Christmas is a time for special musical experiences, from gentle traditional carols to rousing calls for worship. This recording fully represents the Vasari Singers’ renowned seasonal programmes, mixing familiar festive fun with newly inspired creations such as the world-premiere recording of Helena Paish’s beautiful setting of words by the youngest of the Brontë sisters. From the evocative narrative of Finzi’s In Terra Pax to the joyous potpourri of A Merry Little Christmas, this, like the Vasari Singers’ previous Christmas release, A Winter’s Light (Naxos 8573030), is a recording to treasure.

This festive release follows on from the Vasari Singer’s highly successful Christmas collection A Winter’s Light (8573030) which appeared back in November 2012 so is due for a partner disc. The latter in this substantial programme includes the world-premiere recording of a Vasari-commissioned carol by up-and-coming and indeed award-winning young composer Helena Paish entitled Music on a Christmas Morning.

The main soloist for this album is Roderick Williams, one of the UK’s most sought-after concert and opera baritones and winner of the 2016 Royal Philharmonic Society’s Singer of the Year award. His Naxos recordings include the Vaughan Williams album Willow-Wood (8557798) receiving a Gramophone Award nomination, and was considered ‘an essential addition to the Vaughan Williams discography’ in ClassicsToday.com.

The Vasari Singers has previously collaborated with Roderick Williams in a recording of Vaughan Williams’s Five Mystical Songs (8574416). Gramophone wrote Williams and organist Martin Ford ‘are at the top of their game and generate a fervent rapport with the Vasari Singers’.

In Gabriel Jackson’s Requiem (8573049), ‘the Vasari Singers grip the work with evident relish and commitment’ (BBC Music Magazine), and their 40th anniversary release Heaven Full of Stars (8574179) was much admired by the American Record Guide: ‘mesmerising and the performances are exquisite – perfect intonation, blend, expression, musicality, and sheer beauty of choral sound’.

The Vasari Singers was founded in 1980 and is regarded as one of the leading chamber choirs in Britain. Under the direction of its founder-conductor Jeremy Backhouse, Vasari Singers performs a wide range of repertoire from Renaissance tocontemporary. The choir regularly sings at major concert venues and other locations in London and elsewhere, including abroad. The ensemble’s extensive discography includes a large collection of premiere recordings, many of which are of works commissioned by Vasari Singers, as well as two collections of Christmas music. Many of the choir’s recordings have received high acclaim, achieving chart successes and similar recommendations.