Boston — It is unlikely BSO founder Henry Lee Higginson ever explicitly stated that the Boston Pops Orchestra ought to be America’s Keeper of Christmas. But his vision must have encompassed that role, because filling it seems to have been a matter of destiny for the Pops. By introducing Leroy Anderson’s classic “Sleighride” to the world in 1948, Arthur Fiedler’s band contributed an article of newfound mirth to America’s holiday music tradition and in doing so made itself an indelible part of it. That tradition continues in a Pops holiday concert performance shot a few weeks ago, mostly in Symphony Hall, that is now available for streaming at bso.org through January 9.
Photo courtesy RCA Victor
The program includes virtual performances — where all individual musicians perform in separate locations — as well as live performances shot from the Symphony Hall stage, as well as blended configurations, where the orchestra accompanies a soloist in a remote studio. The Boston Symphony Children’s Choir and Tanglewood Festival Chorus appear virtually.
Now, before you start complaining that the Boston Symphony Children’s Choir doesn’t appear together in one room, consider this: Children’s choirs tend to be populated by cute kids. And kids, don’t forget, are the most notorious purveyors of Christmas magic. The problem is, you can hardly see their faces at all in a live performance — even with binoculars. In a virtual performance, however, you can clearly see every face, and in this one, they are all radiant.
Make no mistake: This performance by the Boston Symphony Children’s Choir is a seriously heartwarming pandemic dividend. The Tanglewood Festival Chorus repeats the trick with comparable results. In both cases, we have the opportunity to meet every member of the chorus up close.
Boston Pops music director Keith Lockhart says performing arts events are social occasions where we have a chance to “share our common humanity.” And he is right. But, lo and behold, virtual choirs provide a more authentic opportunity to share our common humanity than most of us could have imagined ten months ago. Of course, neither audiences nor musicians can go indefinitely without live performances.
In this Holiday Pops program, it’s easy to see how happy the players are to be back on the job. And it’s not that they simply love being employed. They do, but they made great sacrifices to become good enough to join the BSO, and they did it because they love playing music so much that, for many of them, either music performance is their vocation or they go mad. (Those tend to be the finest players.) So when you watch, for example, the brass players blowing into their instruments (and really goofing off in earnest) at Boston’s Fenway Park a few weeks ago, you are seeing joy manifested in rare strength and power. It’s written all over their faces — mirth.
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The Boston Pops Orchestra’s holiday show streams here through January 9. Running time: 1 hour, 35 minutes.
