamela Frank offers her delightfully tongue-in-cheek recipe for "Thanksgiving Stuffing from Hell," perfect for everyone with an appetite for living well. And she'll play Beethoven with her father, pianist Claude Frank.
We'll gather together to celebrate Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday anniversary of with his powerful Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1863. For Anne Frank's 80th anniversary, uplifting words of gratitude from "Diary of a Young Girl." Plus a poetry cameo from Studs Terkel, and an unforgettable journey of the spirit at Chartres Cathedral from Charles Laughton.
Classical music is the heart and soul of Giving Thanks, and this year's selections include Harvest music by Haydn, a November portrait from Tchaikovsky, Leonard Bernstein's "Simple Song," and a cornucopia of Mozart.
Listen to the program (hour 1)
HOUR 1
Traditional (arr. Kremser): We Gather Together
Boston Pops/John Williams
Philips CD 454391
Tchaikovsky: November from The Seasons
Moscow Chamber Orchestra/Constantine Orbelian
Delos CD 3255
John Updike reads two November poems
Stephen Reynolds: Chanson d'Automne
Stephen Hough, piano
Hyperion CD 67267
John Updike reads his poem "To a Skylark"
Traditional, arr. Peter Hope: The Lark in the Clear Air
Royal Ballet Sinfonia/Gavin Sutherland
ASV CD 2155
Haydn: Hunting Chorus from "The Seasons: Autumn"
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields/Neville Marriner
Philips CD 438715
Bill Holm reads "The Island of Pheasants on the West Eighty"
Mozart: Laudate Dominum
Barbara Bonney, soprano
English Concert/Trevor Pinnock
Decca CD 468818
Mozart: "Haffner" Serenade: Rondo
Pamela Frank, violin
Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra/David Zinman
Arte Nova CD 72104
Pamela Frank's Thanksgiving Stuffing from Hell
Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 1: 3rd movement
Pamela Frank, violin; Claude Frank, piano
Musicmasters CD 67087
Listen to Kevin Kling read Prayer from "The Dog Says How"
Listen to the program (hour 2)
HOUR 2
Don Ray: The Joys of Daily Living from "Homestead Dances"
Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra/Derek Gleeson
Albany CD 934
Carl Sandburg: Happiness
Read by Studs Terkel
Alan Menken: Lincoln
Studio Orchestra
EMI 54751
Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1863
Read by Dan Olson
Anne Frank: From "Diary of a Young Girl"
Read by Ellen Kushner
Leonard Bernstein: Simple Song from "Mass"
Roberta Alexander, soprano
Etcetera CD 1037
Listen to Kevin Kling read Grace from "Holiday Inn"
Marcel Grandjany: Automne
Anne-Marguerite Michaud, harp
Summit CD 355
From Kerouac's "The Dharma Bums," Chartres Cathedral story; Psalm 104
Read by Charles Laughton
Capitol LP TBO 1650 (out-of-print)
Traditional: We Gather Together (arr. Stephen Paulus)
Dale Warland Singers
Gothic CD 49243
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