The best Christmas classical music albums and recordings

By Freya Parr

Published: Tuesday, 16 November 2021 at 12:00 am

The BBC Music Magazine team gets hundreds of recordings passed across our desks every month – and Christmas is no different. Sometimes, it can be an overwhelmingly large offering, so we’ve rounded up a few of our personal favourites from recent years. If you click through to the next page, you’ll find the best new recordings hitting your shelves this Christmas.

The best Christmas classical music albums and recordings

Be All Merry

The Choral Scholars of University College Dublin, Irish Chamber Orchestra/Desmond Earley
Signum SIGCD643

The Choral Scholars of University College, Dublin recently marked their 20th anniversary, and Be All Merry is a celebration of the high standards they have reached under founding artistic director Desmond Earley. The recording mixes interesting arrangements of familiar tunes with contemporary works, including haunting Irish-language settings by Fionntán Ó Cearbhaill and Adhamhnán Mac Domhnaill. No fewer than half the choir’s two-dozen members step out for solos, revealing the in-depth quality of Earley’s singers. The glowing tonal blend that he elicits is a constant pleasure, and there’s a real emotional connection in the performances.

"CD_SIGCD643_Earley_cmyk"

 

Alpha & O: Music for Advent and Christmas

The Choirs of St Catharine’s College, Cambridge/Edward Wickham
Resonus RES10268

The O Antiphons of English composer Christopher Fox were first performed complete by the Choir of St Catharine’s College, Cambridge in March this year, and recorded a few days later. They form the centrepiece of Alpha & O, a disc which also includes music by Judith Weir, Diana Burrell and Jeremy Thurlow. Each of Fox’s seven antiphons is preceded by the relevant Gregorian chant, setting the harmonic daring of Fox’s harmonic language in sharp juxtaposition. Some of the tight intervals test the choir, but Edward Wickham’s astute direction secures generally convincing results.