trad.: Down in yon Forest

First time complete on CD.

Newly remastered at Abbey Road Studios

This set presents for the first time complete on CD the 28 carols with orchestra that John Rutter recorded for EMI in 1966 and 1968

The glorious acoustic of the Lady Chapel of Ely Cathedral and the astounding verve and professionalism of Rutter’s young singers and players come up afresh in this new Abbey Road remastering

This was the beginning of Rutter’s worldwide fame as Christmas arranger, composer and conductor of choice, and in an affectionate and amusing new booklet note, he recalls his first two recordings and the icy perils of winter recordings in the Fens

Volume I of Traditional Christmas Carols broke iTunes’ record for the most downloads of a classical album and remains one of The Sixteen’s most popular discs. This brand new recording contains more festive delights.

There is such an abundance of festive music available to us that sometimes one wishes Christmas did not come but once a year! The Sixteen’s first volume of traditional Christmas carols contains some of our most favourite pieces but there is so much more wonderful festive music that deserves to be better known. So we decided to make a second volume. On this disc you will discover familiar seasonal favourites such as ‘Unto us a boy is born’ and ‘It came upon the midnight clear’ but we have also included some less well-know gems like ‘Cherry Tree Carol’ and ‘Gloucestershire Wassail’.