Few pieces capture the joy and expectation of Christmas quite as well as Britten’s Ceremony of Carols. This striking setting in eleven movements is scored for upper voices and harp. Britten began work on his Ceremony of Carols in 1942, after three very successful years in America. On board a Swedish cargo vessel bound for Britain, dodging German U-boats, Britten set some medieval poems from a book he had come across while berthed in Nova Scotia.
Alongside Britten's sequence, Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Christmas Carols offers a contrasting yet equally evocative vision of the season. Rich with English folk melodies and warm harmonies, this beloved work weaves traditional carols into a flowing tapestry, conjuring both pastoral serenity and festive cheer in a deeply nostalgic Christmas celebration.
