trad.: I saw three ships

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

Here is a lovely collection of Christmas Carols from the ever-improving cathedral choir in Chester. A varied selection of old and new carols is interspersed with some short organ interludes.

A rare, beautiful and unusual Christmas compilation: three 1960s Argo recordings of contemporary settings and arrangements of carols – Sir Cristemas, Sing Nowell and Carols Of Today – released collectively on Decca CD for the first time.

It is a worthy reissue of the many recordings made for Argo by The Elizabethan Singers and their long-time musical director Louis Halsey.

Recording producers: Michael Bremner, Andrew Raeburn

Recording engineers: Michael Mailes, Stanley Goodall

Recording locations: Holy Trinity Church, Kensington, London, UK, July 1963, April 1965, April 1966

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

The first of this month’s ‘double bill’ from Westminster presents a delightful and unusual selection of music for Christmas from the Abbey Choir. It encompasses all the diverse themes of Christmas which have inspired composers across the ages: light shining in darkness; the tenderness of mother and child; the fulfilment of promise; and the warm merriment of corporate celebration.

An excellent selection of contemporary carols features the composers Jonathan Dove and Bob Chilcott among others. The richness of twentieth-century church music is illustrated in works by Poulenc, Walton, Mathias and Leighton, and by the heartbreakingly lovely piece The little road to Bethlehem by Michael Head. Skilful arrangements of the traditional carols Silent night, In dulci jubilo and I saw three ships, complete this attractive seasonal release.

Andrew Lawrence-King’s virtuoso harp joins the voices of Anonymous 4 in a wealth of Yuletide music, favourite and rare, from the British Isles.

Juxtaposing pagan and Christian traditions, the programme interweaves English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh ballads and carols with well-loved pieces by John Tavener (The Lamb), Benjamin Britten, and a newly commissioned work by Peter Maxwell Davies. Andrew Lawrence-King adds special colour playing a variety of instruments: psaltery, Baroque harp, and a remarkable Irish “Queen Mary” harp which sounds as if it contains its own peal of heavenly bells.