Magdalena Kozená is part of a nicely balanced vocal ensemble and Robert Hugo conducts with vigorous involvement. The tenor and bass soloists, Jaroslav Brezina and Michal Pospíšil, bring a credible sense of dramatic involvement to their near-operatic roles. Brightly recorded, this performance is undoubtedly the best available of this much-loved work.

Ryba’s Czech Christmas Mass sings out with a sweet celebratory innocence and simplicity of expression that deserves a wider audience...Kožená approaches Ryba’s vernacular idioms with sure-footed piquancy, eschewing vibrato and ornamentation throughout to treat the vocal line as the de facto folksong it is

Boasting a directness and harmonic simplicity in which can be glimpsed echoes of Haydn and Mozart, it is delivered here by Magdalena Kozená and her three fellow singers with a folksy approach. Accompanied by the early-music ensemble Capella Regia Musicalis, the result is an engaging Mass of considerable charm.