The third recording from La Maîtrise de Toulouse on the Regent label features a inspirational survey of French Christmas music from the sixteenth to twenty-first centuries. Some of the items are for upper voices and some feature the newly-formed tenor and bass sections of the choir.

Baroque motets, some unaccompanied and some with continuo, are contrasted with works from the twentieth century, including the four well-known Christmas Motets by Poulenc, sung here with true Gallic verve and colour.

There is a new large-scale and virtuoso Christmas work written especially for upper voices of La Maîtrise de Toulouse by the renowed French composer Marc Bleuse. The disc ends with a selection of traditional French Noëls, beautifully arranged for this recording by the group’s director, Mark Opstad.

La Maîtrise de Toulouse is a world-class children’s choir, and its previous recordings on the Regent label have received outstanding reviews across the world.