This cornucopia of choral singing contains many of the best-known carols sung in the period leading up to Christmas by Christians all over the world, from ‘The First Nowell’ and ‘Silent Night’ to ‘O come, all ye faithful’. Traditionally, carols have usually been based on medieval chord patterns, and it is this that gives them their characteristic musical sound. Some carols, like ‘Good King Wenceslas’ and ‘The Holly and the Ivy’, can be traced directly back to the Middle Ages, and are among the oldest musical compositions still regularly sung. The performers featured here include some of the finest English choirs such as the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, the Bach Choir and the Huddersfield Choral Society, plus Continental groups like the Wiener Sängerknaben, the Tölzer Knabenchor and the Eric Ericson Chamber Choir. There are also two famous soloists Barbara Hendricks and Hermann Prey and the highly versatile vocal quartet: The King’s Singers.

Artists

Francis Grier (organ), Gareth Morrell (vocals), Ian Hare (organ), Stephen Varcoe (vocals), John Wells (organ), King's Singers (vocal ensemble), Barbara Hendricks (soprano), Jeremy Blandford (organ), Simon Vaughan (baritone), Brian Kay (director), David Bell (organ), Symphonie Orchester Graunke Munchen, Hermann Prey (baritone, vocals), Ronald Frost (director), Douglas Whittaker (flute), Christopher Van Kampen (cello), Choir of King's College Cambridge, Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, City of London Sinfonia, Stockholm Chamber Orchestra, Adolf Fredriks Musikklasser, Eric Ericson Chamber Choir, Adolf Fredrik's Youth Choir, Clare College Singers, Clare College Orchestra, Huddersfield Choral Society, Tölzer Knabenchor, Symphonie-Orchester Graunke, Jacques Orchestra, Bach Choir, Wiener Sängerknaben, Hallé Choir, Hallé Orchestra, Philip Ledger, Sir David Willcocks, Richard Hickox, Eric Ericson, John Rutter, Owain Arwel Hughes, Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden, Maurice Handford, Sir Andrew Davis