A new recording of well-loved and traditional carols for the festive season. The timeless appeal of this Christmas music is embodied in beautiful performances of O come all ye faithful, Hark the herald angels sing, In the bleak midwinter, God rest ye merry, gentlemen and many other favourites.

Shepherds sitting on a chilly hillside watching their sheep. A precious baby lying in a manger. A master and his page trudging through the snow to bring help to a poor woodsman. Three exotic kings traveling through the desert by the light of a bright star. Choirs of angels rejoicing on high. The traditional songs and carols of Christmas are the source of many of the most powerful images that we associate with the festive period. Evocative and glorious, the carols on this disc range from the moving melody of In the bleak midwinter to the exuberant celebration of Christ’s birth in Hark the herald angels sing. Some of the carols on the disc are traditional tunes whose roots stretch back to time immemorial.

The Coventry Carol and Lullay, Lullow have words and music written by anonymous medieval poets, proving that some of the sentiment we associate with Christmas is as timeless as these tunes. Other carols such as Away in a manger, however, were composed in the Victorian era, in an age that gives us many of our Christmas traditions such as Christmas trees. This selection of popular carols features performances from some of the UK’s best singers, including several acclaimed choirs from the colleges of Oxford University. The carefully selected programme includes both traditional and modern arrangements, designed to evoke the atmosphere of a typical Christmas carol service.