This is a selection of the best-loved carols and hymns for Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, and Easter: 74 of the most popular titles from Carols for Choirs 1, 2 and 3, plus 26 titles new to the series. There are carols suitable for both sacred and secular occasions, and both accompanied and unaccompanied material. The Order of Service for a Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is included.

Songlist: A Boy Was Born, A Christmas Carol, A Great and Mighty Wonder, A Merry Christmas, A Virgin Most Pure, Adeste Fideles, All Men Draw Near, And There Were Sheperds, Angels from the Realms of Glory, As with Gladness Men of Old, Away in a Manger, Away in a Manger, Blessed be that Maid Mary, The Blessed Son of God, The Boar's Head Carol, Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light, Carol with Lullaby, Conventry Carol, Conventry Carol, Ding Dong! Merrily on High First Nowell, Gallery Carol, Girls and Boys Leave your Toys, Gloucestershire Wassail, God Rest You Merry Gentlemen, Good King Wenceslas

The volumes of Carols For Choirs have established themselves as the quintessential carol books for carol singimng around the world. Each volume presents a wide range of carols to suit every occasion, from well-known tunes superbly arranged to the best original compositions. 50 carols for mixed choir, including full text of the traditional Nine Lessons printed as an Appendix.

Songlist: A Boy Was Born, A Christmas Carol, A Great And Mighty Wonder, A Merry Christmas, A Virgin Most Pure, Adeste Fideles, All Men Draw Near, And There Were Shepards, Angels From The Realms Of Glory, As With Gladness Men Of Old, Away In A Manager, Blessed Be That Maid Mary, Blessed Son Of God, Boar's Head Carol, Crol, With Lullaby, Coventry Carol, Ding Dong! Merrily on High, The First Noel, Gallery Carol, Girls And Boys, Leave Your Toys, Gloucestershire Wassail, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Good King Wenceslas, A Great And Mighty Wonder, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Holly And The Ivy, I Saw Three Ships, We Wish You A Merry Christmas, In Dulci Jubilo, Infant Holy, Infant Lowly, and more

In the catalogue of Britten's compositions those involving a chorus, often without instrumental or orchestral accompaniment loom large. They stretch right across his working life, beginning in 1929 and ending in the Op 95 his last completed score finished a few months before his death. The four pieces recorded here belong in the first half of that period, the earliest of them dates from 1933, the latest from 1949, perhaps his most productive period. Mathew Best, as usual, does a wonderful job bringing these works to life.

Songlist: Rejoice In The Lamb, A Wedding Anthem, Festival Te Deum, A Boy Was Born

Volume II of the reissue, by popular demand, of a classic pair of Christmas CDs, long out of print, by the renowned Dale Warland Singers. 29 songs: "The Holly and the Ivy," "A Savior from on High," "Jesus Christ the Apple Tree," "On Christmas Night," "Wexford Carol," "Lullay, My Liking," "Sing We Now of Christmas," "Christmas Lullaby," "The Kings and the Shepherds," "There Is No Rose of Such Virtue," "Lullaby, Dear Jesus," "How Far Is It to Bethlehem," "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear," "A Boy Was Born," "Lo! How a Rose E'er Blooming," "Manger Dance" and many more. A classic!

Songlist: The Holly and the Ivy, A Savior from on High, Jesus Christ the Apple Tree, On Christmas Night, Wexford Carol, Lullay, My Liking, Sing We Now of Christmas, Christmas Lullaby, The Kings and the Shepherds, Lullaby, Dear Jesus, How Far Is It to Bethlehem, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, It Came Upon the Midnight Clear, A Boy Was Born, Lo! How a Rose E'er Blooming, Manger Dance, Snow Had Fallen; Christ Was Born, What Cheer, Evergreen, Birthday Carol, Tyrley, Tyrlow, Away in a Manger, Ding Dong! Merrily on High, Cradle Song, The Ship Carol, A New Year Carol

The most accomplished choristers of Oakland, California's highly-regarded Pacific Boychoir Academy are the Troubadors, who join with The Pacific Collegium, a professional chamber ensemble that combines exceptional vocalists and instrumentalists, to perform three of Benjamin Britten's favorite Christmas pieces. The dramatic, powerful 12-part "A Ceremony of Carols" was written in the middle of WWII, the simple and fetching "Hymn to the Virgin" has been a Christmas favorite since he wrote it while ill in bed at age 16; and the 7-part "A Boy Was Born," was a student exercise by Britten published in 1934 that deals with the nature of innocence and childhood in the Nativity story. Led by director Kevin Fox, the Troubadors handle this eclectic, often difficult material beautifully, and the Collegium, directed by Christopher Kula, adds strong instrumentals and vocals to the mix. This is a lovely, very different kind of Christmas collection of pieces by a master composer.

Songlist: Procession, Wolcum Yole, There Is No Rose, That Yonge Child, Balulalow, As Dew In Aprile, This Little Babe, Interlude, In Freezing Winter Night, Spring Carol, Deo Gracias, Recession, A Hymn To The Virgin, A Boy Was Born, Lullay Jesu, Herod, Jesu As Thou Art Our Saviour, The Three Kings, In The Bleak Mid-Winter, Noel

Britten's A Ceremony of Carols is a masterpiece composed on board ship as Britten returned to England from the U.S.A. in 1948, a touching evocation of boyhood lost but never forgotten. A Boy was Born is a work that first made Britten famous, based on a theme and variations of astonishing ingenuity. The Missa Brevis, written for the boys of Westminster Cathedral, is a gem that in some ways looks forward to the War Requiem which came two years later. 69 minutes.

Songlist: A Ceremony of Carols, Missa Brevis in D, A Boy Was Born

The UCLA Madrigal Singers, the 22 member mixed-voice premiere chamber choir led by director/arranger Donn Weiss, brings us this "best-of" holiday album, which represents nearly 25 years of audience favorites, the best-loved Christmas songs heard at Royce Hall and at their traditional Twelfth Night concerts. We of course enjoy standards like "Angels We Have Heard on High," "Deck the Hall," "O Holy Night" and "Stille Nacht," but we particularly like more obscure music like Catherine Bennett's "Christ Child Carol," Benjamin Britten's "Christ Child Carol," the Scottish Carol "Balloo Lammy," Herbert Howells' "A Spotless Rose," the Spanish "Carol of the Birds," Daniel Pinkham's "Come Love We God," the Austrian carol "Still, Still, Still," and the Puerto Rican folksong "De Tierra Legana Venimos." The full, rich sound of the Singers makes "Bells" ring out as a very special and varied Christmas collection. Occasional light accompaniment.

Songlist: Angels We Have Heard on High, Deck the Hall, Christ Child Carol, A Boy Was Born, Baloo Lammy, Flemish Carol, A Spotless Rose, Joy to the World, In the Bleak Midwinter, Carol of the Birds, Come, Love We God, Still, Still, Still, Bring a Torch, Jeannette, Isabella, Carol of the Bells, De Tierra Lejana Venimos, O Holy Night, Love Came Down at Christmas, Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence, Pat-a-pan, A Christmas, Estampie Natalis, Stille Nacht