DAHA’s virtual holiday program, introduced by Professor Michael Beckerman of NYU, included two popular events from DAHA’s archive. Viewers first enjoyed a film about the American premiere of Georgius Zrunek's tri-lingual Christmas Mass of 1766 featuring the Czech early music group Ritornello and NYU collegiate choristers as they prepared the delightful Zrunek work for concert in 2010. The festive composition merges folk and spiritual traditions in surprising ways. The audience was also invited to participate in a spirited sing-along with “Old World” Czech carols. DAHA presented the virtual program on December 6th - St. Nicholas Day/Svatý Mikuláš - symbolically marking the beginning of the holiday season for many in the Old World.

Originally performed at Bohemian National Hall on December 12, 2010, Ritornello (Michal Pospíšíl, Martin Kaplan, Jan Mikulášek, Josef Fiala), with NYU Collegiate Chorus; and December 10, 2017, Michael Beckerman, piano; Laura Goldberg, violin; Klara Zikova, soprano; Karel Smekal, piano

Watch the recording of this event on our YouTube Channel!