Mathias: Sir Christèmas

A new festive release from the Choir of Jesus College Cambridge under their director Mark Williams – with additional performances from organists Robert Dixon and Timothy Lambourn, and trumpeter Rebecca Crawshaw. The programme is drawn from pieces for the festivals of Advent, Christmas, Epiphany and Candlemas: "Of the annual Christian seasons, it is surely that from Advent to Epiphany which inspires believer and non-believer alike the most: the believer celebrates Christ’s birth whilst the non-believer considers hopes for rebirth and renewal as a New Year approaches … If aspirations surrounding the arrival of a new born child are universal, the Christmas music chosen here reflects the season’s inspiration through quite recent compositions, alongside music from the early part of the 20th century." Mark Williams

Bill Ives leads the famed Choir of Magdalen College in this selection of choral favourites for Advent & Christmas. The music on this CD ranges from quiet reflection and anticipation to the excitement and celebration of the birth of Jesus and the coming of the Wise Men.

Bill Ives leads the famed Choir of Magdalen College Choir in this selection of choral favorites for Advent and Christmas.The music on this recording ranges from quiet reflection and anticipation to the excitement and celebration of the birth of Jesus and the coming of the Wise Men. Magdalen College is one of the oldest choral foundations in England, with an unbroken tradition stretching back to 1480.The Choir retains much the same shape as it had in the 15th-century, with 16 boy Choristers (educated at Magdalen College School) and 12 adult Academical Clerks (undergraduates of the College).

The latest release in Regent’s “Christmas from…” series performed by the Choir of Hereford Cathedral.

A generously filled disc containing a variety of carols, both ancient and modern.

Charts the journey from Advent, through Christmas to Epiphany, to appeal to the regular sacred music listener and the seasonal listener alike.

The Christmas message is beautifully sung by the choir which serves the monastic community of St. Benedict in Ealing. The collection contains more unusual pieces such as Bethlehem Down, Berkeley’s I Sing of a Maiden and Britten’s Hymn to the Virgin as well as favourites such as Coventry Carol and Away in a Manger.

Performances of carols both ancient and modern have become central to the celebration of Christmas.

The choral music on this disc includes Holst’s surprisingly neglected Christmas Day, as well as music by Leighton, Joubert, Mathias, Gardner and Rutter.

The nostalgic mood of Howells’s evergreen carol anthems is echoed in Finzi’s In terra pax, which recalls the pealing of bells at midnight on a frosty Christmas Eve.

The City of London Choir, which enjoys an enviable reputation as a “leader among non-professional choruses” (The Times), makes its Naxos début with this delightful recording.

A collection of well-loved traditional Carols performed by the critically-acclaimed Truro Cathedral Choir, directed by Robert Sharpe.

Features all the Carols regularly sung at Truro Cathedral’s Nine Lessons and Carols and Midnight Mass services.

First recordings of two new carols by leading British composers Gabriel Jackson and Howard Skempton, commissioned by Truro Cathedral.

Includes Regent producer Gary Cole’s blues-inspired arrangement of Away in a Manger.

Following the success of the beautiful a cappella choral album Peace: A Choral Album for our Times (AV 0039), the Handel and Haydn Society offers a seasonal offering that once again fuses the familiar with new works which are destined to inspire the festive imagination. Sample Jennifer Higdon’s atmospheric O Magnum Mysterium with glasses and chimes, or Eric Whitacre’s harmonious Lux aurumque, alongside longtime favourites such as Lo How a Rose E’er Blooming and The Coventry Carol in a unique arrangement with hand bells. Another special feature is the world premiere recording of Tom Vignieri’s Hodie Christus natus est, commissioned for the Handel and Haydn Society. For the ensemble’s Welsh-born Music Director Grant Llewellyn this recording is a deeply personal project, recapturing the annual spirit of caroling, maintaining tradition whilst forging new frontiers.