Cozy Up and Listen: A few of my favorite choral Christmas albums

Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE Christmas Music. I start listening to it in early November, because there is so much beautiful choral Christmas music out there. (I also have a big love for the crooners, Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Rosemary Clooney, etc.). Growing up in the Lutheran church, Christmas services were always filled with music – children’s pageants, choir anthems, carols sung by the whole congregation, and always Silent Night to end the evening (sometimes even with a German stanza). Those experiences are a big part of why I am so drawn to choral Christmas music today. It feels rooted in memory, tradition, faith, and community.

I’ve already been to a few Advent/Christmas concerts in Portland this year… a gorgeous service of Lessons & Carols by Cantores in Ecclesia, The Trio Medieval “Yule” concert, and the joyful Oregon Repertory Singers “Glory of Christmas” concert. This weekend I’m looking forward to In Medio’s “At the Holidays” program, and In Mulieribus’ contemplative program titled “In the Stillness”.

I am particularly excited to hear a newly commissioned version of God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen by Portland composer Carolyn Quick at the In Medio concert, and the title piece of the In Mulieribus program, Sally Beamish’s contemplative work In the Stillness, lovingly arranged for women’s voices by director Anna Song. Here is the original mixed choir version, sung by Voces8

Beamish’s In the Stillness also appears on one of my all-time favorite Christmas albums, Tenebrae choir’s In Winter’s House. Their earlier album, What Sweeter Music, is another stunning, beautifully curated holiday recording that I return to often.

Maybe it’s because of my Norwegian heritage, but two of my VERY favorite Christmas albums are the Norwegian Soloists Choir albums Rós – Songs of Christmas (2013) and Veni – Songs of Christmas (2022).I first encountered this ensemble when their conductor, Grete Pedersen, came to Portland for the 2015 National Collegiate Choral Organization conference and led a session on Norwegian folk music. Being part of that experience made hearing these albums even more meaningful.

If I’m in the mood for something a little more exuberant, A Choral Christmas by Voces8, Voces8 Foundation Choir & Orchestra is my go-to. My husband thinks it’s a little bit too “extra” (as the kids would say). But, sometimes that kind of joyful abundance is just what my heart needs.

I have a couple of newer albums that are in the current rotation. The first is Chanticleer’s brand new Christmas album, Joy to the World. The second is The Dawn of Grace: Music for Christmas by the Somerville College Choir, Oxford. This recording features seasonal choral works solely by female composers from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and includes no fewer than eleven world premieres. Wow!

I love having these albums as companions throughout the season, but one of the real joys of living in Portland is getting to hear this music live, created by the incredible musicians in our own community. It feels like such a gift to have ensembles here who approach Christmas music with thoughtfulness, artistry, and heart.

p.s. There are still tickets available for tonight’s (12/20) In Medio performance and the In Mulieribus concert tonight (12/20) and tomorrow. (12/21) Maybe I’ll see you there!